Nøgne Ø God Jul Islay Edition

Brewed by Nøgne Ø
Style: American Strong Ale
Grimstad, Norway

Special order from Nøgne Ø via Vinmonopolet - before they sold out! There is a strong whisky aroma, lots of peat and smoke. Quite similar to the BrewDog Smokehead or the new Mikkeller whisky aged Beer Geek Brunch. And that’s just the nose. The peaty character is very strong. Some sour smoke too. Almost overwhelming, but not quite. The smoke plays with the beer base, like a layer of paint where the wood is shining through in places and you can feel its structure. It is true that this is not subtle – the finer aspects of the flavour are run over.

Pours dark, dark brown with red highlights, with a finger of foamy beige head, leaves plenty of spotty lacing. Aroma is huge, loads of salt and smoke, bacon, campfire, hickory, bbq sauce, liquorice. Underneath is a faint spicy note, and also some dark fruits. It’s fairly bitter, ashy, thick on the tongue, with some sweetness to see it through. Finishes dry. The body is fairly light, not thin, but adds to the drinkability. Carbonation is smooth and creamy, with only just a slight tingle on the tongue. A pretty abrasive brew, definitely not a sessioner, but not at all hard to drink. I suspect I’ll never see a balanced brew aged on islay casks, as the beer underneath doesn’t get much playtime. Still, as I enjoy islay whisky, I like this well enough.

Bottle. A dark, dark brown beer with a thin lid of dark beige bubbles. Oily pour. Very peated on the nose, getting a bit smoother after some time. Alcohol, tar, vanilla notes, salty licorice, roasted malts and maybe a tiny spiced note. I think there’s some prunes there too, but weak and in the back. Warming alcohol and maybe a bit thin in the mouth, rather oily texture. Lots of peat and tar, some vanilla and oak, a little prune touch, a good dash of salty licorice, and a decent bitterness in the flavor. Lasting finish with alcohol, tar, peat and licorice running the show, leaving some place in the background for bitterness and the flavors found in the base beer. Immediately this one is too much, but when given some time it’s sure a nice one. Lacks the dangerous drinkability, in my book at least, from the plain God Jul, and it’s definately not a beer for the Christmas dinner, but a danm fine one still. Tarjei recommends I stay away from this one, I’m not a lover of whiskey, but I think that’s more because he loves the beer and want it to have a high rating than for any other reason. I say drink it if you have it, but be prepared. 091102

Tested@NøgneØ’s stand @Ølmessen 2009,Nærbø. Dark and cloudy brown pour with a frothy off-white head that all but dissipates. Smoke and oak, vanilla and chalk, charcoal and sage/thyme on the nose. Begins sweet and slightly bitter in the mouth and finishes averagely long with both a sweet and salty flavor and with a consistent heavy smoked peat impression all the way through. Medium to full bodied with a syrupy, slightly dry texture. I’m not a whisky fan, so this was definitely a new experience. A real eye opener!

500 ml unlabelled bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Very dark brown colour, nearly black. Big to moderate tan head. Intense peaty / smoky aroma of Islay malt whisky, also notes of tar and salty sea air, hints of vanilla and liquorice. The flavour is dominated by an overwhelming peatiness and smokiness, too much actually, as the original qualities of God Jul are kind of blocked out. Hints of tar, vanilla and liquorice again. Definitely interesting, but requires that you really like Islay whisky.

Bottled at Stockholm Beer Festival. Very dark brown, minimal head. The nose reeks of islay whisky. Malt sweetness and vague orange is there, but forget about those - smokey islay whisky is king if this hill. Experimental? Perhaps. Interesting? Certainly Good? Sort of.

Batch # 428. 50 cl bottle at home. Very dark brown, moderate beige/tan head. First of all: If you don´t like smoked whisky, please don´t taste (or rate) this beer. Aroma is Islay - smoke, tar, salt... Extreme. And lovely. The flavor follows the aroma. I have not tasted this years God Jul from Nøgne Ø, but I know previous vintages inn and out. I find it hard to recognize the original beer in this orgy of whisky and smoke. Anyway - I love it!