Nøgne Ø Porter

Brewed by Nøgne Ø
Style: Porter
Grimstad, Norway

Poured a deep. dark mahogany color with a medium sized, tan head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of chocolate malt, roast, nuts, ashy smoke, and some anise. Taste of more chocolate, roasted malts, and some dried fruits, with a creamy mouthfeel.

Pitch black color with a very thin and quickly collapsing head. Strong aroma of coffee, roasted malt, leather and oak. The taste is incredible... it’s like a perfect mix of nuts, chocolate, coffee, dark bread and earthy hops. This is an incredibly strong and excellent porter; it could totally pass as an imperial stout.

Bottle. Black colour with light brown head. Roasted Coffee and some fruitiness in the aroma. Dry roasted coffee flavour .

Bottle drunk on 4/27/07
Gushing bottle eventually settles out to a medium clarity and a very deep, bakers chocolate brown. Some burgundy highlights and a large, well-retained medium-tan head that laces well.
Brown sugar and maple start things off sweet, but it only lasts a moment before dry chocolate and a plethora of prunes, raisins and figs add a delightful vinousness. Some minimal coffee notes are found in a moderately strong roastiness, coupled with soft vanilla and other pale malt notes, sitting on the finish. Very clean, but also very fresh and easily discernible as unpasteurized/unfiltered. You gotta love the yeast these guys use. It has a delicious earthiness and seems wonderfully English. More berry-like vinousness/tartness emerges as it warms, but balancing this is a chewy, light fudge-like note. Love the relative lack of "hardness" or breadiness in this one. Aroma strength is medium-high to high, with no alcohol or flaws perceived.
Soft and velvety, with ample malt body, the beer nonetheless remains much lighter in feel than the abv would suggest. Sweet chocolate layered atop gooey toffee and caramel, with some dry roasted barley adding a bit of tannin. Chocolate malt adds some light coffee hardness, which keeps the sweetness level balanced. The main force is a deliciously fruity, vinous berry-and-prune flavor that brightens the beer considerably. Natural carbonation is in moderate quantity, and though there is some chewiness from the malt, the beer remains very drinkable with no sign of its abv. Hop bitterness is moderately apparent on the finish, with only a bit of floral-like flavors seen throughout. Black malt flavors sit on the end: anise, very dry cocoa and some scorched maltiness.

First rating
Bottle from Swedish "Systembolaget".
Pitch black color with a nice brown head. Burnt sort of smokey scent. Extremely burnt taste, but not so much after taste.
7/4/7/4/15=3.7

Rerate
Bottle at 3 Små Rum, Göteborg, om Jun 6, 2009
Black color, brown head. Roasted scent, malty and roasted taste. Rather mellow, specially trying to compare it with last time I tried it. Smooth to medium mouthfeel, rather low bitterness.
6/4/6//13=3.3

500ml bottle.
Pours jet black, with an espresso head. Fantastic hoppy aroma, with loads of rich dark chocolate. And what a delightful taste! Burnt darkly roasted malt, crisp bitter highlights, some gingerness too. And my - what a long aftertaste carrying all of the above. Covers the alcohol very well too.

(650ml bottle) Sampled at Oakes 2007 Christmas party. Very rich fig and chewy. Very alcoholic; strong flavours of a nicely balanced soya sauce with minor coffee. Alcoholic finish. Amazing this is only 7% and so alcoholic.

Bottle Many thanks to Craig aka cgarvieuk for this bottle Poured black with nice beige head ’quite thick’. Aroma was a little nutty and with subtle coffee notes as well. Tasted quite indulgent with nutty flavours, complimented by a lovely rich smoothness, quite filling and done very well.