Nøgne Ø Imperial Dunkel Wit

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

No real head, possibly bottom of keg. Muddy opaque dark brown body. Floral yeasty aroma with coriander and alcohol notes. Maybe some roastiness? Dryish-sweet floral herbal taste with Belgian yeast profile and coriander notes, as well as hintes of spice, chocolate, and pepper. Warm (from the alcohol), smooth mouthfeel. Fullish body. Dry grassy spicy floral aftertaste lasts a long time. Excellent, and highly drinkable, despite fairly powerful flavour. (0.35l draft at Olympen, Oslo.)

On tap @ Patricks. Hazy, murky brown body with a thin beige head. Aroma is citric fruity, sweet malt and some undefined spices. Flavor is sweet malt, citric fruity like orange and apricot, spicy and rather alcoholic. My fellows where convinced about the coriander, and I agree there are some of that here, but I think there is some other undefined spices dominating here. I might be fooled by all these unusual flavors, but that’s just the way it is. The first sips where quite nice and refreshing, then just a bunch of flavors where bombing my palates and making a mess out of everything. It’s an interesting beer and I might try it again, but it confuses me and I don’t find it very balanced. The low carbonation is not exactly giving this brew the refreshing this might needs. This is not an extreme beer, its just to undefined for me.

Tap at Cardinal, Stavanger. Hazy brown color, almost no head (beige). Aroma is coriander, a bit acidicity and oak. Flavor is spicy (coriander, anis), orange peel, moderate sweetness, a bit vinous, yeast, oak, hops and alcohol. Moderate carbonation. Lots of tastes, but not in balance. Strange beer, indeed.

On tap at Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV was 10%. Cloudy brown colour, minimal head. Very moderate carbonation, like a Southern English cask ale. Vinous aroma, notes of oak and balsamic vinegar, coriander and orange peel. The flavour has notes of alcohol (not very well hidden), fortified wine, coriander (and undefined spices) and orange peel, with distinct hops throughout. Somehow the flavour elements seem not perfectly balanced. Maybe too much bitterness and alcohol crashing with the more delicate wheaty elements? Goes down well enough though.

From tap@Olympen, Oslo. A brown beer, spiced into murkiness. Headless, with only a few tanned bubbles sticking to the glass. Predominant spice aroma , with coriander in the lead. Some yeast and malt notes, and touch of tinned fruits. Taste is light malty, slight sweet, and heavily spiced. Coriander again, and loads of it. Some fruits and hops down below. Flat and liveless, medium body strenght. Short, empty ending. Quite a disapponting beverage from Norway’s finest.

On tap at Olympen. Murky brown, settling into a mudlike color with a small head. Complex aroma, a bit sharp/vinous. Belgian yeast, quite rough. Some fruit and spices. Not quite there, and this beer should have been bottled and treated more gently.

From tap at Ørsted Ølbar. Pours murky brown with no lasting head, it really looks terrible. Sweet, dark toffee and light hops fruity aroma. Light liqourice note in the flavour. Quite fruity, light bitter and dark caramelish flavoured. Quite young and somewhat unrefined in flavor profile. Cloying sticky sweetness building up into the finish. I dont get why this is at all released so young on tap.

tap at ørsted ølbar cloudy brown , no head. aroma is spicy, flowery. flavor is mouldy, spicy, better as it warms up. faint licorice.