Nøgne Ø # 100 (Batch 100)

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

The bottle says Barley Wine and RB says DIPA. Whatever it is, it’s got a warm spot in my heart. 100 pours dark brown with a huge, everlasting head that just won’t quit. It’s sticky and stubborn leaving a fluffy island and snail tracks along the walls of my goblet. Aromas of leathered malts. Full nectar with ample residual effers that are soft to the touch. My first impression is of surpirse at the dark, almost black color and very interested. This beer is very generous. It has a mild roast, a moderate hop component, and a moderate sweetness factor. All this is balanced with a plethora of flavanoids. Bitter cocoa, roasted espresso, leather, molasses, vanilla cream. The finish is long like a Saturn winter with the warmth of the Sun. A nice citrus rind bittering component helps as the curtain closes. Overall: I was completely surprised by this brew. It says Barley Wine on the bottle and I wasn’t really in the mood so I kept saving it. I finally gave in and to my amazement I have discovered a new classic gem. 100 drinks well cold, mid warmth, and room temp. There is no reason why this brew isn’t scoring 100. This brew is underrated. I highly recommend 100 with flying colors.

500 ml bottle. Dark as night pour with a medium sized, tan head. Heavy lacing throughout. Earthy notes in the nose, some pine. There is a bit of sweetness as well, maybe molasses. Mouthfeel is sticky, with big hoppy notes. Citrus hops balance well with the sweetness. Long bitter finish. Another hit from Nøgne.

bottle. dark pour with large foamy head. citrus hops, malty, mild spice aroma. light body for style but not lacking flavor. up front bitterness. very hoppy. peppery. mild choco and coffee bean as it warms. mild but steady richness. the color is suprising.

The craftsmen at Nøgne Ø have had me captivated with their unique blend of European style and American boldness. I was definitely not going to let # 100 Barley Wine-Style Ale pass me by. Slender 500 ml. bottle, with a starkly attractive label style. The pour looked quite dark for a barleywine, while the head was three fingers tall and foamy. The smell was quite sweet and had me recall raisins, toffee, and cocoa, The taste was not typical of the style, as the malts felt very roasty and astringent. The bitterness was quite brazing as a result of the bone dry nature of the beer. The chocolate, roasted nuts, and smoke in the taste screamed Imperial Porter to me. A big blast of oak notes in the finish had me wondering whether this was barrel aged before bottling. Quite thin and fleeting in the mouth, this unusual Ale was well crafted, and sneaky in the alcohol presentation, but I would be hard pressed to call this a barleywine.

Pours a very dark, opaque brown with garnet highlights; head is light tan, full, creamy, and fluffy with excellent lasting ability and nice lace. Nose is certainly unique with pine resins, grapefruit zest, dark chocolate, plum, and light hints at burnt wood, roasted malts, and molasses. Flavor is much of the same as the nose with every sip finding something new. Pine resins are dominant bringing a moderately high bitterness with undertones of plum, roasted notes, grapefruit peel, burnt caramel, dark chcolate, and light spicy notes. Palate is medium to full, lively, lightly sticky, and velvety. Finishes completely balanced and long with a bit of dryness, a good bitterness, lightly sweet and fruit notes, with a light warmth; notes of plum, resins, and roasted chocolate. IIPA doesn’t begin to describe this one, it’s more like a super-hopped barleywine with some porterish notes. Great balance, perfect alcohol presence, complex, unique, and wonderfully put together. My favorite of whichever style (IIPA or BW) and unmatched by any other hoppy beer.

500ml bottle, Batch 278, with thanks to sunevdj! Pours dark brown with ruby and burgundy highlights, and a frothy tan head; good lacing. Aroma is somewhat subdued, with some hoppy pine and citrus, dark fresh fruits, and caramel. Flavor has a slight hop bite that lingers, with the fresh dark fruits and some gentle sweet caramel malts there as well, some warming, but otherwise the alcohol is undetectable. Since its been reclassified and debated, I guess I’ll weight in and say I think it straddles the line very well between an IIPA and a barleywine. Very unique and enjoyable!

Opaque dark brown with a big creamy brown head that last quite a while. Nice lacing in my tulip glass. Raisin and plum aroma with a some alcohol. Bitter to Sweet with some roasted malts. Medium to full bodied. Not a run of the mill Barley Wine. A very nice beer.

740 ml bottle. The label is subtitled Barley Wine-Style Ale. Deep aromas of citrus and pine backed by strongly roasted caramel. Near opaque brown color with a powerful beige head. Full bodied with creamy carbonation. The flavor is almost medicinally toasted malt with lots of citrus and resin hop. Sort of a baking chocolate character lurking within. This is so sweet and so bitter. The finish is reasonably dry as the sugars go away, and it’s really decently bitter, cause the hops stick. A tasty sipper.