Imperial India Pale Ale #500 - Nøgne Ø - Det Kompromissløse Bryggeri A/S

GiantCogs

Massachusetts

2.79/5  rDev -28.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

Wasn't wild about this one. Fairly dark amber with a bit of thickness to the body. Reminded me more of a barley wine. Less hops, more malt. Alcohol is very present and went to my head more than I expected. I am not the type of person who always wants crazy amount of hops, but it seemed lacking here.

That said, it was very distinct and I could see someone else really liking it. Just go into it with the right expectations. The description on the bottle was deceiving.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2013 22:47:02 | More by GiantCogs

andrenaline

Ontario (Canada)

3.93/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Props to joemcgrath27 for the hook-up on this brew...

A - Pours a hazy swamp-water brown, thin layer of head with little retention or lacing.

S - Nose is dominated by sweet citrus and musty caramel, hints of toasted bread and an earthy cedar finish.

T - Flavours are much like the nose with the musty caramel dominating alongside the earthy cedar and pine hops, a toasted almond flavour lingers alongside a healthy dose of bitter citrus rind.

M - Medium bodied, smooth and dry.

O - This is less hoppy than expected, with a solid malt grain bill that tends to dominate alongside a bitter finish. Not to be interpreted as disappointing, I quite enjoyed it, though I was slightly disappointed from a hop perspective.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2013 03:17:51 | More by andrenaline

joemcgrath27

Alberta (Canada)

3.76/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

A - fully hazy swampy red-brown, one finger of head receded to a random thin cover with fairly consistent lacing
S - some pine resin with caramel, earthiness, and booze
T - pine and perfume hops with significant booziness, some mild fruitiness and bread pudding flavour, somewhat musty finish
M - light and carbonation but packs a punch with a mix of hops and alcohol
O - this has a very much barleywine like flavour and feel, the hops are there but the sweet alcohol aspect definitely takes this over, worth a purchase regardless

Serving type: bottle

02-02-2013 04:43:16 | More by joemcgrath27

mtbdonn

United Kingdom (England)

3.76/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Purchased from Beers of Europs in UK and poured into my favority Brooklyn Brewery tulip glass.
A-Hazy, thick, deep copper color, nice lacing of thin off white head.
S-Intense toasty hops, some sweetness, but an unusual strong scent of passionfruit? Very different for an IPA, no citrus flavory pineapple of an IPA, and a combination of multiple hops?
T-Again with the same smell/taste...passionfruit? Again no real citrus flavor, maybe slight. Reminds me more of a barelywine with appearance and color.
M-Feel is oily with a touch of carbonation, a little heavy on the tongue, not the light, crispiness of an IPA.
O-A nice IPA, but not maybe a European IPA finish I'm unfamiliar with?! Complex bitterness with some interesting hop combinations. Not what I expected in an IPA, but I would have again.

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2013 20:47:52 | More by mtbdonn

MattSweatshirt

Texas

3.98/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Brewed in March and drank in November. Got this bottle as a present from a badass Belgian dude in Oostvleteren.

Poured into a chalice. Comes out dark orange/brown with a small off-white head.

Lots of caramel sweetness and hopsss of the fruity citrusy variety especially lemon and orange.

Nice hit of bitterness that is somewhat balanced by the caramel maltiness. The hops give off a citrus flavor that the nose showed off.

Nice carbonation and medium bodied making for easy drinking.

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2013 06:17:27 | More by MattSweatshirt

kylehay2004

Florida

4.1/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thin head with nice lacing on a cloudy copper body. Nice strong aroma with mostly molasses, candied citrus, caramel malt, fig and raisin. Very dynamic aroma and although it forbodes a malt heavy beer the hop presence is still nicely represented. Flavor follows with barleywine-esque malt and candied citrus, earthy hops, molasses, raisin and plum. Thick body and moderate carbonation. Fairly oily, coating the palate. The booze soften up as you enjoy this one. The flavors are dynamic and complex. A nice brew.

Serving type: on-tap

12-27-2012 13:42:54 | More by kylehay2004

DoktorZee

Alberta (Canada)

3.85/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a bomber into a tulip. Brew date is 2/3/2012 and best before is 2/3/2017 and batch # is 771. It looks like I could have held this one longer. It's called #500 because it's the 500th beer brewed by Nogne O (I can't do the fancy symbols instead of the right O's)

A - deep ruby red in color, relatively clear with a two fluffy tan head. The head resolves to a quarter finger that sits at the edge of the glass and leaves some chunky lacing.

S - initial nose is all grassy and resinous hops. After a minute or two there's some spiciness and fruit on the nose, maybe apricot?

T - Billed as a 100IBU it's no surprise that this is powerful, but there's a substantial malt backbone to support the hops. Initial hops attack is intense, and a combination of ripe citrus and resin, but intertwined with malty caramel (a hint of sweetness behind the hops). This carries through to the finish where there's some ripe fruit (pear or apricot) that disappears as the hops pounds your tongue and the back of the throat. It's really, really enduring.

