Nøgne Ø God Jul

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

Serve in Snifter, Trappist glass

Bottled as the Winter Ale. Pours a nearly opaque black with a thin, slightly tan head. Looks more like a heavy porter than an Imperial stout or American Strong Ale but it may take a trained eye to tell. Smells of dark roasted malts, nuts, licorice and chocolate. Flavor is similar, heavy on the chocolate and coffee with hints of toasted nuts on the back end. Finish is a balanced bitterness of hops and roasted coffee but also a little watery and drinkable. As always with the Nogne-O beers there is something murky and dangerous lurking in the nose and flavor. Must be that scary Grimstad water. Overall, very drinkable for a beer with 8.5% alcohol.

Bottle, Sweet caramel, roasted malts with some barley aromas. Dark body with tan head. Creamy caramel flavor stood out in this beer. Easy on the palate a winter warmer beer.

Bottle@Home. Aroma of chocolate, cassis, plum and a hint of mint. Dark ruby color, light brown head, good lace. Plain in your mouth but when you swallow it knocks you of you feet. Chocolate, black currant, cassis, soft spices, pine. Medium body. Long lasting finish and well balanced. Thanks Yngwie.

Bottle, 50cl. Very dark brown/red with a quickly disappearing head. Sweet, roasted, malty aroma of chocolate, coffee and spices. Full-bodied, low carbonated mouthfeel with a sweet taste of liquorice, vanilla, coffee, chocolate and a hoppy finish. Almost Imperial Stoutish, but yet lighter.-A touch of Pale Ale, considering the hops on this one. Tried it with nuts, as advised by the brewery and it was a heavenly combination. I suggest everyone to try it.

Pours pitch black with a very generous tan head. Malty nose with chocolate tones. Flavor is syrupy sweet. Slight molasses hitting your palate with a quick hit of alcohol that just as quickly vanishes. There is also a slight dusty kind of taste to it as well I think. Feel is thick on the liquid. A pretty good level of carbonation hitting your mouth. Basically this feels like a porter or a stout would. Overall drinkable, yes. A bit thick on the mouth, but it’s a winter warmer. Certainly not light, but certainly not a bad beer. Worth a shot. Just be ready for something a bit thick.

Bottle. Dark brown with huge dense long lasting pale brown head. Aroma of roasted malts and spices. I can´t remember the name of it. Taste roasted with lots of spices and some chocolate notes in the end. A very nice beer. And half price due to post christmas sales. Maybe not so much of a christmas ale.

UPDATED: AUG 26, 2008 Maybe one of the best Christmas beers last year. Flavor is dominated of roasted malt, liqourice, coffee, chocolate and nuts. Quite complex beer overall, and defintely enjoyable. Maybe 50 cl is a bit over the top, but I had no problem enjoying it. 080827: Oh... this is amazing. I had a bottle from 2007 (bottled august last year) and it had aged beutiful. Not that roasty as I remebered, and much more balanced with a amazing palate. Aroma is a bit smokey with some chocolate. Flavour is chocolate, fudge, some coffee, nice hoppy taste of grapefruit. Maybe even the best beer from Nögne.

Cloudy dark reddish brown, moderate to large head that lasts, close to giving a 5, but gushing everywhere = 3. Good choco -caramel aroma and flavor, feels spiced but it says it isn’t. Velvety mouthfeel, some alcohol burn. Really cool flavors here, too bad half of it got on the rug.