Nøgne Ø God Jul

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

Pours a very dark brown with a massive, creamy, frothy, light tan head which is mostly lasting and leaves a small frothy layer and some sporatic lace. Nose is nice with rich caramel, milk chocolate, black currant, molasses, light toasted chestnuts, and hints of coffee. Flavor is awesome; coffee is most notable first with a moderate roast and minimal acidity, perfect. Other notes include dark chocolate, molasses, rustic and lightly resinous hop notes, light currant, nutty notes (chestnut, hazelnut), light mocha and lightly toasted bread crust. Palate is nice with a nearly full body, soft to lively carbonation, and a velvety, somewhat drying texture, round in character. Finishes long with some dryness from the bread crust notes, coffee, and nuts with a lingering molasses note. Completely unexpected from this great brewer. Imperial porter meets winter warmer. The black currant notes were tremendous, the coffee in the flavor was amazing and the beer somehow never became too dark or too sweet. The nutty notes and molasses create perfect undertones for the beer. One of a kind.

Wow! Very very nice!!! Very carbonated and explosive - be careful with this one. Pours dark with tan, overflowing head. Flavor is porter-ish. Lots of black currant, raisin and even coffee notes. Very rich, very strong - the PERFECT Christmas beer!

22oz bottle my neighbor brought over. Pours a rich, dark brown color with a small off white.beigish head. Nose is slightly metallic with rich nuts and toffee and some chocolate. Palate is fluffy. Flavors of coffee, light metal, caramel and toffee.

Poured pitch black. Gorgeous aromas of chocolate and coffee which translate onto the palate. Well-balanced, with a well-hidden alcohol that makes it such a treat to drink. Has quite a "Imperial Stout" character to it. Did not have any spicy character that most WInter beers have. It’s a "plus" or "minus" depending on your taste. I really enjoyed this beer!

Bottle (labeled "Winter Ale"). Pored a deep dark black-brown with a disappearing cream head. The dark color was surprising for a Christmas Ale (not as much if you read the description). Nose is cinnamon, chocolate, caramel, and hops. Wonderful smell as your nose pages through the tones. Flavors of caramel and malts. Mouth is a little thin and flat. Over all an above average holiday beer. Perhaps the flavors would of been a little better fresher.

Bottle. Pours a dark reddish brown with a firm, dense light brown head. Quite nice. Slightly tart, roasted, malty aroma with pine hops mucking about. Nice, although I find it a tad cloying. Sweetish, tart flavour with roasted malts and liquorice hops. Finish is sweet with lingering roasted and apple notes. It’s like a mix of an imperial stout (or related styles) and a pale ale or ipa, although the ‘imperial stout-ness’ is dominant. Has a lot of nice individual notes when broken down but combined they seem to clash a bit; it’s not so well-balanced. Also I find it a bit cloying. All this makes for a fairly lower overall score compared to the individual scores. 21-01-09.

Bottle from Systembolaget. Black with a big tan head. Rosted tones, coffe and some sweetness in the aroma. Lots of rosted malts, some smoke and chocolate in the flavour.

Thanks Omhper for this bottle. Appearance: dark brown color. Big head, beige, dense, with good adherence to glass but quickly collapse. Aroma: toasted, chocolate and caramel. Spicy “Christmas” aromas; also vanilla and wood. Flavor: roasted-malty start with reminiscences of bitter chocolate, mocha and berries in chocolate. The chocolate hints and the yeasty touch remember me a chocolaty-cake. Spicy notes like clove and aniseed. The sweetness hides the alcoholic degree. Roasted aftertaste. Palate: full body; semi-oily and creamy texture. Medium carbonation. Remark: nice roasty and spicy profile, lightly complex and good palate. Very advisable.