Nøgne Ø # 100 (Batch 100)

Bottle from a trade with Boutip. Thanks a lot, Phil! Lost my notes on this one, so this rating will be short and sweet: I really liked this beer. Very heavy, thick, velvety mouthfeel--almost like an imperial stout at times. Hops are present but mainly in the background and finish. Lots of caramel malts, brown sugar, some oak. I agree with some of the other raters, this beer feels like more of a hybrid of a double ipa and either a bw, imperial stout, scotch ale, or just its own new thing. Definitely doesn’t have the balance you would expect in a double ipa, but that said, it’s still great. My favorite Nogne product to date.

Hazy brown color with a small head on top. Rich malty aroma with muted pine hop accents. Malty hoppy flavor with hints of pine needles. Long bitter hoppy aftertaste with hints of pine needles. Excellent.

Tasted 2007-08-21. 5 months old bottle, 50cl. This is one massive Norwegian. Pours dark brown with beige head. Lots of yeast, if one’s not careful. Either way a beautiful beer. I have days, where I would most like a Belgian quadruppel. And I have days, where what I need is an American style barley wine. This particular beer feels like a mix of the two, and it works for me all days! I have diffculties dissecting the different flavours of this one - but one thing is for sure: Hops are present! But as I said: Imagine a mix between a quadruppel and an ASBW, then you have it! Try it - you’ll love it! Side note: I wouldn’t call this a DIPA. Don’t know what it is, but it’s not a DIPA. Maybe we have a new style: Barley quadruppel - BQ. I see a bar named Bar BQ serving this style. :-)

Re-rate: I’ve had a few of these recently that hasn’t been quite as good as before. From different batches I’ve had it tasting more harsh and unpleasant and not as nuanced. So I’ve downgraded the overall score from 20 to 18.

Brown body with lots of yeast particles and topped by a long lasting small tan head. Strong toffee and alcohol on the nose. First thing about the taste is the alcohol. Too much of it. I would have guessed more than the actual 10%. Burning alcohol with even a hint on cognac/brandy. Very sweet beer (candy-sweet). Syrupy. Caramel cake and woody malts. Lots of tree-bark and piney hops. The hops bitterness manages to pierce through the alcohol and that’s a good thing. Gets better as it warms up. Very hoppy yes but to me this is not an IIPA, not quite a Barley Wine either. It does feel very American so I’ll just call it an American Strong Ale. Someone would have told me that this is Avery’s latest over-the-top alcoholised creation and I would have believed it. Not exactly a compliment. Gøød 1Ø.Ø% sipper but tøø much alcøhøl, far frøm my favøurite Nøgne Ø bøøze.

Bottle. Dark amber colour with exelent and mostly lasting off-white head. Powerfull aroma and flavor of fruity hoppyness and nuts. The flavor of malt and nuts just lingers on for minutes. Really my kind of beer! Well done!

Bottle (50 cl). Somehow this brewery understands the meaning of delivering the goods to the gourmets. This is a double IPA with a twist and it is very complex and uniquely hopped ale with wonderful odour. Great in any aspect: TASTEFUL and to be further more discovered at every sip (Large+ palate). The beer was quite expensive - but it is all worth it.

(Bottled, brewed 190407, re-sample 141007) Extremely deep burgundy color with a large, creamy and lacy, lasting head. Very strongly aromatic-hoppy, very toffee-caramely, roasted-malty aroma with hints of alcohol. Intensively aromatic, fruity-pine-hoppy flavor with a long, roasty and sweetish-caramely-malty finish. Alcohol is completely hidden under the strong, roasty-hoppy sweetness, but still warms you up nicely. Pretty full-bodied, sweetish palate with smooth carbonation. A very enjoyable dessert drink with the good parts from both scotch ales and double IPAs. Also reminds me a bit of Black Sheep Riggwelter - only squared multiple times. Excellent stuff from one of my favorite breweries! And if it’s excellent when 4 months old, what will it be in 5 years from now...? 2 months was a bit too young and harsh, though.

Bottle. Dark amber colour with a huge mostly lasting off white head. Powerful aroma and taste of malts with heavy fruity notes. Rich hoppy finish. Very good beer.