Aurora Borealis 2 - Bridge Rd Brewers/Nøgne Ø - Norway ABV (9.1%)

A limited release Belgian style Triple, brewed in Norway and then shipped to Australia in Cognac barrels. This beer has an unmistakeable Cognac aroma but that lovely soft Belgian ale mouth feel and taste. There is a slight lingering of  sweetened Cognac on the palate. It also looks fantastic in the glass with cloudy amber colour, good carbonation and a pillowy head.

Another excellent collaborative effort from Bridge Road and Nøgne Ø.

Aurora Borealis - Bridge Rd Brewers/Nøgne Ø - Norway (ABV 14.9%)

I have been looking forward to this one, a collaborative effort between Nøgne Ø and Bridge Rd Brewery in Beechworth.

This strong Belgian style Quadruple (read very malty, smoky Porter) has been brewed by Nøgne Ø in Norway and then shipped to Australia unrefrigerated in barrels that previously housed Scotch Whisky. Interestingly, the Bridge Rd version was brewed in Beechworth and shipped to Norway in Red wine barrels.

Sweet almost port like nose with a delicious smoky, yet slightly sweet, roasted malt flavour. There is just a mere hint of Scotch Whisky both on the nose and in the mouth.

An awesome digestive beer with big flavour and loads of character, just don't forget it is 14.9% alcohol!

Nøgne Ø, Jolly Pumpkin Brewing, Stone Brewing - Special Holiday Ale - Norway (ABV 8.5%)

A collaboration between 3 top brewers to produce a special spicy winter warming Christmas Ale. The recipe includes Michigan chestnuts, white sage from southern California and Norwegian juniper berries.

It pours a lovely chocolate brown and has a spicy roasted malt aroma. It has only a slight head and a medium carbonation. The adjuncts really add flavour to this spicy, chocolaty and very tasty ale. Despite drinking this beer during a hot southern hemisphere Christmas it really did give me seasonal cheer. This would be a great winter warmer (in a mulled wine kind of way) in a northern Christmas.

A very good, very tasty spicy winter ale.

Nøgne Ø Imperial Stout Cognac Barrel- Norway (ABV 9%)

Nøgne Ø have taken their already awesome Nøgne Ø Imperial Stout and then aged it for one year in oak casks previously used to age Cognac to produce this wonderful beer.

It pours from the bottle with an amazing viscosity looking like old engine oil. The aroma of Cognac is immediate on pouring. The taste is sublime, with toasted chocolate, coffee, oak caramel and obviously Cognac. I drank this as a late evening nightcap, it was perfect!

Nøgne Ø brew their Imperial Stout using a variety of different malts ( Maris Otter, Munich, roasted barley, oat, black, and chocolate malt), Columbus and Crystal hops and then use English Ale Yeast and their local "Grimstad Water".

Nøgne Ø already make a terrific stout but by aging it in Cognac barrels have made it even more special, one of the finest stouts I have tasted.

Beertasters "Wunderbeer 4, Autumn" at Five Bar

Beertasters' event "Wunderbeer4" hosted by Five Bar in Mt Lawley was billed as a tribute to Autumn. We were moving on from the lighter refreshing beers of summer towards the darker stouts & porters of winter by tasting the amber, red & browns of Autumn. The beers were matched to foods by the kitchen at Five Bar, see the menu above.

First up we were served slice of Pork Belly on a bed of Spaghetti Veg with a Smoked Orange Sauce. This German inspired dish was matched with two traditional German beers for a side by side comparison, "Weltenburger Kloster Barock Dunkel" & "Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen".

Weltenburger Kloster Barock Dunkel (ABV 4.7%)
Weltenburger claim their Barock Dunkel is the world's oldest dark beer. It pours a lovely dark amber with a creamy head. It has an almost sweet toasted malt aroma (some burnt caramel). A medium bodied beer with almost no carbonation. A very nice German Dunkel but the weaker of the two beers with this dish.


Aecht Schlenkerlra Rauchbier Marzen (ABV 5,1%)
I am usually not a fan of smoked beers but the matching food made this Rauchbier an exception. It has been flavoured by exposing the malt to the smoke of Beech logs at the traditional Schlenkerla-maltings. This bottom fermented Rauchbier had an almost bacon like smokiness, lovely dark colour with a reddish hue at the edge of the glass. This beer was perfect with the pork belly, the orange sauce and smokey beer combined famously in the mouth. A really good match!

The next dish to be served was a Spiced Lamb Ragout served with home made Turkish Bread. This Middle Eastern spiced dish was to be matched with " Green Flash Hop Head Red" and the traditional English "Fuller's 1845 Strong Ale".

Green Flash Hop Head Red (ABV 7%)
This is a very highly regarded beer from a highly regarded brewery. Green Flash, in typical American craft brew style, have taken a quite malty beer and packed it full of hops. In this case Columbus, Nugget and Amarillo hops (with a generous dry hopping of Amarillo hops). The Caramel malt gives this beer a lovely reddish brown colour and adds to an almost sweet aroma. The hops really do dominate this beer giving it a spicy resinous hop aroma and taste. The  Spicy Lamb Ragout seemed to accentuate a fruity hopiness in this beer, a terrific match!

Fuller's 1845 Strong Ale(ABV 6.3% )
This traditional style Strong Ale is brewed with a variety of pale malts and an amber malt for colour. It is bottle conditioned and flavoured using the very English Golding's hops. On its own this is a fine Ale, a lovely dark amber colour and an enticing spicy fruit aroma. With the Spicy Lamb the beer lost its flavour and masked the spiciness of the Ragout making it taste merely salty. Probably the least successful match of the evening.

