Nøgne Ø God Jul

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

Full roast coffee nose, deep brown, tiny toffee head. Flavour is a big hit of coffee and a dark chocolate influence. Full bodied, balanced, very bitter. Really quite good!

Thanks to JaBier for sharing a bottle. This beer is a deep dark brown color with a medium frothy tan head that burns away slowly. Patches of lacing on the glass. Aroma of roasted malt and nuts plus some spice. Medium body with flavors of dark chocolate, malt and honey nuts. There is a decent amount of hops present as well. The finish is nicely spiced with a roasted malt and hops aftertaste. Enjoyable all around.

bottle, from yngwie (thanks). 8.5% appears very dark with a very small brown head. aroma is faint licorice, faint smoked stuff. flavor was quite strong and powerfull, roasted nuts/grains, syrup , burnt caramel, chocolate (dark, almost roasted) faint coffee. overall a nice brew i enjoyed.

So I finally found an opportunity to give this brew a proper test. No xmas atmosphere, however, as the snow is almost gone, the trees are getting green and the midnight sun has just returned to the Arctic. Anyway, the Norwegian Constitution Day had to be celebrated. I turned off the TV, put on the great music of Dinosaur Jr’s Beyond and got ready for the test which took more than two hours. I had three bottles, same ale but quite different batches. My ratings are based on an average of the three bottles. All were served at the right room temperature. The test turned out to be a rather heavy night-cap...
a) [Batch 96-27.07.2004] Brownish head that fades quickly. Deep dark brown body. Delicious aroma of milk chocolate. Well-rounded taste of vanilla and chocolate offset by a careful sourish touch. Hints of cinnamon, cloves and anise. Yeast and bitterness in a prolonged ending.
b) [Batch 176-14.08.2005] Marked piny aroma. Light brown head, short-lived. Very dark brown-tinged body. The emphasis is on pine needles, juniper and liquorice acidity. Added flavour of peppery notes and dark fruits culminating in malty bitterness. This batch is quite different in aroma and taste compared with a) and c)
c) [Batch 251-02.08.2006] Long-lived tan head and good lacing. Black-brown body. Smell of dark malts and sweet chocolate. Roasted malty depths in flavour supported by herbs, figs and a nutty touch leading to a dry bitter tail, and finishing off with warmth from the alcohol. Should be even more joyful on a dark xmas eve (17.05.2007).

Dark brown with a red hue. Small beige, creamy head. Roasted aroma with a definite citrus nose from the hops employed.Flavour starts sweet, balanced by good bitterness. Nice and complex with hints of coffee and dark chocolate and some citrus fruits. Oily, full body. Delicious, not very unlike the Nøgne Ø Porter (and quite different from traditional Norwegian Christmas beer).

Pours verry ydark brown with a small tan head that falls fast. Very rich roasty nose, chocolate, caramel, and cherry. Fruity flavors show as it warms, light licorice note in the finish. Lots of hop character.

500. Pours a dark, nearly opaque blackish brown with very faint caramel highlights at the corners. Thick, dense, creamy tan head with dense lacing coming down the sides of the glass. Big burnt-toast nose, along with some mint, brown bread, spruce, and roastiness. Rather strange. This is what I get for starting the night with a pilsner and not changing the glass even when the styles wander far from it--concentrated and somewhat confusing aromas. Very creamy, medium body, with firm but restrained carb. Earthy, roasty, toasty, sprucey, slightly nutty mid-palate. Spicy, slightly sticky finish.

Pours deep dark brown with red edges and weak light brown head. The aroma is light with seemingly roasted malts, sweeter malts and faint dark fruitiness. This beer tastes like a hybrid Porter – Imperial Stout but leaning much more on the Porter side of things. The biggest flavor note to start is burnt malts followed by chocolate malts and then a lighter amount of sweet malts and caramel. By midway a hint of dark fruitiness surfaces and is then run down as the malt flavors return. I notice a burnt malt and slightly caramel flavor left behind in the after taste.