Nøgne Ø # 100 (Batch 100)

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

3/15/08 - Split with Naka (his 200th). Pours black/brown with thick, foamy, beige head. Decent lacing. Nose is odd, a touch of fruit and slight caramel. Not much there. Taste is a well balanced caramel and biscuit, chocolate, and toffee malt character with a big bitter and some good resiny pine and citrus hop flavor. Mouthfeel is out of this world. Well balanced and very tasty. A touch of roast and sweet. Good stuff.

[bottle] Dark brown in color, with some really impressive head formation. Dense, creamy.. very fine bubbles. Aroma is piney and resinous, with some slight malt sweetness. Flavors are really quite malty at first, blending well with the powerful hop character throughout. Slightly alcoholic, warming finish.

Lies! This is not a double IPA. This is an ASA or Barleywine. Aroma is dense, dark fruit, chocolate, and citrusy hops. Rich, complex aroma. Taste is initially citrus hops, rind, chocolate malt. Finishes crisp and dry. Very English style in the B-wine aspects, dry, citrus, et cetera.... However the chocolate malt throws me. This is too rich and complex to be an IPA, definitely a B-wine or ASA, barring that.

Pours a deep, deep brown hue with a light tan head with some of the best lacing I have seen in a while. Aromas of pine, a little floral, dried fruit. Flavors of pine, citrus a light cocoa note with a light, somewhat creamy mouth feel. While many compare this to bigfoot, I find it to be a lot smoother both with alcohol burn and finish. The chocolate malts add a nice roast to the finish.

Pours black with a 2-finger light beige head. Really nice lacing as well. Has a nose of floral hops and a little bit of fruity undertones, but it is really light and understated. Achieves being very sweet and bitter simultaneously. Some chocolate and caramel maltyness, but leaves a huge piney bitter taste on the tongue. One of the best bodied beers I’ve ever had. I want to eat it with a spoon.

16.9 oz. bottle from Liquid Solutions - Pours a brown color with a huge light tan head. Well it took about 5 minutes for the head to settle enough to start drinking the beer. Thick lacing. Aroma is light toasted malt and lightly spiced hops. Flavor has that sweet Maris Otter taste. Nicely balanced this the spicy, herbal flavor of the hops. Very smooth. Full body. A very nice beer.

Bottle: Dark chestnut colored pour wtih a large, creamy beige head. Thick lacing. Malty and citrus filled aroma with bits of pine. Piney and citrus hops blend with some chocolatey maltiness. Bits of roast and a little candied sugar. Smooth and creamy with a nice warming sensation. I wish I would have known this was an IIPA rather than a BW so I could have tasted it fresher. Still, quite nice.

Bottled. My label says "Barley Wine Style Ale" under the "#100." Beer is very dark brown, nearly opaque. Head is large, tan, frothy/creamy. Diminishes steadily but mostly lasts. High bridges of lacing stick on the glass.<P>The aroma’s initial impression is a varied hop bouquet growing in a garden of earthy malts. Malty with moderate notes of toasted grain, lighter note of toasted bread crust; Hoppy with moderate-to-heavy notes of resin/pine, grapefruit oil, moderate dried apricot, herb, light lemony grassy notes; Yeasty with a light-to-moderate note of deep cellar; Light woodsy note of frail raisin, pepper.<P>The flavor is forceful. Moderately sweet, moderately acidic, moderately bitter with a long, heavily bitter, lightly-to-moderately acidic, lightly sweet finish. Aftertaste grips lightly and lingers on and on.<P>The body is full, the texture is watery-to-syrupy and the carbonation is average.<P>Very much a IIPA. A nice example, but still doesn’t sway my dislike for a lot of hop in my step.