Nøgne Ø God Jul

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

Bottle@Home. Aroma of chocolate, cassis, plum and a hint of mint. Dark ruby color, light brown head, good lace. Plain in your mouth but when you swallow it knocks you of you feet. Chocolate, black currant, cassis, soft spices, pine. Medium body. Long lasting finish and well balanced. Thanks Yngwie.

Aroma of a stout. Chocolate, coffee, and arguably malt. Black color, but there are ruby hilites when the glass is placed before halogen. There is a ferocious tan head. Definite piny hop hits the nose as the glass approaches the lips. Medium bodied. Low carbonation. It’s something like an IPA with coffee and chocolate. Not a huge amount of hop, but it seems to have some bitter beyond that of the coffee. Great treat for the mouth. The finish seems both dry and sweet, depending on which part of the tongue one notices. So if there was no malt, where is the sweet coming from? As they say, it’s complex.

Bottle. Very dark brown and completely opaque with a short-lived head. Huge malty and yeasty aroma. Very malty taste with dark fruit (plums etc.) in the background. Not much in the way of spice. Slight clocolatiness and alcohol kiick in the finish. This was the last bottle in the store and I like to think that, give it might have been the last bottle from batch 96 2004 in Norway.

Bottle (Winter Ale). Pours a very dark brown with small brown head. Aroma is roasty and full of dark caramel and chocolate. Flavor is rich and chocolate malt with creamy caramel and finishing with a light hop bitterness and faint nuttiness. Creamy and smooth on the palate without being too heavy it really has a great mouthfeel. Nice stuff.

I was totally astounded by how American this fine ale tastes. The beer is full bodied and flavorful. The hops were just right for the style. There was a nice spice on the finish, which I couldn’t distinguish if it was the hops or the yeast. A great and complex winter ale.

Brandon, Fl. - Kingdom Liquors - 500 ml bottle - labeled "Winter Ale". Dark chocolate colored pour - edging to black. Mocha colored head - thins out quickly. Aroma of licorice, fresh black potting soil. Pipe tobacco makes its way into the flavor as well as some Christmas spices, potting soil, bitter day old coffee rounds it out. Thick, creamy mouthfeel. Excellent winter warmer.

Dense black, thick clingy kahaki head. Nose was nice with soft tones of chocolate cream, swirls of cinnamon coffee, and hints of cherry and raisin. Faints notes of fruitcake emerge upon further warming. Balanced flavors throughout with notes of soft roasted chocolate, hints of spiced dark fruit and coffee. It rounds out nicely with a late hop tone that keeps the malt well in check. Medium bodied with a fluffy mouthfeel, soft carbonation, bittersweet finish. Well done and quite drikable be it winter, summer, whatever...

Bottle shared at CapFlu’s tasting after GCBF. Very dark brown. Thin brownish cream head. Licorice and alcohol nose. Flavour of alcohol, chocolate and licorice.