God Jul

Nøgne Ø God Jul, having been lucky enough to have tasted the past 4 vintages of Nøgne Ø God Jul this has given me the opportunity to also see how this beer ages. Unfortunately the recipe and fermentation methods are not the same year after year so the 4 beers are not identical. Of the 4 vintages 2008 was without a shadow of a doubt the best of the four in my opinion, to be honest is it the best of all the Nøgne Ø beers I have tasted to date. 

The 2009 vintage had lost of spices in it, especially cloves where as the 2006 had lost a lot of it's character compared to the 2007 which was really nice. Yes I have stated this before with their Imperial Brown Ale 2006 & Imperial Stout as two examples, but this time around I believe I have found “The Holy Grail” of Nøgne Ø beers, this beer has the aroma and taste that I dream of in a beer.
 

Nøgne Ø God Jul first came to the systembolaget 2006 so this means I have yet to miss a vintage. Last year’s release (2010) was actually brewed in 2008 and the only of these 4 vintages that has been aged 1 ½ years before bottling. 

Dark brown to dark mahogany in colour to this English porter with a large off white head that is quite creamy. Aroma is fruity, sweet, has some raisins in it along with dark chocolate and lots and lots of roasted malt, coffee. Very roasted aroma which tells us this really is a porter of high quality, dark rye bread and cloves, has even some hops in the aroma. 

Lots of spices, dark fruits like dates and also has a nice caramel tone to it. Taste is quite similar to the aroma but has some liquorice, Christmas spices, julmust/glögg to it. Molasses, burnt caramel with chocolate and a dry finish, very well balanced with lots of similarities in the aroma and taste and the 8.5% alcohol nowhere to be seen. What I love about this beer is that it has it all, sweetness, roasted notes, bitterness and classed as a rich winter warmer or English porter it is idea for those who like porter or stout.

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God Jul Islay Edition

Nøgne Ø God Jul Islay Edition was a limited edition 8.5% God Jul batch that was brewed 2009 and spent 3 months in new Islay whisky casks for maturing. The description from Nøgne about this beer really makes a good point.

Please be aware that this is not a subtle beer. If you are unable to appreciate the flavour of Islay Scotch whiskey, then this beer is certainly not for you. Three months of ageing in fresh Islay whiskey barrels did this. Certainly great for whiskey lovers, but not necessarily for those is search of subtle and balanced flavours. 

Not being a lover of smoked whisky this beer was always going to be a challenge for me but was very happy to get the opportunity to try it again, than Erik for the trade. Dark brown in colour, the aroma hit you like a steam train right after opening the bottle, smokiness, tar, peat, whisky, ashtray. The aroma was very intense and was all about the smoky Islay whisky character which left no room for any other God Jul aromas to break through.

It is a pity that this beer is totally dominated by the intense peatiness and smokiness in both the aroma and flavour, but this was the goal and it will certainly to appeal to true hardcore smoked whisky drinkers. So if you like your beer that includes the following then this is something for you, peak, tar, salt, smoke, wood, ash, liquorice.

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Gottes Hülfe in der Noth

Nøgne Ø Gottes Hülfe in der Noth is a Baltic porter from the winners of the 2014 Norwegian home brewing championships by Thomas Hellberg Hagen and Geir Ølnes. The name of the beer derived from the second largest silver mine at Kongsberg, one 765 meter deep mine which they called Gottes Hülfe in der Noth. The name means "God's help in distress", and it is only to ascertain that it is a wonderful name for a beer.

Dark brown beer with a small beige head, aroma was not that intense and had some rye bread and milk chocolate. Dried fruits, caramel and toffee which was nice and light coffee tones and I get the feeling the body of this beer is light.

Tasted ok with more mild chocolate, coffee and bready notes but as expected the body was a touch watery and this along with a slight dryness was not what I was hoping for in a Baltic porter. Mild and slightly creamy this beer was ok, definitely not on the level of beers produced by Nøgne Ø but probably a worthy winner on the amateur level. Nice to have tried but have tasted a lot better beers in the past that were winners of the Norwegian home brewing championships.

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Julesnadder

Nøgne Ø Julesnadder, being the crafty craft brewers they are decided to purposefully create this beer at 4.5% so that it could be sold outside of the Vinmonopolet so that it could be enjoyed by the masses. My second porter from Nøgne Ø with the previous one coming it at 7% and this one being more spiced up as a Christmas beer. Am usually sceptical to craft beers with such low levels of alcohol.

