Nøgne Ø God Jul

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

Serve in Snifter, Trappist glass

Black of color with a brown head. An aroma of roasted malt, chocolate, coffee, weak liqurice and sweets. A flavor of roasted malt, liqurice, bitter and dry.

(500 ml bottle, batch #365. Rated @ 13.11.2009.)
Black colour with a massive brown head. Loads of chocolate, caramel, spices and roasted malts on the nose. Very christmassy aroma. The flavour is stout-like with it’s licorice, dark chocolate, and sweet fruits. Alcohol warms in the end. Dry and hoppy finish. Great beer for the holiday season.

Sweet and tangy aroma, chocolate, caramel. The appearance is like that of an imperial stout, black, tan head, decent lacing. The flavor is dark chocolate, caramel, licorice, spice. Medium to thick in body, creamy mouthfeel. The finish is a substantial piney hop bittering, which hangs in there. Nothing crazy, but a really nice beer overall.

UPDATED: AUG 8, 2010 Very weird sour-soapy fruit smell. Poursout dark brown. Light beige medium sized head. Taste of spices, lightly sweet-bitter. Not complete my kind of beer. Lots and lots of spices it seems. Some couching-sirop inside also?

I believe I bought this bottle in November, so it’s about 8-9 months old. The cellaring has done nothing but good things, and this bottle could have gone even further. It’s smooth, rich and sweet, like a piece of flourless chocolate cake drizzled with caramel sauce. It’s essentially a big stout with some extra caramel malt flavor, though perhaps the hops are more pronounced when fresh. As is, chocolate and caramel dominate the flavor profile. Roast gets a bit bigger in the finish. Aroma is even more dominated by caramel with a heavy but wonderful presence of crystal malt. Feel is smooth and luxurious. It’s thick and relatively lightly carbonated. There’s a touch of booziness in the aftertaste but much less than expected. This is an excellent beer.

Dark and very foamy pour. Tangy and sweet aroma that stretches deep into the nostrils. Nogne Winter Ale tastes full, malty, and sweet, like a good, strong brown ale. There are dashes of strong wine, brown sugar, and grassy/peaty hops. A very enjoyable robust ale that tastes as good on July 30 as it would on December 30th.

Bottle at Akkurat, Stockholm, 15th Feb 2010. Very dark brown colour, tan head. Rich, sweet taste of dark fruits, wood and jam. Nose is similar. Palate is very clean. Has weight without excessive clinginess or stickiness. Lingers in the mouth just right. Great winter ale.

Dark chocolate and spice notes with hints of caramel as well. The color is a darkish mud color with virtually no foam.