Nøgne Ø God Jul

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

Serve in Snifter, Trappist glass

Deep brown with auburn hues. Delicate pour generates a voluminous and rocky cap of froth. Nose is cleanly lined with an array of malt-derived subtleties reminiscent of tobacco, charcoal, black chocolate, and toasted bread. Quite lively with airy esters fused with relaxed plum, anise, and raisin notes. Fluffy and expansive on the palate. Airy and spicily estery, initially, yet densely chocolaty and teasingly malty-sweet. Brisk flash of charcoal acidity briefly tempers the sweetness before giving way to a soft and lush bed of deep-rooted malt. Although the succulent core is bolstered by juicy hops, the hop character is entirely devoid of brashness or acidity. Chalky bitterness imparts dryness while underscoring the perceptible yet wonderfully composed citric-tinged hop bitterness. Stacks of rich complexities and pillowy textures, coaxed cleanly from the malt, link up with a tangy twinge of black licorice and plums which underscores the sophisticated malt profile. Finished deceptively sweet due to the clean attenuation and snappy malt accents, with a peppery estery bite which dovetails with a note of chocolate pudding and pine needles. The vast majority of American breweries could learn a thing or two from Nøgne Ø, as this particular beer features the classic combination of high-alpha “C” hops yet contains absolutely none of the typical dirtiness, brashness or overt acidity found in such styles like American Strong Ales with similar hop formulas. In fact, in a blind tasting you’d be hard pressed to peg any of these hops as being American. Really good beer.

Bottle pours dark brown with a large quickly dissipating head. Aroma of chocolate and sweet yet acidic fruits maybe currant. Taste starts sweet most noticibly of dark dried fruits and roasted malts. Contains some sour notes and finishes moderatly dry with a good alcohol burn. Some hops do come through in the end.

Pour is a black with a Irish stout like tan head. Aroma is nice with some chocolate, coffee and a decent helping of hops. Flavor is again lots of black coffee with a decent hop profile. Finish is thick and warming. A very good but expensive beer experience.

03.01.2008, 0,5l Bottle. Batch 380, Brewed sep. 08, BB sep. 13. The colour is black with a thick light brown head. When you pour it into the glass you can smell the hops and the malt. Aroma is strong malty, bitter, roasted and bitter. This is a rich beer. Body is full. Aftertaste is long, strong and bitter. Fantastic!!

Dark brown with a lush milky-tan head. Nose has some fantastic balance between sugary malt elements in chocolate and a nice, full spice. Flavor has a lot of milk chocolate sweetness, some smoke, light alcohol, spice. Sharp palate, moderate body. Unique and diverse, God Jul is high quality.

Bottle into chalice. Pours a deep, opaque black, with a beautiful fluffy tan head that settles into a cap that never goes away. Nose is interesting - brown sugar and a bit of caramel, just a bit roasty, hints of cocoa and some spicy alcohol in there also. Taste is sweet, with caramel and brown sugar mixing it up with roasty malt, hints of coffee, and a bit of soy. Tons of really nice, smooth ultra-dark cocoa in there also towards the finish, which is light and roasty, but somewhat long, and with the cocoa still lingering as well. Mouthfeel is really well done also, creamy and plush. I would easily drink this again. And again.

Fab, man, fab! Really interesting play on characteristics. Poured with a big foamy frothy tan head with lots a lace. Very dark brown. Sweet yet dry; luscious yet stark, and bittersweet even so. Lots of bitter chocolate, coffee, dark ripe fruit, heavy hops. Lots going on here. Superb beer. Long finish. Not a session beer. But that’s ok.

Poured a dark color with about an inch head. This was a very smooth and easy drinking beer. Smelled very small hints of caramel, with some additional chocolate smells.