Nøgne Ø # 100 (Batch 100)

3.9/5

AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20

500 ml bottle into snifter, no bottle date. Pours cloudy dark reddish brown color with a nice 2 finger dense light khaki head with great retention that reduces to a thick cap. Some incredible thick soapy lacing on the glass as well. Aromas of big herbal hops, smokiness, old pine, citrus, caramel, wood, dark fruit, chocolate, light coffee, and spiciness. I have a feeling this is an older bottle. Extremely interesting smelling, and not like fresh hops at all. Taste of big caramel, wood, herbal, molasses, chocolate, biscuit, pine, light citrus, and spicy hops. Fair amount of bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of herbal hops, caramel, chocolate, wood, molasses, and pine on the finish for a while. Medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a very creamy and slick mouthfeel that drinks easily for being 10%. Alcohol is well hidden with only a warming on the finish. Overall this is a very nice enjoyable barleywine. Aromas are a bit odd, but it had nice flavor and balance. I would like to pick up a younger bottle in the future.

Another nice beer from Nogne O. I would like to try it with less age and/or better cellaring conditions; because the aromas were a bit off for sure.

Nøgne Ø Porter

3.9/5

AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

500 ml bottle, no bottle date. Pours very dark brown color with a small 1 finger dense tan head with good retention that reduces to a thin cap that lasts. A fair amount of lacing clings to the glass as well. Aromas of big caramel, roasted malt, bread, molasses, chocolate, and some dark fruits. Nice aromas with good strength and balance. Taste of caramel, chocolate, roasted malt, toasted bread, light coffee, molasses, and a bit of dark fruits. Light amount of spicy bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of chocolate, caramel, toast, and molasses on the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a nice and creamy mouthfeel that drinks very easily. No alcohol noticed other than a slight warming on the finish. Overall this is a very nice and well rounded porter with robust flavor and good balance.

Not a mind blowing porter, but it is a very robust and drinkable one that anyone should try. I have really enjoyed the offerings from this brewery pretty much across the board so far.

Nøgne Ø Saison

3.7/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20

500 ml bottle into tulip, no dating. Pours hazy golden amber color with 1-2 fingers of a dense white head with great retention that reduces to a thin lacing cap. Some nice lacing clings to the glass as well. Aromas of big pepper, spices, clove, grape, apple, grass, and a bit of funk. Very nice and standard saison aromas. Taste of big spices, pepper, bread, funk, apple, and grass. A lot of spice in the taste with lingering notes of spice, pepper, and a bit of funk on the finish with some bitterness. Decent balance of flavors, but I was hoping for more fruit in the taste. Medium-high carbonation and medium bodied. A bit of a creamy mouthfeel that drinks very smoothly as well. Overall, a solid saison offering.

Solid saison, but a bit too much on the spicy side for my liking. I also have no idea how old this was, could have been a factor.

Nøgne Ø India Pale Ale

3.9/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20

500 ml bottle, no idea how old this is. Pours hazy orange amber color with a fairly foamy 2 finger off white head with good retention that reduces to a thin lacing cap. A bit of thick lacing sticks to the glass as well. Aromas of strong pine, grapefruit, caramel, wheat, breadiness, spices, and a bit of orange. Very unique IPA aromas here, very good strength as well. Taste of big caramel, citrus, pine, and spices. Very piney, bready, and spicy taste; with a decent sized bitterness on the finish that lingers for a while with pine, caramel, and spices. Very nice balance of bitterness and sweetness. Medium bodied and fairly high carbonation. Fairly prickly mouthfeel during drinking, but still very drinkable. No alcohol in the taste or finish noticed. Overall, a very nice IPA, and quite unique as well.

A nice IPA offering from Nøgne Ø. Really interesting with great balance and big flavor.

Nøgne Ø/Jolly Pumpkin/Stone Special Holiday Ale

4.2/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20

500 ml bottle into tulip, almost a gusher upon opening. Pours dark brown color with a nice 2 finger dense light tan head with good retention. Some decent lacing on the glass as well. Aromas of ginger, cinnamon, all spice, roasted malt, molasses, and nuttiness. Taste of tons of cinnamon, clove, all spice, ginger, and nuttiness in the front; that leads to strong notes of toffee, caramel, and molasses on the back. Big lingering notes of roasted malt, caramel, and molasses with spices after the finish. Great balance of flavors as well. Nice smooth medium-full body with fairly high carbonation. Drinkability is great for the level of alcohol. No alcohol noticed in the taste and a slight warming after the finish. Overall an excellent winter warmer, probably the best one I have had yet.

Damn fine collab beverage here. Pretty easy to find because I have still seen it around lately. I'd say this is the best to style I have had yet for Christmas beers(not including Belgian style Christmas brews).

Nøgne Ø God Jul (Winter Ale)

4.1/5

AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

500 ml bottle into tulip. A bit of a gusher bottle. Pours extremely dark brown color with a huge 2 finger tan head with incredible retention that reduces to a thin lacing cap that lingers for a bit. Aromas of tons of caramel, roasted malt, molasses, chocolate, and coffee. A bit of spicy and citrus hops as well. Taste of huge caramel flavors and molasses, with roasted malt and chocolate as well. Fairly low bitterness on the finish with lingering caramel and roasted flavor. Medium-full bodied with medium-low carbonation. Very nice and creamy mouthfeel. Overall an excellent brew, tasty and smooth.

An excellent brown ale here, will try and get it again this year. I look forward to having more from this brewery soon.

Nøgne Ø Imperial Stout

4.4/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20

500 ml bottle. Pours pitch black with a very nice 2 finger dark tan head with incredible retention that reduces to a lacing cap that leaves great lacing. Appearance just looks fantastic. Aromas of dark chocolate, coffee, roasted malts, and licorice. Taste of dark chocolate, coffee, roasted malts, with a huge creamy full body with a nice clean bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation. Absolutely no sign of alcohol content in this brew. Overall this stout is outstanding, and I would buy it again in a heartbeat if I saw it. I need to try more from this brewery.

I will have to try and get some more Nøgne Ø ordered around my area to try more of their beers. I found this one in Indiana.