Nøgne Ø God Jul

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

Bottle: Dark brown, almost black, large foamy beige head, fairly sticky lacing.   Don’t see too many Norsk beers that look this good!   Rich roasted malt nose, slight charred wood, a touch of lactose like sweetness.   Perhaps a slight hint of some sort of spice, too little to pinpoint as of yet.   Roasty flavor, slight coffee bean, muted spices, perhaps a bit of that charred wood and ash.   Good malt base, the hop aspect is low.   Drinks like a really spiced up Porter.   Body and mouthfeel are average.   Clean finish, lingering lactose sweetness.   Pretty impressed!   I look forward to trying a few of their others.

Thanks Jason. The beer pours to a dark brown body with a tan/brown head. The aroma is similar to Anchor OSA. Raisins, woodsy, coffee, spices. The flavor is sweet stoutish with oatmeal, chocolate, dry roastyness, seasonal spices, seems to be barrel aged. The palate is alcoholic, smooth, very easy drinking. Awesome. I want more.

Bottle, Sweet caramel, roasted malts with some barley aromas. Dark body with tan head. Creamy caramel flavor stood out in this beer. Easy on the palate a winter warmer beer.

Hard to really identify the aroma on this. Flavor is dominated by a sweet character, Also, not real easy to identify the flavor right now. Roasty, maybe some chocolate. Nice, but not their best. But not too over-spiced like most Christmas ales.

Bottle from Premier Gourmet in Buffalo. Deep brown - almost black - with a small tan head. Aroma of malt, coffee, chocolate and spice. Medium bodied. Fantastic flavour - dark malt, toasted nuts, chocolate - and it hides that alcohol so well. It seems like a really nice porter to me rather than an APA. Very good!

50 cL bottle, labeled "Winter Ale". Pours a dark brown core; medium tan head with a scattering of small bubbles at the edges. Generous, dark chocolate aroma; hints of citrus and spice. Medium-to-full, chewy, dark-chocolate mouthfeel: a bit overly sweet, with nougat and caramel; average carbonation; hints of smoke and charred malts throughout; slightly hot. Long, somewhat dry, bitter chocolate finish.

Sampled May 2007
Pours with an ample, initially three-finger thick, creamy, lace inducing, brownish tan colored head that sits atop a deeply, blackened, amber colored brew that shows a brilliantly clear, rich, sparkling ruby color when held up to the light. The aroma is quite fruity, with notes of raisins and figs being quite noticeable. A hint of spicy alcohol is just perceptible in the finish. Touches of toasted malt, browned-rustic bread and a hint of coffee like roast aromatics round out some more of the malt notes.

The taste is somewhat sweet, but a spicy, roast grain bitterness dries things out in the finish. The sweetness brings out a certain fruitiness, though it is not as prominent as it was in the nose; I get flavors of sweet plums and raisin. The roast grain character is actually quite a bit more noticeable than it was in the aroma; a burnt bitterness as well as a certain roast-derived acidity are quite noticeable and it mixes with a blackened barley flavor. It is interesting how the roasted malt notes really dry out the finish. At times the body and palate do not seem to have enough heft to stand up to the harsh burnt notes & hints of hot alcohol, but at other times they are in balance.

This is a pretty tasty brew, at times it can seem a bit out of balance, but it is still an enjoyable tipple.

Bottle. Pours a rich, deep black. Aroma is plastic coffee and chocolate dust. Flavor is a seemingly oxidized mess of bitter chocolate malt and stale floral hops. Weak on the tongue. Avoid.