Nøgne Ø # 100 (Batch 100)

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

Bottle. Dark brown colour with a beige head. Aroma is fruity and hoppy. Flavour is rosted coffee and hop and malt.

Black color with a thin head. Aroma of pine, resin and a little oak. Very strong roasted malt taste. A little burnt malt. Kind of reminds me of a bonfire, though that faded through the pint. I have no clue what in the world this would be as far as a style, but it just didn’t come together for me.

RBSG 05. THanks to Jens. Deep amber with a nice fluffy head. A bit darker than I expected esp. for a double IPA. More of the color of Arrogant Bastard. Acutally my notes say that this one is very similar to AB in the aroma and flavor. The columbus hops give it a nice citrusy and distinct pine like aroma and flavor. Flavor is backed by a lot of deep crystal malts. Nice sweet finish but definitely has a slightly harsh bitterness in the end. Perhaps a bit overhyped but the ratings are about right as far as being an excellent beer.

First rating - Bottle at Delirium Cafe in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Dark brown color, small white head.
Very hoppy scent mixed with some chocolate. Some acid smell as well.
Acid and dark malt taste. Good bitterness. - 8/3/6/4/14=3.5 - Rerate on November 12, 2008 at Cafe 3 Små Rum, Göteborg - on 50 cl bottle BB 071112 (last bottle in store at this place, for now). No notes for this one, since it’s "only" a rerate, new numbers though: 7/4/7/4/15=3.7

Fresh bottle from Olivier, drunk on 5/28/07
Deep, reddish-amber body is unfiltered/unpasteurized and produces a very dense, very resilient dark beige head that in turn produces plentiful lacing.
Sweet candied oranges in the nose are prominent and joined by fruity esters and hop fruitiness, producing such notes as peach, strawberry, cherry and red grapefruit. Some sticky caramel and nougat intensifies things and towards the finish, it gets leafy, lightly resinous and considerably dry. A bit of earthiness and bits of bready malt are intersparsed, but it remains quite sweet and sticky up front with mostly hops on the back. A touch of alcohol warmth, perhaps, is noted with warming.
Extremely intense would be a good word for the flavor. Sticky, rich malt opens things up, with flavors of brown sugar, caramel and nougat, quickly adding on powerful grapefruit/lemon/orange notes and gaining some other fruit notes before a barage of bitterness is encountered towards the end. I wouldnt call it balanced, though the malt is certainly not lacking. It’s just a bit too much dry, biting bitterness for my liking and I’m never a big fan of beers that move from one extreme to the other quickly (starts out extremely sweet and malty and then goes to dry and extremely bitter). But the hop flavors are enjoyable, if somewhat unoriginal. Texture is sticky and resinous, while the carbonation is appropriate and quite tight. Definitely some alcohol warming, but no fusels, nor any flaws.

500ml bottle (Pikkulintu, Helsinki) Very dark red. Aroma has dark fruits, ginger, barley wine and rye bread. Pleasant carbonation. Sweet and sticky malty taste - rye bread again. Sweet medium-roasted malts, but a huge resiny hop - sticks to the tongue. Fabulously full taste, like a good [dunno, I left that blank :-(]

Picked this up at Suprbrugsen Supermarket, Skagen, Denmark had this outside Frank (Camper) at Radjberg Mile campsite near Skagen 19-09-08 Pours very dark brown in fact almost black, its really quite dark brown, off white head completes that particular picture. What an incredible dark, hoppy, creamy fandabidozzie beer ’cwm by ar my lord this stuff is bloody marvellous’ deliciously sweet, warming and very moreish, marvellous, bloody marvellous Many moons ago I recall an audio football commentary where Norway had beaten the mighty England ’chuckle’ the commentator had gone into overdrive, ’Maggie Thatcher your boys took a helluva beating’ ranted the delirious commentator. It really was quite a fantastic piece of commentary as the commentator brought up all manner of names to thrown at the crestfallen English giants. Well for some bizarre reason this beer reminds me of that commentary, I haven’t got a clue why it just seems like Nognes sticking their fingers up to the rest of the European producers and saying beat that, it really is quite a fantastic beer.

(660ml bottle) Sampled at the RBSG 2005 in Montreal. Very cascade - piney and malty. Well balanced. Very deep colour. Oily and roasty of caramel. I am greatly impressed by this IIPA! No confusion over who brought this - thanks Jens!