Nøgne Ø God Jul

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

Serve in Snifter, Trappist glass

courtesy of oh6gdx - opaque dark ruby-brown colour with a fine and stable beige head; beautiful lace; a bit toasty, rich aroma of prunes, honey and some undefined spices; sweet and clean mouthfeel, good malt backbone; slightly salty and bitter with a long dry aftertaste of dark chocolate and spices - a superb beer which invites to meditation

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] Dark brown with a rich and creamy head. Sweet, hoppy, malty and somewhat smoked aroma. Flavour is dry and roasty. Very flavourful , hoppy and complex yet smooth and balanced.

Bottle from Premier Gourmet in Buffalo. Deep brown - almost black - with a small tan head. Aroma of malt, coffee, chocolate and spice. Medium bodied. Fantastic flavour - dark malt, toasted nuts, chocolate - and it hides that alcohol so well. It seems like a really nice porter to me rather than an APA. Very good!

Purchased at Rozi’s in Lakewood a while back, I’m fairly certain they are clean out by now. This one gave me a surprise foam over after I opened it. Fortunately I got the goods into a glass quick enough. That hasty pour gave a nice thick mocha head on top of a black body. Aroma just smells of quality, strong citrus notes mingling with rich caramel malt, coffee and a little bit of wood. Flavor is very much the same. This has a heck of an initial bitterness, clean and citrus-y followed by a chewy malt character. This is just all around quality, it even ends with a finish reminiscent of an English barley wine. This beer sure is darn tastey.

bottle - Totally opaque black color with medium sized tan head. Aroma is full of thick chewy malts, light roasty notes, fair amount of toasted caramel, fairly vinous, notes of plum, figs, raisens, very faint citrusy notes towards the conclusion of the aroma. Flavor is malty, somewhat roasty, notes of vanilla and oak, slightly creamy, touch of burbon. Finish is slightly sweet, but well balanced overall. When too cold, this demonstrated some metallic off notes, but these seem to totally dissapear once the beer warms and is allowed to breath a while. Overall a ver nice brew, very black and slightly roasty, but not really porter or stout like. Fiarly unique overall. and definitely good.

Decent sized brown head of dense and creamy bubbles of varying size. Nice rich and roasty aroma with some dark chocolate, smokey malts, roasted grains, a little anise and little dark fruit. Quite a damn good aroma. Color is a very dark brown. Rich and roasty flavor. Some more smoke, roasted grains, little bit of burnt toast (carbon) and dark bitter chocolate. If I didn’t know any better I would say that this was a nice scotch ale. Nice alcohol warming. Lingering smokey grain flavor. Long finish. A damn fine Norweigen brew. I need to get me more of this! Big thanks to etowneraser for getting me this one.

(Bottle) Pours a dark brown body with a small creamy tan head. Aroma of chocolate, roastiness, and milk. Flavor of roasted malt and dark chocolate with a smooth, creamy, wonderful mouthfeel.