Nøgne Ø God Jul

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

Serve in Snifter, Trappist glass

Bottle. Thanks to Daknole for hooking this one up. Pours a very deep brown color with a thick foamy head hat leaves a heavy amount of lacing on the glass. First impression - WOW. This is exactly how I want a Christmas Ale to taste. Fresh nutty malts, milk chocolate, a hint of ripe fruit, maybe even some mint? Medium bodied with just a bit of carbonation on the palate. Soft on the palate, finish is a hint of pepper, dry and clean. Could drink this all month long during December without a problem.

Poured a dark chestnut color with a medium sized tan head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of chocolate, caramel malts, nuts, and light citrus. Taste of more chocolate, roasted malts, nuts, caramel, and vanilla. Low bitterness, with low alcohol apparency. Very nice, I wish more brewers would make non-spiced winter ales!

500 ml bottle (Winter Ale). Very dark brown, ruby tinted beer with a thick and very persistent tan head. Quite sticky. Sweet molasses and toffee with a heavy toasted hazelnut and almond character as well. A touch of licorice and milk chocolate. Soft leathery character through the middle. The flavour is great, sweet rich chocolate, toasted nuts and leather. A lot of milky/lactic sweetness up front that serves as a counterpoint to the leathery dryness. Lots of dark malts, fairly complex and well-balanced. Sort of a cross between sweet stout and strong ale. Very creamy palate. A bit of smoke and oatmealy richness. Lovely beer.

1 year old bottle. Strong winter spice, lightly lactic aroma. Big malts, very chewy and rich. Super-thick, perfect body, carbonation is dead on. Flavor has less spice than the flavor but is really balanced, and has combined well over the past year. Slight hints of booze. Beautifully aged.

Aroma: sweet, lovely yeast. Fresh, fantastically good hops, roasted, powerful malt, a bit coffeelike-bitter. Slightly of alcohol and allspice. Very complex, vaguely smoky and sourish. Very well balanced, faint grapefruit- or Sevilla orange-scent. Appearance: extremely dark brown with browntinted, fluffy, appetizing head that sticks to the glass. Flavor: rare, sweet like burnt sugar, very full-bodied, lovely, slightly burnt with a rough ’bite’. Exceptionally deep, a very round and sourish aftertaste, fruity, rowanlike. Palate: as good as perfect, right co2, right body. Very close to a 5, only the slime hinders. Very good with an extra old Swedish, salty Präst cheese. Definitely a choice for Christmas. I believe in Nøgne Ø.

Bottle. Very dark hazy brown, dense velvety light brown head. Spicy dark caramel and cream aroma with a little coffee-- very enticing. Dark caramel, toast, subtle fruity yeast with some mild coffee bitterness in the finish. Beautifully balanced, delicious. A real treat!

Bottle. Poured black with a creamy tan head that settled to a ring. Big milk chocolate aroma. The flavor found chocolate, coffee, and hints of spice and light roast. Medium to full body, creamy texture, and a light roast aftertaste.

21 oz. bottle labeled "Winter Ale." Very dark, essentially opaque, mahogany with ruby highlights and a generous creamy tan head with good durability and lace. Dark caramel, coffee, dark chocolate, roasted nut, and a hint of spruce in the aroma. Rich, medium/full body, light carbonation, some astringency, and a quite dry palate. An initial blast of dark malty sweetness is quickly supplanted by a burnt/roasty bitterness that brings on a long dry finish. When I see "Winter Ale" or some similar name, my expectation is something that’s all spiced up, but this is decidedly different. This is just a very good beer, no pretensions and no gimmicks