Nøgne Ø # 100 (Batch 100)

Brewed by Nøgne Ø
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Grimstad, Norway

Bottle. Poured a deep brown with an amber hue with a cream light brown head. Aroma had notes of grainy malts but more present were earthy hops. Flavor was well balanced between the bitterness of the hops and the sweetness of the malts.

Thick head, dark-brownish colour. Lots of hops, some sweetness but quite dry overall. Absolutely fantastic double ipa, and one of the best beers I’ve ever tasted!

the bottle i opened was definitely barleywine. heavy, sweet, with a brunt dried fruit flavor. undrinkable for me- but the "Commercial Description" led me to believe it would be an IIPA, not a barleywine.

This pours an opaque, dark, brown color. Over two-fingers of creamy, light tan colored foam form the head. Retention is very good and lacing is in thick, sticky, ropes. There is a good deal of malty sweetness in this glass. You get to it by going passed the nice, big, hoppiness that dominates the nose of this one. It has a nice, big, pine presence. There is also a fair amount of citrus hop presence. This is actually quite well-balanced. The big hops notes are countered by a big maltiness, which brings a good deal of sweetness to counter all of that bitterness. The hops have a slight dominant edge, but just slight. Very nice, indeed. This one is full-bodied with a wonderful, medium level of carbonation. It is smooth and has a medium level of creaminess. Not quite velvet-like, but at least velour quality mouthfeel. It’s indeed a tasty brew. The high abv will keep you out of it though, except in small doses.

50cl bottle. Batch #446. Had this bottle as a nightcap, shared with my wife. Pours dark brown, with a nice looking thick beige head. Lifting the glass to my nose I can feel a very malty aroma combined with dark fruits and coffee. The flavor is complex, malty, caramelly. The alcohol is very well hidden, only feeling the warmth from it in my stomach. Ends very bitter.

Pours pitch black with only the slightest of mahogany edges when held to a light source and a massive three finger frothy, pillowy coffee colored head. Excellent retention, only slowly fading into a thick cap that coats the glass with chunks of soapy lacing. Very malty aroma with deep roasted coffee bean, hazelnut, chocolate and sweet alcohol notes. There are also some subtle hops but I’m really surprised so far how malt this beer looks and smells. Much more like a stout than barleywine. The motuhfeel is extremely rich, resinous and chewy and the flavor is again dominated by a strong malt character. Lots of roasted chocolate malt, coffee bean, hazelnut and sweet alcohol. Again, some subtle hops shine through but this beer is extremely malty with plenty of roasted notes. There is a bit of sweet alcohol flavor and warmth but overall the alcohol is excellently masked resulting in an extremely drinkable beer. To me this beer is much closer to an Imperial Stout than a barleywine in pretty much every aspect.

Brown with a small beige head. Rather hoppy on the nose with a underlaying dark malt layer of caramell, chocolate and some esters. Flavour is similar with additional chocolate and a fairly hoppy finish. Not really a I/DIPA at all but at the same time a rather weird barleywine.

Dark brown, much darker than most barleywines I’ve come across. A rather small tanned head settles into small lacings after a while. Quite an impressive smell. Lots of chocolaty malts mixed with fading yet prominent hop notes of grapefruit and pine-needles. Big notes of caramel as well, and hints of dark fruits (cherries), dust and fudge. Although the hops makes for a quite lively smell, it’s still on the heavy and dense side. Well, what do you know, the taste is actually really good. Sweet malty caramel flavors quickly leave room for citric hop notes with a grapefruit character. Hints of floral hops as well. A pleasant chocolate character coats the other aromas from start to finish. Nøgne Ø’s distinct house character is noticeable. The finish is very bitter with lots of hop aromas, minerals and a hint of wood. The bottle I sampled is over a year old, so the hops have probably faded considerably, but here is still lot of hop excitement going on and the beer as aged well. Rather full-bodied with a very smooth texture. A very tasty beer with an interesting combination of sweet malty flavors of an English barleywine and generous amounts of American hops. Also, the prominent chocolate flavors add a little extra to the brew. Serving type: bottle (Copy of old Beer Advocate review)