Nøgne Ø # 100 (Batch 100)

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

Poured a dark amber, almost cloudy brown color into the tulip with a head of tan that stuck around. A sticky lacing clung to the sides of the glass. Immediatate scents of hops and chocolate rushed the nose with hints of malt and sugar. Tastes of some piney hops and and brown sugar are balanced well by the malt flavors. This beer seemed a little to harsh to me for some reason. I would like to cellar it for a while to see if it can smooth out. The alcohol was very apparent in the finish.

The aroma is very hoppy with caramel. The appearance is dark with a nice head. The flavor is like the aroma with some citrus. The palate is smooth. Overall it’s quality but not all that enjoyable.

made with real pride. Strong and malty. Taste with really roasty flavors. The malts give a rich malty presence. Has a piney hop taste. this is one is for the serious critic.

Aroma of apple juice mixed with lemon, then milk added to sour. Bitter but fruity- how the hell is that possible? Very puckerish palate. Too thick for me. Then again, I have a virgin palate for beer. Give me some more time to truly pop my hops.

The label on the bottle that I purchased in Chicago calls #100 a "Barley Wine Style Ale" and not a DIPA. I would tend to agree with that label since, although hoppy enough for a good IPA (80 IBUs), the wheat and chocolate malt in the grain bill really don’t fit the DIPA style. It’s dark brown of body (not very IPA-sh) with a touch of amber around the edges. The head is a creamy, tall tan affair that sheets the glass with slippery lace. The aroma is plenty hoppy with strong scents of pine, citrus zest, grapefruit, and bitter grasses. Beneath that is a sturdy malt, sweet and chewy. The hops win out in the flavor, although the malt (wheat and all [DIPA?]) provides a solid enough backbone to support it. The hops lose much of their distinctive flavors, merely providing a sharp bitterness that lasts long into the finish. I would lay this one down for a while to smooth that out, treating it like the balrley wine that it is striving to be.

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Very interesting...not at all what you would expect from a Barley-Wine. This one was very dark in color; brown with just the slightest inkling of red around the outer edges. The head was huge and tan in color...leaving a thick lacing that clung tight to the glass long after the beer had disappeared. The best word to describe this brew...UNIQUE. It was sweet, with caramel and toffee undertones. Not sure why they call this one an Imperial/Double IPA...it is listed as, and has the flavor profile of, a Barley-Wine. Very good beer and worth the high price of admission.

Very dark pour with reddish brown hue when you hold it up to the light. Large, thick brown head. that leaves artistic lacing. Nose is hoppy malt. Basically smells like fruit and floral hops mixed with a caramel, toffee-like malt background...really interesting.Taste is huge hops, but they are integrated quite nicely into the sweet, chocolatey and toasty malt characters. The finish has a sweet, piney hop bite that I absolutely love. Very smooth mouthfeel with nice carbonation that dances on the tongue...instigaging the hops even more. Truly unique DIPA that I will buy more of.

Bouteille de 500 ml obtenue via Importations Privées Bièropholie. Arôme: Forte odeur de pin avec une pointe de chocolat. Apparence: La couleur est ambrée foncée. Présence d’un mince col beige mousseux et d’une large dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de pin et de caramel. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement crémeuse. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. Légère présence d’amertume en arrière goût. (Rating #1410)