Nøgne Ø India Pale Ale

Brewed by Nøgne Ø
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Grimstad, Norway

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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Bottle. Hazy orange with nice white head, dragging Belgian laze as it sinks down. Gray yeast lumps ends up in the glass deducting a bit from the otherwise deliciously looking ale. Aroma of melon and citrus with faint hint of alcohol. Flavor has a bit of caramel, overripe pears and a long, slightly bitter finish. Mouth feel is initially killed by excessive carbonation, but as the beer warms and the fizz goes away it showcases a gentle soft mouth feel. A great beer, with one of the most complex and delicious hopping schemes I’ve ever encountered.

This IPA appears dark brown, with a very complex body. High ammount off roasted flavour, topped by a rich taste off roasted malt and even a bit off oak at the end of the taste. Its longlasting, with a nice semithick foam.

(Stockholm Beer Festival 2005) Hazy orange, small offwhite head. Very hoppy aroma, some yeast and some fruity notes. Hops dominating the flavor as well, dry and metallic and with a hoppy bitterness in the finish as well.

UPDATED: OCT 18, 2006 (Bottled, Batch 247, brewed July 15th, 2006) Muddy dark orangeish amber color with a smallish, tight and tanned head. Strong but smooth, very aromatic-hoppy, flowery aroma with sweet toffee notes. Reminds me of Young’s Special London Ale and Belgian ales, with a smooth American IPA feel. A beautiful, malty, complex and very aromatic-hoppy, grape-fruity flavor with fermented strawberries turns into bitter, ashy and dry towards the finish, but gives room for sourish fruit in the end. Full-bodied, smooth-malty, but very bitter palate with somewhat foamy carbonation. An excellent IPA with full body and strong, yet quite balanced hopping. Soo much more enjoyable sipped peacefully at home, than at the crowded SBWF from a shared bottle after so many other IPAs. (Bottled@Stockholm Beer Festival 2005, was 7-3-6-3-14=3.3) Reddish amber with a very small head. Aromatic-hoppy, vegetably, slightly wineous and earthy aroma with floweriness. Initialy quite aromatic-hoppy flavor, with a long, dry and bitter-hoppy finish. Medium-bodied, bitter and aromatic palate with low carbonation. Hoppy, but not quite refined.

Bottled. Hazy orangebrown colour, huge creamy beige head. Yeast and hops in aroma. Hops, yeast and citric fruit in flavour. Very pleasant IPA, though it could do with a bit more hops .)

The best Norwegian beer you can get. An exposion of flavour in the mouth, lots of fruitiness and then an excellent hoppy finish. Sometimes a bit too much secondary fermentation, so be careful with the bottle! This shows that it is possible to brew excellent beer in Norway, despite the Carlsberg domination of the market.

Cask (gravity dispense), Chelmsford Beer Festival, July 2005. A real privilege to try this cask conditioned, but it did pour a very, murky, cloudy deep gold colour. Presumably served a bit prematurely but the beer didn’t seem to have suffered too much. Big hoppy aroma in a US pine and resin style. Less assertive, but still hoppy, on the palate. Lots of orange zest. Smoother and softer than many US IPAs. There’s a fair amount of sweetness and, if I have a complaint, it did become very slightly sticky in feel.

UPDATED: OCT 21, 2009 Bottle. (#148). Hazy, amber colour with cream-yellow head that stays for a while. Aroma is hoppy and light fruity. Taste is also light fruity, but with more bitterness to it, and the aftertaste lasts long. Some varming alcohol in aftertaste too. Usually my favourite beer from Nøgne Ø, but today it felt a little weaker than normal. I will probably have to taste another batch later on, as this is normally the best beer money can buy here in Norway. (Maybe except for NØ #100, but that one is in its own league amongst Norwegian beers.) (050913)

Bottle. Hazy amber color. Perfect head and lacing. Mild, hoppy aroma. Very soft, not too hoppy. flavor. Modest co2. Pleasant with a bitter finish.

UPDATED: MAY 30, 2008 (5/30/08, 500ml bottle, thanks jasonp) Medium beige head atop hazy amber body. Aroma is medium sweet, orange/grapefruit, some peach/caramel. Taste is medium sweet, peach, orange, some floral. Grapefruit finish. Medium body, some resin, light acidity. (7/3/7/3/13)

(RBESG05, 500ml bottle) Off-white head atop a cloudy amber body. Aroma is medium sweet, floral, orange. Taste is moderately sweet, floral, light orange. Light-medium body. (7/3/6/3/12)