Nøgne Ø God Jul

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

Serve in Snifter, Trappist glass

Draught @ BAJT on January 6. Pours black with a creamy off-white head that slowly dissipates while leaving lots of trace on the glass. Smell is sweet and malty with caramel, vanilla, chocolate and sweet fruits like banana. Taste is also sweet with toasted malts, fudge, dark chocolate, banana and vanilla. Finish is slightly sweet and slightly bitter.

Det här var en trevlig ölupplevelse som präglades främst av ölens maltighet. Smaken är slät och rund på ett högst mysigt sätt och jag tycker mig även kunna känna en tendens av lakrits och humle innan maltigheten tar över helt.

2008 Vintage 50 cl. bottle @ home (bottled on 05/06/2008 – batch 366) – purchased from Alvinne shop: A: dark brown with a very slight red hue – S: molasses, liquorish & winter spices – T: molasses, liquorish, winter spices, red berries, vinous aftertaste, dark berries, chocolate & slight coffee plus touch of alcohol (judging by the other reviews the aging has mellowed out this one quite a lot, well-blended and certainly not harsh or heavily roasted)– B: slightly above medium carbonation, medium/very drinkable body - lovely

Who put a cigarette in my beer? This is a bit unexpected, I’m used to undemanding, sugary sweet, gentle christmas beers, and judging by the aroma this little fellow is certainly not a beer that is especially easy to drink: an intense burnt aroma with tobacco and dark roasted coffee up front, some milder caramel notes come creeping in after a while. And then there is a strange, unpleasant (and luckily quite faint) sewer-like thing. The taste is medium sweet and medium bitter and has a long-lasting, burnt aftertaste. More tobacco and some dark fruits. Absolutely fantastic smooth and creamy mouthfeel. Dark brown body with a small, quite short-lived, light-brown head that leaves some lacing. A bit too much burnt tobacco and too little spices and christmasness, but still an interesting take on the christmas beer.
[50 cl bottle, batch 673/694, consumed 141 days after brewing/1686 days before BB, from Vinmonopolet Alna, Oslo]

On tap@Grünerløkka brygghus. Beige foam that disappears to the edges of the glass. Earthy smell, hard to tell due to excessive intake of pommes frites at neighbouring table. Quite bitter taste that blends with roasted malts. Mellow hints of coffee and chocolate.

UPDATED: JAN 13, 2012 50cl bottle. Pours opaque black with a beautiful beige/cream head. There are nice steady fine bubbles. The nose has chocolate and dried fruits (maybe sultanas). The taste has dark chocolate, liquorice, prunes in alcohol and then a digestive biscuit and nutmeg finish. The palate is medium to large in structure, there is a creamy texture and a dry bitter finish.

Bottle as "Winter Ale." Poured a dark brown color with a small off-white head. Aroma was coffee, chocolate notes. Flavor is sweet, spices, alcohol notes.

One of my favorite beers of all time. Pours a dark red/brown color with a nice head. Nice malty Chocolate-coffee-ish flavor with notes of christmas spices. There is no christmas without this beer, it’s freaking awesome!