25oz Winter Ale bottle. Poured a deep brown, nearly opaque color with a frothy, cascading tan head. Molasses hits you right in the nose with some roasted malt, earthy spice, and cocoa as well. Smooth taste of molasses, but blended nicely with the caramel and chocolate malt. The hops give it a porter-like balance, as well as a spiced quality. A nice smooth winter warmer.

Pours a deep brown with a fluffy light brown head. Aroma of caramel, chocolate, malt and licorice. Flavor is licorice, chocolate, malt, caramel, spices. Hides alcohol rather well. Decent beer but not worth the price tag.

Deep brown with auburn hues. Delicate pour generates a voluminous and rocky cap of froth. Nose is cleanly lined with an array of malt-derived subtleties reminiscent of tobacco, charcoal, black chocolate, and toasted bread. Quite lively with airy esters fused with relaxed plum, anise, and raisin notes. Fluffy and expansive on the palate. Airy and spicily estery, initially, yet densely chocolaty and teasingly malty-sweet. Brisk flash of charcoal acidity briefly tempers the sweetness before giving way to a soft and lush bed of deep-rooted malt. Although the succulent core is bolstered by juicy hops, the hop character is entirely devoid of brashness or acidity. Chalky bitterness imparts dryness while underscoring the perceptible yet wonderfully composed citric-tinged hop bitterness. Stacks of rich complexities and pillowy textures, coaxed cleanly from the malt, link up with a tangy twinge of black licorice and plums which underscores the sophisticated malt profile. Finished deceptively sweet due to the clean attenuation and snappy malt accents, with a peppery estery bite which dovetails with a note of chocolate pudding and pine needles. The vast majority of American breweries could learn a thing or two from Nøgne Ø, as this particular beer features the classic combination of high-alpha “C” hops yet contains absolutely none of the typical dirtiness, brashness or overt acidity found in such styles like American Strong Ales with similar hop formulas. In fact, in a blind tasting you’d be hard pressed to peg any of these hops as being American. Really good beer.

Bottle pours dark brown with a large quickly dissipating head. Aroma of chocolate and sweet yet acidic fruits maybe currant. Taste starts sweet most noticibly of dark dried fruits and roasted malts. Contains some sour notes and finishes moderatly dry with a good alcohol burn. Some hops do come through in the end.

Pour is a black with a Irish stout like tan head. Aroma is nice with some chocolate, coffee and a decent helping of hops. Flavor is again lots of black coffee with a decent hop profile. Finish is thick and warming. A very good but expensive beer experience.