Nøgne Ø Porter

Brewed by Nøgne Ø
Style: Porter
Grimstad, Norway

Serve in English pint, Stem glass

Pours black with tan head. Aroma of mostly cocoa and some coffee. Well-balanced taste between hops and malts. Higher alcohol content, but disguises it well.

AROMA: coffee, nuts, resin, liquorish APPEARANCE: black, brown foam, disappears quickly TASTE: light sweetness, lightly bitter PALATE: full body, oily feel, almost gritty, lively, hint of bitter finish OVERALL: this is a really nicely balanced beer, somewhere between a porter and a dubbel. Bit alcoholic for 7% at the start but quickly the warm and dark fruity tones take over.

Bottle pours dark brown with a small but dense tan head. Rich roasted malt aroma and flavor with molasses, caramel, chocolate and coffee notes but less sweet that it sounds.

Bottle pours near black with a thick, creamy tan head. Aromas of roasted malt, coffee, and chocolate. Taste is roasted malts and chocolate. Body is full with thick lasting head. Finish is medium and sweet. Overall, an excellent porter.

UPDATED: JUL 16, 2011 Original rating, 2011-04-20, 7-4-7-5-14=3.7
A newly poured porter must be one of the most beautiful sights on this planet, and the Nøgne Ø porter is no exception: a black body with a coca cola brownness at the edges, crowned by a large, dense light brown head. The head isn’t as persistent as I would have wished for, it reduces to a thin layer with additional build-up at along the rim in a few minutes. The remains of the head nevertheless laces the glass until the brew is gone. The aroma is roasted with coffee, a hint of smoke and some liquorice. The taste is a fine mix of sweetness and a good bitter finish. The coffee is evident also in the flavours, along with raisins and alcohol. Medium body, smooth and creamy texture, soft to medium carbonation. Once again a very nice and good balanced beer from Nøgne Ø, but as is the case with all NØ beers I’ve rated so far, everything is done by the book and there are no surprises.
[50 cl bottle from Vinmonopolet, Grønland, Oslo]

Re-rating, 2011-07-16, 7-4-8-5-15=3.9
The aroma is actually quite hoppy, with a very nice touch of grapefruit. Also dark roasted coffee and chocolate. I don’t get any smoke this time. Extremely smooth palate! Soft carbonation. Taste up from 7 to 8, Overall from 14 to 15.
[50 cl bottle, batch 603, courtesy of my Dad]

Bottle. Pours a beautiful black with off whit head. Not a punchy nose but wonderful roasted flavour and a thickness which is a joy to the palate. Delicious.

Bottle. Aroma has plumes, maybe yhe age (2009). Smells like a barley wine. Taste roasted malts, some licorice. Not Bad.

Bottle. Pours really dark brown with a dark tan head. Aroma is chocolate and roast. Flavour of chocolate, roast, rich fruit with a finish that is sweet at first but ends fairly bitter. Excellent.