Underlig Jul - Nøgne Ø - Det Kompromissløse Bryggeri A/S

joemcgrath27

Alberta (Canada)

3.89/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A winter warmer just in time for summer
A - just slightly hazy rootbeer brown, thumb of tan head held its own nicely
S - dense wet cake batter with nutmeg, cinnamon, with light fruit and greens
T - some earthy and pine hops hold a decent balance against dense bread, winter spices, and light molasses malts, slightly must finish
M - medium to heavy with a solid spicy tingle, finishes with just a touch of hop dry
O - a solid tasty spicy treat with a fairly good balance of hops and big sticky malt, worth seeking out but maybe wait for the fall

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2013 04:00:55 | More by joemcgrath27

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

3.8/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Bottle: Poured a murky dirty brown color ale with a relatively large foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of caramelized malt with notes of cinnamon and cardamom dominates with some light citrus hops notes also noticeable. Taste is also dominated by solid caramelized malt with some cinnamon and cardamom notes. Light toffee and chocolate notes can also be detected. Body is quite full with good carbonation and no apparent alcohol. Interesting use of the spice with good balance to keep the whole mix drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2013 20:22:38 | More by Phyl21ca

WeedKing4

Ontario (Canada)

3.93/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.5

Bottle pours a dark brown/blackish colour with good carbonation. Tastes of breaded malt with a slight chocolate roast flavour in there, and some hops and spices to come through in the finish. Drinks down very smooth for the 6.5%. An interesting spice beer. Not to bad for a cold winters night.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2013 01:29:58 | More by WeedKing4

patre_tim

China

3.98/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Dark brown with a slight red tinge, very much like a Coke. Little carbonation, mostly opaque but you can see slightly through it when its held to the light. No head, just some tan foam.

S: Brio (an Italian soda) Sweet caramel, doctor’s office medicinal smell, cinnamon and cloves, ginger, coke, dark earthy malts like a brown ale.

T: Herby, medicinal and complex with the brown ale earthiness, Brio, herbs, doctor’s office medicine. Ginger dominates of the spices listed on the label, and its a dried powder ginger as opposed to fresh. Its followed by cloves then cinnamon. Little bitterness on the end.

M: Syrupy, somewhat bready, but still medium body with little carbonation.

O: Unique and I like it. Not rocking my world, but it goes well with spiced carrot cake. I love the bottle, appreciate that its from Norway, and am enjoying it on a cold stormy winter night.

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2013 02:30:14 | More by patre_tim

andrenaline

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Another treat courtesy of peensteen... Props for the hook-up!

A - Pours a slightly hazy ruby red colour, finger of soapy off-white head with solid retention and some nice sporadic lacing.

S - Quite medicinal, spices dominate, heavy ginger, hints of cloves, cinnamon, coffee and a peppery finish.

T - The taste is dominated by the ginger notes, reminiscent of a bitter gingerbread, leafy green hop undertones, with the medicinal spices coming through on the finish. Cloves, ginger and cinnamon all come through with a coffee finish that lingers.

M - Medium bodied, smooth and surprisingly wet.

O - A tasty winter warmer that brings a load of spices but whose flavour profile that isn't overwhelmed by that same spice. Surprisingly drinkable and I quite enjoyed this brew. Well balanced and well worth seeking out!

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2013 05:32:55 | More by andrenaline

BGDrock

Ontario (Canada)

3.99/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: dark brown like root beer, a bit murky; dense, tan head with great retention

Aroma: huge spice notes flowing from the pour - cardamom, cinnamon, close; like a pumpkin pie but without the sweetness, it practically burns; perfect for winter

Taste & Mouthfeel: right off the start more balanced than expected - some solid chocolate and espresso flavours with the spices coming out more in the finish, pairing with coffee bitterness and maybe some orange peel; medium-light body also unexpected, thought it would be heavier; bitterness and spice sometimes feels like pine needles; caramel malt sweetness is mild, just there as a platform for the other flavours

Overall: a great easy-drinking winter brew with interesting complex flavours, but a bit more malt complexity would be nice

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2013 04:15:47 | More by BGDrock

DoubleJ

California

4.06/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Let's make it three for tonight. Nøgne Ø, you're next. On to the beer:

Boderline dark brown/black color, topped with an inch of somewhat creamy head. The lacing webs itself around the glass, leaving a great after drink spectacle. One whifff an you know the spices have been worked well. The first split second, it smells like a bar of soap. Eventually, your brain is able to findbig doses of cinnamon and gingerbread. A festive aroma.

