Nøgne Ø God Jul

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

Bottle, probably approaching 5 or 6 months of age, drunk on 7/18/07
Not quite as prominent a head as you usually get with Nogne O’s beers, but still nothing to scoff at and moderate retention as well. Head is a drab, olivine-brown with a dark brown body, tinted with deep magenta/violet. Lacing is moderate, clarity medium-high.
Smells sweet. Yep. Caramel and toffee and brown sugar all mix about, while a strong nuttiness and dense, moist, bready sweetness, akin to fruitcake, takes hold as well. An odd peppery/spicy finish that I suppose may be hops, though it could be any spice/herb for all I know. It hits on the back, but is mostly muted from all of the sticky, thick sweetness of the malt. Warming/breathing do little to alleviate the fat malts in your face and the complexity never really improves. Just seems like a whole ton of caramel malt to me. Roasted/toasted notes are present, but, as in the spicy note, are just beaten back by the sweetness. Medium strength of aroma. A little limpid. No alcohol noted in the nose.
Huge nutty-sweet caramel and brown sugar. Lower than necessary carbonation levels really concentrate the sweetness, but even with more/tighter carbonation, the stuff just seems way too underattenuated. Even what’s there isn’t very complex. Just variations on caramel/brown sugar. Some odd spicing/bitterness as an afterthought, and a sharp alcohol bite on the very tip of the finish. Syrupy, cloying, not complex. Even some oiliness comes through from the, assumed, dark malts, yet I find little roasted notes in the flavor.
Poured it out. Will try again this winter. I guess I’m way off-base here, looking at the other scores.

(500 ml bottle) Minty chocolate, green apples, fruity and burnt rubber scent. Deep dark red color, tan head. Salty and alcohol smell. Burnt and chocolate sweet and coffee taste. Long sweet mixed with coffee aftertaste. Normal mouthfeel, low co2. Medium bitterness. You don’t notice the alcohol other in the scent.

(12oz bottle) Sampled at the Post-Great Canadian Beer Festival 2007 in Victoria on September 8th, 2007. From a trade with Ungsmash. Strong cocoa, coffee. Licorice and soy flavour with a malty base. Short finish. Interesting.

500ml bottle. Batch #309 Extremely dark brown, thin head which fades, then pretty flat. Served a bit cool, slightly spicy and cascadey aroma, some graininess as it warms. Sticky sweet mouthfeel, fairly fizzy in a creamy way, surprising given how flat it appears in the glass. Very richly roasted malt, quite burnt, and pungent bitter hops in the taste. I just burped pure hops!

Bottled Hazy, dark amber. Loads of chocolate and coffee in bpth aroma and flavour. Smooth and milky palate. A bit salty.

Amber/brown color, small offwhite head. Malty aroma with chocolate and cocoa. Malty chocolate flavor, vanilla notes and a bit roasted. Alcohol is well hidden, quite a mild and pleasant beer.

Bottle. Hazy brownish colour with a nice mostly lasting creamy head. Rich aroma and taste of malts and fruits. Nice beer.

Bottled. RBESG -05. Dark brown with a tint of red. Fresh US-hoppy, though roasty chocolatey nose. Soft body with chocolate notes and a wonderful finish with a hoppy bite. Long ending and good balance.