Nøgne Ø God Jul

Brewed by Nøgne Ø
Style: American Strong Ale
Grimstad, Norway

16.9 oz bottle-Dark cola-like pour w/a slight off white head. Sweet, Belgian type aroma. Sweet flavor of candied sugar, caramel/toffee, some colander/spice. Solid winter type brew, pretty malty. I know I’m not drinking it @ the correct time of year to fully appreciate it but I still want to give this a fair rating. Long spiced finish; good brew.

Bottle on Queens Day from Cracked Kettle. Okay, it’s not Christmas but have wanted to try this for sometime. Dark brown body. Lots of head. Sweet and chocolate nose. Taste also has chocolate and sweet up front, then gets a bitter fruitier. Very nice.

1 pt .9 oz bottle poured into Trappist glass. Opaque dark chocolate body, with a mocha-colored head. Lively carbonation, and as other raters experienced, it foamed over immediately on opening. The nose is dominated by chocolate, but there are also aromas of fruit and cinnamon candy. The palate is soft and creamy, with a fizzy finish. Flavors of sweet cola and chocolate up front, dried fruit in the aftertaste, and a spicy, but not overbearing hop finish. This tastes quite like a porter with a hop finish. How can an American Strong Ale come from Norway, anyway?

500 ml bottle
Gushing a bit when I opened it the beer soon settled down. With about a year on it I decided I did not want to wait any longer and shared it with a friend. I’m not sure I will buy more just because of the price tag and the number of beers out there but if you are looking for a solid winter seasonal this falls neatly into that category.

Aroma / Appearance - As mentioned above as soon as I cracked the bottle I was greeted with a gush of dark brown foam. This lasted well into the pour before settling into a sticky black liquid. Sweet coffee, milk, fresh ash, and coffee notes reminded me of a porter.

Flavor / Palate - Smoky, bitter, and chocolately the flavors leap onto the tongue and then slide towards towards the throat. The dry trail makes you want to immediately reach for another sip despite the 8.5% ABV. Well hidden and balanced I think it has aged decently. Having said that I don’t think I would keep it any longer than a year; it already was showing notes of beginning to slip.

Pours a lot darker than I thought it would - very deep, dark brown with a tan head. Really nice aroma - dark fruits, some caramel and spices - this is certainly a winter ale. Very sweet, but it’s still well rounded. Really sweet flavor, adding a bit of molasses, some roasty coffee notes and a hop bitterness to keep it just crisp enough. I almost think this should be even more than 8.5% to counter how sweet it is, but I’m certainly enjoying it - smooth as butter. A great winter ale.

Poured brown with a tan head. Aroma of chocolate, fruit, and mint. Some coffee, chocolate, and fruit flavors with a hint of spice. Ok until the finish.

Bottle.Pours dark brown with a moderate tan head. Liquorice, caramel, seasonal spices are all present here, taste is full of those ingredients as well. Hoppy as well

Bottle. Poors dark brown almost black in the glass. Aroma is wonderful with chocolate and a lot of other Christas spicies. I also sense liqourice. Taste is creamy with chocolate, liqourice and nuts (?). Nice long taste. A relly nice beer.