Brown ale with spices? I can dig that. The cinnamon and ginger work well together, and there's enough brown ale to keep the spice from being overbearing. It's medium bodied, with a gentle buzz of carbonation, and is a pleasure to drink.

Just what this BA needs to end a night. Nøgne Ø does a body good, and Underlig Jul is just another feather in the cap.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2013 07:26:50 | More by DoubleJ

liamt07

Ontario (Canada)

3.65/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bottle from the LCBO, 500ml into a tulip. Batch 841B, Best before July 17, 2014.

Dark brown, deep red hues at the edges. Tan head, good retention and spotty lacing. Nose is heavy on the ginger and clove, almost minty or "winterfresh," huge spicing all around. Some sweet bready character in the distance. Taste has the hops upfront, bitter pine, ginger and herbal character. Also some roast, toasted malt and chocolate. Medium body, with some bitterness and a slight drying sensation. Not sure about this as a winter warmer, but this is fairly unique.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2013 04:29:19 | More by liamt07

jrenihan

Ontario (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Brewed July 19, 2012

Beer is dark brown with a moderately-sized beige head. Head fades fairly quickly, but not completely.

Lots of spice in the nose. Clove, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg. Bready malt.

Taste is like the nose- bready malt and lots of spice. Ginger, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon and cardamom. Very much a Christmas flavoured beer, and it is certainly reminiscent of gingerbread.

Medium bodied, moderate carbonation level. Finish leaves the mouth rather dry.

Overall, pretty good. I am not a huge fan of strongly-spiced beers in this vein, but this is a pretty good rendition of it.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2012 19:54:30 | More by jrenihan

Digimaika2

Ontario (Canada)

4.2/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

(4.0) A: Rich brown with some reddish hue and a tall and creamy dirty tan coloured foam head. Long lasting retention and attractive lacing.

(4.5) S: Gingerbread, toffee, nutmeg, cinnamon, molasses, oranges, and cloves. Wonderful combination of spices that can be singled out. Roasted malt qualities are in here too. If anything smells like winter, this is probably it.

(4.0) T: Hoppier elements upfront with pine and a flatter orange taste (not really tart) which transitions to the spicier side with cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg all very detectable and tasty. Light roasted malt quality of a subdued cocoa adds a bit of depth. Easy to drink with just enough spice that doesn’t overpower things here. Good complexity.

(4.0) M: Light bodied with lower carbonation. An appealing spicey dryness. The lighter/thinner feel works very well in this and serves to highlight the spice notes and citrus well.

(4.5) D: A lighter variation of a winter style and a welcome one at that. Excellent spice mixture coupled with orange and some roasted malt make this very easy to drink. This would be a nice gateway choice into the winter style for anyone not familiar with the style.

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2012 02:02:42 | More by Digimaika2

peensteen

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Reddish brown colour, one finger of tan head, some lace here as well. Nose is quite rich and spicy here, cinnamon and nutmeg, ginger and a big helping of piney hops, bit of dark fruit/fruit cake and malt as well. Taste is equally as spicy as the nose followed by pine and earthy hop flavours, mild-medium bitterness, ginger and cinnamon into the finish as well as some rich fruit and a faint bit of alcohol. Lightly carbonated, lots of drying leafy hop feel as well. Quite a delicious and very drinkable winter warmer, one of the better ones I have had this year, would certainly revisit.

Serving type: bottle

12-17-2012 16:12:19 | More by peensteen

JohnnyBarman

Ontario (Canada)

4.08/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

500mL bottle, part of the LCBO winter Nogne O brewery feature.

Goblet for this one. Dark brown with a hint of ruby around the edges, and with a fluffy head of foam that recedes into a thick ring with some lacing.