It is very difficult to match beers with desserts, the flavours often compete or even clash in the mouth, these matches proved a triumph. We were served a Chocolate Parfait Slice matched to the fabulous "Nøgne Ø Imperial Brown Ale" and a Champagne Fruit Salad (topped with a Saison Fizz) matched with "Liefmans Goudenband".

Nøgne Ø Imperial Brown Ale (ABV 7.5%)
This brew was originally brewed at Copenhagen's Nørrebro Bryghus as a collaboration with that brewery. Brewed with a variety of malts ( Maris Otter, Wheat, Brown, Amber, Munich and Caramel) and hopped with Columbus, Chinook & Golding's hops, this is one fine and tasty brown ale. A super malty aroma loads of toasted caramel and chocolate with a slight floral hop aroma. This beer really complemented the Chocolate Parfait nicely.

Liefmans Goudenband (ABV 8%)
I wouldn't normally associate a Belgian sour beer with dessert but the crispness of the Champagne Fruit Salad with a whisked Saison topping really worked well. The Liefmans has an unusual malty aroma and a nutty, raisin taste. It has a slightly sour finish produced by the specialist malts and yeasts used to brew this beer. Liefmans actually recommend pairing this beer with goats cheese!

To finish the evening we were treated to Pont-l'Évêque cheese served with a tart strawberry puree and fresh Pear slices. The cheese was matched with the superb "Mikkeller/3Floyds Boogoop Buckwheat Wine".

Mikkeller/Three Floyd's Boogoop Buckwheat Wine (ABV 10.4%) 
Pours a cloudy reddish amber colour with a beautiful chunky head. A predominately hop aroma with loads of fruit, I get hints of pine and citrus on the nose but I also get some caramel malt. This beer hits the mouth sweet but does have a complex slightly bitter hit in the finish. Cut through the intense flavour of the cheese nicely and complemented the slices of pear beautifully. I love experiencing the combination of changing textures & flavours when they work. A very good way to finish the evening!

Bridge Road (Australia) & Nøgne Ø (Norway) India Saison (7.5%ABV)- Comparitive tasting

A collaborative brewing by Bridge Rd & Nøgne Ø, a part Saison (using Belgian Ale Yeast, Pilsener & Wheat Malt) and part IPA (Australian Stella & Galaxy Hops). Both breweries brewed the same beer using essentially the same ingredients.


Both beers have a very similar hop aroma (both are brewed with Stella & Galaxy Hops) but a quite different appearance. The Nøgne Ø pours a darker colour with a much bigger head than the Bridge Rd version, both are similarly hazy in the glass (similar quantity of yeast in the bottle). The Bridge Rd, to my palate, is closer to a true Saison with the Nøgne Ø closer to a true IPA.


Both very tasty, very well made, beautifully balanced beers. I preferred the Nøgne Ø but only just.

Beertasters "95% Viking" Tasting

I do have a passion for Nordic/Scandinavian beers so jumped at the chance to attend this tasting event. The premise was to celebrate the great work of some of these brewers with a tasting of "viking" craft beers scoring 95 or better on the "Rate Beer" website. I have only included a selection of my favorites from the beers tasted.

First up "Mikkeller Draft Bear", a Danish Imperial Pilsener with a very healthy 8% ABV brewed using Amarillo & Cascade hops.

Light Golden beer with a small  head and little lacing. Nice session able hoppy pilsener with a crisp finish, the 8% alcohol is barely noticeable.

Next "To Øl First Frontier IPA", a Danish brewed American style IPA with 7.1% ABV. Brewed with a healthy dose of Warrior, Simcoe & Centennial hops.

Cloudy amber beer with a medium dense head. Has a definite fruit hop flavour with citrus & peach hop character. Doesn't have a super bitter finish probably due to the addition of caramel malt. Not the big IPA I was expecting but nevertheless a very good Ale.

"Nøgne Ø Imperial Brown Ale" a Norwegian Strong brown ale. Brewed with a variety of malts (predominately English) and hops (including EK Golding). This was an extraordinarily good brown ale with a very malty taste with a crisp hop finish.

"Beer Here Mørke Pumpernickel Porter" a Danish dark Porter. Brewed using roasted malted rye, this beer had a lovely dark brown colour with a thick coffee coloured head. Great slightly easy to drink smoked porter.

"Mikkeller Barrel Black Hole Aged Stout" (Red Wine Barrels & Bourbon Barrels) a terrific way to finish an evenings beer tasting. These stouts have an incredibly rich flavour, the fruit can be tasted in the version aged in red wine barrels and a bourbon sweetness comes through in the version aged in bourbon barrels. I loved both of these stouts.

Haand Bryggeriet Dobbel dose IPA - Norway

Who likes head? Well I do, it is satisfying to pour a beer that has an obvious yeasty sediment (esters) in the bottle that give this reaction. This beer just kept on giving more head continuing to bead in the glass, check out the bottle in the photo!

Pours a cloudy orange amber with a pronounced citrus hop nose. The brewer has used a variety of hops to give both bitterness and aroma. Apparently it is overloaded with dry hops in the aging tank to add flavour and aroma. There is also a noticeable maltiness in the mid palate.

It is hardly surprising that this IPA would travel so well from Norway to Australia, that is what IPA's are supposed to do.

This is my first Norwegian beer and I am impressed.

SCORE 4.3