Nøgne Ø Citrus Hystrix IPA

Brewed by Nøgne Ø
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Grimstad, Norway

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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My 300th rating! Cloudy toffee coloured pour with a thick, creamy beige head. Tangerine, lime, pine, toffee. Very hoppy, slightly dry, slightly sticky on the lips with medium carbonation. Very good beer. Here’s to the next 300 ...... cheers!

UPDATED: MAY 15, 2013 500ml bottle. Cloudy amber color with small off-white head. Aroma is fruity and grassy with some orange. Flavour is fruity with notes of bread and sweet malt. Expected a lot more citrus here.

In short: A harsh burgundy ale throwing everything at you but the kitchen sink. Tasty but very chaotic.
How: Bottle 500ml, exactly 6 months after bottling date (1.5 year before expiration date), as fresh as we can get Nøgne Ø in North-America.
The look: Cloudy redish-brown body topped by a medium beige head with medium retention.
In long: Nose is a weird mix of fresh citrus fruits (apricots, tangerines), spicy herbal hops, nuts (walnuts, pecans) and sweet dessert (crème caramel). The rye was subdued in mouth it is another story. Taste is rather sweet plenty of caramel, lots of toasted rye, multi-fruits breakfast jam, even more toasted rye, hops resin, pecan pie, a handful of peanuts, a whole lot of resinous citrusy hops with piney undertones, a strong spicy-herbal edge. Strong bitterness. Harsh finish, pretty much a palate destroyer. Not sure what to make of this beer, it was tasty for sure, never boring, but to me it was just too many discordant flavors thrown at me. Not sure what the goal was here, or if there was a goal at all. This beer was as puzzling as “trying” to figure out what message “someone” is trying to pass by “adding” quotations marks “around” random words.

500ml bottle from Vinmonopolet. Big, creamy tan head which lasts quite long. Amber body. Aroma of cascade hops, spices and citrus. High carbonation, bitter. Easily drinkable, nothing too much. Dry, sweet finish.

50cl bottle at Probus Wines, Dublin. Pours copper with thick off-white head. Aroma is orange juice, citrus (grapefruit), caramel and plenty of spicy rye. Taste is fairly dominated by the spicy earthy rye and juicy orange - tasty, but couldn't get too much else going on. Bit of lemon/lime tart zing near the finish as well as some semi-sweet caramel. Decent citric bitterness, but again earthy rye is the main player in the aftertaste. Tasty stuff, but I do wish they'd have sacked off the rye altogether - didn't add to the experience in a positive way for me.

Bottle - Citrus fruit flavors abound with grapefruit, orange and a sweet perfume that could be the tangerine. Muddy orange brown with a thick brownish head. Immediate grapefruit with a candy sweetness and punch of orange peel bitterness. Finishes very clean. A bit of booze in the taste along with a earthy quality (I assume that is the rye). I like when breweries get inventive, but for everything they did, I just don’t get anything special.

orry for the very distracted review. I’ll just say high quality, full flavor, strong bitterness, distinct rye malt, grapefruit, dark brown body, solid sweetness. Didn’t really notice the tangerine. Fantastic brew nothing to special.

500ml brown bottle. Brygget: 30.10.12. Best før: 30.10.14. Batch 880. Dark orangey brown colour, cloudy. Thick cap of dense beige coloured foam on top. Good lacing. Aroma has some orange peel and lime notes. In the mouth the beer has some caramel malt, citrusy hop notes - some tangy orange peel and some nice bright lime notes. Some caramel malt and slight toastiness in the aftertaste and mild citrus notes. Bitterness is a bit mild. Overall a nice beer, the citrus/lime thing works well here, could be more bitter though.

Bouteille 500ml (batch 847), courtoisie de Félix-Antoine. De couleur brune foncée et voilée. Nez de houblon citrique, herbeux, fruité (agrumes sucrées, notes de fruits tropicaux) aux petites notes florales et résineuses, de caramel sucré et légèrement rôti avec des notes épicées (poivre doux). Moyennement ronde en bouche avec un pétillement moyen-doux ainsi qu’une texture légèrement crémeuse et aux notes huileuses. Goût moyennement amer de houblon citrique, fruité (agrumes, très léger d’abricots), légèrement herbeux et floral (une amertume présente toute la gorgée) accompagné de traces de pain grillé lors de l’entrée en bouche auquel se rajoute un goût de caramel, léger-moyen de malt rôti avec des notes de biscuits et d’épices (poivre doux) puis en finale l’amertume de houblon s’intensifie légèrement en se faisant légèrement asséchante, plus herbeuse, légèrement plus florale et aux notes résineuses tout en étant appuyée par des traces d’alcool. Post-goût long et légèrement sec, moyen-amer de houblon herbeux, moyennement citrique, légèrement floral avec des petites notes résineuses et terreuses ainsi qu’avec un goût fruité (agrumes et zeste), un très léger goût rôti et des petites traces d’épices (poivrées).

bottle at home .... deep brown ... bubbly tan head .. soft orange and passion fruit nose ... dry zezty hops ... passion fruit ... little wooody ...