Once you open the bottle, a blast of herbs greets you - really opens up your sinuses, actually. The bottle lists cinnamon, ginger, cloves, coriander and - perhaps most strangely - cardamom as being added spices to the mix, and I'll certainly say that the ginger gets top billing here. Peppermint, herbal medicine (cough drops?), orange peel are also in the mix. A spicy conglomeration, this.

After sharing the first bottle with friends, I wasn't as impressed with it. But the second time around, consumed on its own and with the whole bottle to myself, I can certainly see the medicinal quality to the brew, but I have to say there's a lot more to it than that. The first few sips are quite strong in the ginger, peppermint and herb department, but as your tastebuds acclimatize, things become far more balanced. The Christmas flavors of cinnamon, oranges with clove, and sweet malt start to get some time to shine. As you go further along, the hops (American, again) start to become more assertive, giving the brew a nice pine woodsy feel and also cleansing the palate of the rich heaping of spice. Really interesting beer this, and the more I sip it, the more I'm enjoying it.

Medium bodied, generously carbonated.

Interesting Christmas brew, well worth trying. God Jul everyone!

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2012 04:59:12 | More by JohnnyBarman

TheQuietMan22

Iowa

3.98/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Serving type: 500 ml bottle. No freshness date.

Appearance: Poured into a pint glass. The color is deep, brownish copper. Two fingers of dense, cappuccino-colored head dissipated slowly to leave a creamy cap and trails of foam along the sides.

Smell: The spice is immediately evident after popping the cap. The cinnamon, coriander, and ginger promised on the label are there. I cannot vouch for the cardamom because I am not familiar with it. It is a little yeasty and the cloves get overpowered by the other spices, especially the cinnamon and ginger. After warming a bit, an herbal/evergreen aroma emerges. Underneath is the malty base of chocolate and caramel.

Taste: The flavor offers a bit more balance. The spices lead (cinnamon, coriander, ginger, and even cloves) and then fade slightly to allow the chocolate and caramel malts to emerge and dull the spicy edge. Much like with the smell, an herbal/evergreen spice emerges. A nice, festive bitterness lingers in the mouth after each sip.

Drinkability: Good stuff. I do not think it is as good as Nøgne Ø’s Winter Ale, but it is very tasty and festive.

Serving type: bottle

12-14-2012 04:56:47 | More by TheQuietMan22

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.68/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

This poured out as a deep reddish brown color with a nice looking cream colored head on top. The retention and lacing where pretty strong on this beer. The smell of the spice comes out big on the nose. Plenty of cardamom and cinnamon aroma fill the nose on this. There is plenty of spice in the flavor of this one as well. The malt adds very little sweetness to the beer, it's herbal and dry in the finish. The mouthfeel is a bit on the thinner side, I would have liked it to be a bit heavier to really add some depth. Overall it's a decent Winter brew but nothing spectacular.

Serving type: bottle

12-12-2012 02:32:24 | More by Knapp85

mdwalsh

Iowa

4.18/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A little heady, but the spices are great. Like a perfect Christmas cake. I would have to say, ginger, nutmeg, clove, mace, and....cinnamon. Though the cinnamon is pretty mute.

The smell in general is great, but not very potent.

The hops really aren't there at all, as I would expect from Columbus, the malt is very nicely balanced.

The mouthfeel is better than expected from the head.

Really a nice Christmas taste, I might pick another one up. I would love to try a cake made with this!

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2012 02:34:03 | More by mdwalsh

deebo

Minnesota

4/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A-A heady brew, pouring 2 fingers of the big bubbled white variety with a fair amount of stickiness. This one is light orange in color and hazy.

S-Spicy-like a farmhouse ale-saison, yeasty (lemon like fruity esters), and sweet. An inviting complex aroma. Peculiar indeed.

T-The spice (I can't distinguish which spices are in here-tastes like it's coming more from the Cascade and Columbus hops then anything else) and tingly carbonation hits me first, then the clean bready malt takes over followed up with spicy hops and a slight alcoholic burn that ends quick. Like the aroma this beer has a lot of flavors blended together. It's a nice beer-a Christmas beer that drinks equally well on a warm summer day.

