Nøgne Ø God Jul

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

Very dark brown, nearly black - slight head, tan in color, around the sides of the glass. Deliciously dry, bitter, coffee and cocoa-filled aroma. The flavor is milky-sweet, the lactose is very pleasant to balance out the bitterness. Ever so slight astringency. Pleasant hoppiness is an interesting mix with the roastiness, woodiness and vanilla.

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!

Purchased at Rozi’s in Lakewood a while back, I’m fairly certain they are clean out by now. This one gave me a surprise foam over after I opened it. Fortunately I got the goods into a glass quick enough. That hasty pour gave a nice thick mocha head on top of a black body. Aroma just smells of quality, strong citrus notes mingling with rich caramel malt, coffee and a little bit of wood. Flavor is very much the same. This has a heck of an initial bitterness, clean and citrus-y followed by a chewy malt character. This is just all around quality, it even ends with a finish reminiscent of an English barley wine. This beer sure is darn tastey.

bottle - Totally opaque black color with medium sized tan head. Aroma is full of thick chewy malts, light roasty notes, fair amount of toasted caramel, fairly vinous, notes of plum, figs, raisens, very faint citrusy notes towards the conclusion of the aroma. Flavor is malty, somewhat roasty, notes of vanilla and oak, slightly creamy, touch of burbon. Finish is slightly sweet, but well balanced overall. When too cold, this demonstrated some metallic off notes, but these seem to totally dissapear once the beer warms and is allowed to breath a while. Overall a ver nice brew, very black and slightly roasty, but not really porter or stout like. Fiarly unique overall. and definitely good.

Decent sized brown head of dense and creamy bubbles of varying size. Nice rich and roasty aroma with some dark chocolate, smokey malts, roasted grains, a little anise and little dark fruit. Quite a damn good aroma. Color is a very dark brown. Rich and roasty flavor. Some more smoke, roasted grains, little bit of burnt toast (carbon) and dark bitter chocolate. If I didn’t know any better I would say that this was a nice scotch ale. Nice alcohol warming. Lingering smokey grain flavor. Long finish. A damn fine Norweigen brew. I need to get me more of this! Big thanks to etowneraser for getting me this one.

Poured a dark chestnut color with a medium sized tan head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of chocolate, caramel malts, nuts, and light citrus. Taste of more chocolate, roasted malts, nuts, caramel, and vanilla. Low bitterness, with low alcohol apparency. Very nice, I wish more brewers would make non-spiced winter ales!

(Bottle) Pours a dark brown body with a small creamy tan head. Aroma of chocolate, roastiness, and milk. Flavor of roasted malt and dark chocolate with a smooth, creamy, wonderful mouthfeel.

500 ml bottle (Winter Ale). Very dark brown, ruby tinted beer with a thick and very persistent tan head. Quite sticky. Sweet molasses and toffee with a heavy toasted hazelnut and almond character as well. A touch of licorice and milk chocolate. Soft leathery character through the middle. The flavour is great, sweet rich chocolate, toasted nuts and leather. A lot of milky/lactic sweetness up front that serves as a counterpoint to the leathery dryness. Lots of dark malts, fairly complex and well-balanced. Sort of a cross between sweet stout and strong ale. Very creamy palate. A bit of smoke and oatmealy richness. Lovely beer.