Tasted 2011 vintage at the brewery which was brewed less than 1 month ago. Drinking a "fresh" bottle of Julesnadder is a completely different ball game. Coffee, caramel and figs in the aroma with some Christmas spices. The body was a touch on the thin side with a nutty flavour and had a high carbonation. Easy drinker this one that I can see how it goes well at the Christmas table with some fatty foods.

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Klin Kokos

Nøgne Ø Klin Kokos is a Norwegian slang term for being something between crazy and reckless, and is used to describe a person who takes unusual chances and expose themselves to high risk.

Bottle was from 2009 and had lost a lot of it's coconut flavour, other than that there is not much more to say about this beer. The label is super cool and as for the beer, is was ok and great to have tried it being such a hard to find bottle.

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Porter

Nøgne Ø Porter, coming from Ireland I should know this style of beer inside out but I don’t and this is due to the fact that there are 3 flavours of porter these days (Brown, Robust & Baltic) and I grew up with the Brown porter style. Nøgne Ø Porter is of the robust style and the inspiration for this style of porter came from another beer, Perseus Porter from from Washington State's Elysian Brewing. The use of American hops is probably based on the fact that the recipe for this beer came from Kjetil during his home brewing years and interests in American craft brewing. It was first homebrewed by Kjetil in 2000 and was released commercially in 2003.

The aroma is quite roasty with a lightly burnt, black malt character with some toffee-like, caramelly, chocolate, coffee, rich flavours. Hops are noticeably absent, but this does little to distract from the wonderful smells. The flavour is moderately strong malt flavour usually features a lightly burnt, black malt character (and sometimes chocolate and/or coffee flavours) with a bit of roasty dryness in the finish. Medium to medium-full body with moderately high carbonation. Big, roasty aroma with notes of coffee, bitter cocoa, burnt sugar and oak. Fantastic flavour of dark chocolate and slightly over-roasted coffee, with a  moderately dry finish.

This interpretation of a robust porter from . Nøgne Ø is definitely stronger and a roastier version of porter, an American interpretation of the style because a traditional version would have a more subtle hop character (often English), while modern versions may be considerably more aggressive. Nøgne Ø Porter is very smooth and possibly the most full bodied porter I’ve had to date. I love the rich cocoa presence and the roasted malt together. There’s a light coffee character as well, but without any of the bitterness commonly associated with it. The finish is sweet and dry and this beer deserves all the hype behind it and the Silver medal it won in 2008 at the World Beer Cup.

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Prototype

Nøgne Ø Prototype is a collaboration brew between the famous Norwegian brewery "Nøgne Ø" and the French craft brewery "Pays Flamand". The result is a black IPA infused with juniper berries.

Medium brown in colour with a large off-white head and lots of carbonation. Initial aroma was fruity and yeasty, raisins, bready and some nuts. There is some strange earthiness to this beer with slight sweetness of toffee and caramel also, all in all quite a complex aroma that was difficult to pin down.


Hops bitterness comes through in the flavour, herbal with dark chocolate and more breadiness again that I don't seem to like. The taste has a strange bitterness to it that might be coming from the juniper berries and this combined with the wet herbalness is not making this beer a favourite of mine. This beer is classified as a porter but in my opinion it is too hoppy and herbal to be in this style, can't like them all as this is one Nøgne Ø that I won't be looking for but always nice to try.

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Terrapin Imperial Rye Porter

Nøgne Ø Imperial Rye Porter is a collaboration brew between Nøgne Ø of Norway and Spike Buckowski, one of the founders of the Terrapin Brewery in Athens, Georgia USA. This rye porter had a great aroma of sweet malt, rye bread, dark chocolate, some coffee and lots and lots of roasted malt. A great creamy and full bodied porter that has some spice, dark fruits, lots of bitter chocolate, coffee, even got some cherries in it. This is a true Imperial Porter with extra of everything and has a very appealing appearance and aroma, it creates a huge cappuccino coloured head and is very subtle when it comes to the usual porter characteristics like smokiness, bitter chocolate and licorice flavours.

At times it became quite creamy and had some sweeter chocolate, yes milk chocolatey in certain ways which worked very well with the roasted malts and nuttiness that the rye malt gives. As it warms, the fruity and chocolaty elements come to the fore blending very well with some spicy, boozy, nutty flavours.

Definitely a 5 star beer in my opinion, up there with the best of the dark beers that Nøgne Ø produces. I have not tasted many other rye dark beers beside Rye King which I also loved. Sometimes porter can be too smoky, chalky and have a dry bitter finish, the Nøgne Ø Imperial Rye Porter did not have any of these qualities in my opinion. A true sipper of a porter with some much taste and body to it, it was a meal in itself. Luckily for me I bought a box of 12 bottles and have lots lots more left to enjoy.

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