M-Lots of carbonation, medium-bodied, finish is quite smooth. Finish gets a little longer and more bitter (hoppy) as it warms.

D-I'd happily drink many ounces of this one.

O-Plenty of complexity to keep your palate interested while drinking a bomber. A fun and complex beer. My first beer from Nogne. I like it. Got a deal on this one, but I might have to come back and give more of their beers a go.

Serving type: bottle

06-23-2012 23:54:38 | More by deebo

beergoot

Colorado

4.6/5  rDev +17.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a very ruddy brown, partially opaque, with a rich, creamy, very thick, mountainous tan head. Good rings of lacing...

Aroma is heavy with spice and pine, anise, licorice, and heavy malt grain sweetness. Very heady...

Rich caramel and brown malt notes in the taste. Slightly roasty. Subtle alcohol burn that complements the style. Further sips bring out ginger and cinnamon flavors (much like a holiday ginger bread or ginger snap cookie)...A hint of bitterness, but malt and hop spiciness dominate. Also maple and molasses...

Surprisingly light bodied for such a rich and complex beer. Smooth, chewy, robust finish...

An amazing richness and complexity to this beer offering. Definitely fits the winter festival ale model. Although drinking this one on a relatively warm early March Sunday, it still is a joy to drink. Definitely one for people looking for an immense winter holiday brew...

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2012 22:31:26 | More by beergoot

rhoadsrage

Illinois

3.83/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

(Served in a stemmed strange)

A- This beer pours a dark dense brown body with a thick light tan head that last and last and sticks to the glass.

S- The smell of cardamom, cinnamon, and a British yeast blend together during the pour.

T- The dried ginger and mellow chocolate malt has some berry fruity esters supporting it. There is some soft spicy notes with ginger and hops blended with an interesting minty quality to the hops. The spices hang on the tongue after each sip.

M- The medium mouthfeel has a gentle carbonation but no real alcohol heat.

O- This beer has a big spice flavor with the cardamom and dry spice flavor growing too strong as the beer opens up. It gets hard to drink and the malt and hop flavors get lost making this beer a bit more odd with each sip.

Serving type: bottle

02-21-2012 14:56:07 | More by rhoadsrage

Arborescence

Finland

4.05/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Very dark brown with a hint of ruby, pours an impressive head — thick and creamy.

Aroma: Winter spices: cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, maybe a little bit of fresh hoppyness too.

Taste: Sweet and spicy, warming — what you’d expect from a Christmas Ale. Ginger is perhaps the strongest flavour, but it’s a nice mixture of winter spices. Not overwhelmingly strong, but it is a rather sweet beer, so one to be sipped slowly. It’s bottle conditioned.

Mouthfeel: Rich and fairly heavy on the body, Christmas soup!

Overall: ‘Peculiar Christmas’ in English, although not that peculiar. Quite typical, really, but certainly a tasty one. Very nice and warm spices. My immediate reaction was that I’d like some gingerbread with this, although the beer is in fact a bit of a Christmas pudding itself! I would like to get a better impression of the ‘beery’ characteristis, especially the combination of malts. The spices are a bit overwhelming, and you might even think that you’re drinking a cup of strong chai instead of a beer. Nøgne Ø does some very good beers, so there shouldn’t be a need to hide behind all these spices. Still, this is what you want on a cold winter night, it really does warm you up nicely. They say that the beer is inspired by ‘gløgg’, i.e. mulled wine, which is a popular beverage in Finland too around this time of year (we call it ‘glögi’). The recommended serving temperature of the beer is 10°C/50°F, but on their website they hint that you might try it warmer — I take it that this is to suggest actually heating it up, like you would with mulled wine. Well, I didn’t try this, but I imagine that this could be interesting.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2012 01:42:26 | More by Arborescence

JizackFH

New York

3.8/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Had on-tap at Sunswick 35/35 in Astoria, NY on 1/30/12.

Review taken from notes.

This beer pours a dark brown color with copper highlights. There is little more than a finger of light tan head resting on top. The head has good retention, and it leaves a nice bit of lace behind on the glass. The nose has some roasted malt and quite a bit of spice. There are some floral notes, as well as maybe a little bit of chocolate. Spices are definitely dominate the nose though. It is very Chirstmasy. The taste follows the nose. It starts out with some roasted maltiness and a big amount of christmas spices. There is ginger, clove, lemon zest, and some others that I can't quite pick out. The little bit of chocolate that was in the nose comes into the taste, and there is some brown sugar flavor as well. The finish leaves some lingering spices behind on the palate. This has a medium body and good carbonation. It goes down easy and has a nice feel to it. It is smooth and creamy, but there is also a little bit of a tingly feel. There is a bit of roasted maltiness as well. This has good drinkability. It is definitely a holiday ale. It hits the spot this time of year and it goes down easy. Overall, I thought it was a nice beer, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I recommend trying it out, I would drink it again.

Serving type: on-tap

02-06-2012 06:21:26 | More by JizackFH

TheGrunt

Finland

3.95/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Smell has sweet odor with a hint of tar and fruits.

Medium to high foam which settles down as few millimeters thick foam hood on top of the beer after pouring and it stays that way for a while.

Colour very dark brown, almost black.

Taste is surprisingly soft with hint of smokey flavors, but not much. There is distinctive malt flavor with ginger, cinnamon and coriander. Flavor makes this nice christmas beer, but surely this is nice all around winter beer also.

Taste is really not too strong for casual beer drinkers so this is nice option to enter stronger seasonal winter beers.

Really positive experience!

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2012 17:41:45 | More by TheGrunt

monkeyonmaibock

Wisconsin

4.83/5  rDev +23.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured very dark brown into a snifter. Light tan head left minimal lacing down to the last sip. Aroma is an explosion of ginger. The sweet maltiness balances the spice of the ginger. This is followed by hints of coriander and cinnamon. There is an aftertaste of roasted malt and slight hop bitterness. This is the second beer I've had from this brewery and I am not disappointed for sure.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2012 14:47:10 | More by monkeyonmaibock

dogfishandi

New York

4.1/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

served on tap into a snifter at the blue monk in buffalo, ny.

appears nearly black but is actually a slightly murky dark dark brown color. nice retentive light tan colored head. some average looking lace.

wow, smells like christmas! big spruce, cinnamin, ginger cookie, nutmeg, all the christmis spices. a nice dark bready, slight dark fruity malt.

again, all the christmas spices are in full effect. lots of spruce, nutmeg, caradamom, allspice, cinnamin, gingerbread cookies, a dark bready, lightly roasted malt, some light dark fruits. reminds me of an amped up anchor christmas ale.

medium bodied, slightly silky feel, good carbonation level.

definatly a solid christmas beer, like christmas in the bottle. im glad my friend surprised me with it. ill definatly revisit this in the bottle.

Serving type: on-tap

12-31-2011 23:50:21 | More by dogfishandi

Sunnanek

Sweden

3.63/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Pour is deep reddish brown with a large compact tan head that settles into pretty nice lacings.

S: It smells like X-mas; cinnamon, cardamom, coriander and ginger (-snaps). Then there's malt, slightly chocolate.

T: Taste follows the smell. A little sweeter, though. Some bitterness, rather from almonds and nuts than from hops.

M: Long bitter aftertaste. Body is full and carbonation moderate.

O: They overdid the X-mas-part; too much spices dominated over malt and hops.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2011 18:14:00 | More by Sunnanek

Zorro

California

4.1/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Clear brown colored beer with a small light brown colored head.

Smell is very spicy. Strong scent of spruce and allspice berries. The spruce/pine/cedar evergreen scent is quite over powering. Smells a little sweet with brown sugar and rye bread aroma.

Starts out bittersweet with a strong spruce flavor. Sensation of mint in the taste though I can't smell it. Brown sugar and molasses after the tastebuds adapt to the strong spruce flavor. Interesting bittersweet beer beer with a strong taste of spruce.

Mouthfeel is good.

Overall a different and tasty Christmas beer. Very recommended and tasty.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2011 00:44:40 | More by Zorro