M - body is medium heavy to heavy, and the alpha oils from the hops really provide some coating power. Definite warming from the alcohol just verging on booziness.

This is a POWERFUL Imperial IPA. I'd say that the flavors are even more intense than other big IPAs I've had (including Ruination, Hop Stoopid) in large part due to the powerful malt foundation. Hopheads would find this a bit confusing in that the hops are less forward than one would expect, but anyone that likes a very strong, intense, over-the-top beer with multiple layers should give this a try. I'd be very interested to see how it might mellow with age. Need to get another bottle...:)

Serving type: bottle

11-12-2012 22:31:02 | More by DoktorZee

CrazyDavros

Australia

3.65/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours dark amber with practically no head.
Aroma includes piny and resinous hops. Underneath is a fair whack of sweet clean malt.
Flavours follow along the same line; loads of sweet, syrupy malt with bready notes, with some resinous pine hiding underneath. The malt dominates.
Could use more carbonation. Feels overly syrupy and thick.

Serving type: on-tap

10-10-2012 05:35:43 | More by CrazyDavros

JDizzle

Indiana

3/5  rDev -23.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Had on tap at The Heorot in Muncie.

Pours the color of an old ale. Weird!! Not much head to speak of, but brown, cloudy DIPA in front of me wanting to see what this taste like.

The aroma is not too pleasing. It's really sweet and a little boozy. The hops are just not there.

Taste is on par with the smell. Boozy, sweet, a hop bite that is only bitter, but not that flavorful. It almost taste like sweet dark fruit in a barleywine.

Mouthfeel is thin and carbonation is too low. A bit flat.

Overall, a big bust for the $5 10oz'er. I hoped for more!

Serving type: on-tap

09-25-2012 16:16:06 | More by JDizzle

corby112

Pennsylvania

4.28/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a dark copper color that's completely opaque with faint golden orange edges and a two finger, yellowish-beige head. Good retention, only slowly fading into a lasting ring. Streaks of soapy lacing left behind.

Floral aroma with a nice balance of earthy and fruity hop notes countered by a sweet malt presence. Slightly grassy with subtle pine needle and onion like character along with a prominent citrus/tropical fruit presence. Lots of pineapple, grapefruit and orange followed by sweet caramel malts, spicy rye, toffee and biscuit.

On the fuller end of medium bodied with an earthy hop presence up front that lingers over the sweeter notes and spicy rye into a dry finish. There's some resinous pine needle and onion like flavor that provides a decent amount of bitterness that's nicely countered by tons of juicy mango, pineapple, grapefruit and orange marmalade sweetness. Underneath, there's a substantial malt presence that provides more complexity and balance without hindering the hop character. Hints of toffe, caramel, bread, biscuit and a touch of spicy rye toward the back of palate. That subtle rye presence is a pleasant surprise, giving this already complex beer another layer just before the finish. The high ABV is nearly invisible with only the slightest bit of heat making this tasty beer dangerously drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2012 06:48:40 | More by corby112

ChiPool

Illinois

3.03/5  rDev -22.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured from a pint bottle into a chalice.

This beer is the darkest that I've seen for the class. It Looks more like a brown ale than an IPA/DIPA. The nose is boozy & malty. It tastes the same: boozy & chocolatey malts predominate. The mouthfeel is pretty thick & syrupy. Not much hop presence here: sweet, heavy, & hot!

I have no idea how old this bottle is. I would've rate it higher as a barley wine.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2012 01:07:59 | More by ChiPool

bark

Sweden

2.38/5  rDev -39.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

The beer pours with a fizzing sound. The finger thick head is compact and yellowish. Good retention, some lacing. The liquid is amber-brown (35 EBC) and hazy.

The smell is earthy with frowsy notes of rubber, leather and dried exotic fruits. Some bitterness, alcohol and barrel aged oak notes.

The taste is sweet and malty, but also bitter and fruity. Frowsy cellar notes and dried fruits. Hints of leather and a growing solvent flavour. The bitter flavour soon become metallic. Full bodied. The lingering aftertaste is bitter with frowsy malty flavours, hints of oak and lots of alcohol.

The carbonation is strong, the small bubbles sharp. The liquid is thick and a little sticky.

According to the label, this beer is 6 months old. But it seels like it is way too old and ruined already, although the best before day is in February 2017.

Serving type: bottle

08-10-2012 21:32:33 | More by bark

StaveHooks

Oklahoma

3/5  rDev -23.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A - Pours a tawny dark brown with a thin kahki head that melts pretty quick. No lacing.

S - Doughy yeast, heavy brown bread, toasted caramel malt, hints of citrus hops.

T - Toasted caramel and toffee malts, bitter through the middle with light citrus and floral hop flavor. Very powerful yeast presence mixes with the dense barley overtaking most of the hop flavor. Finishes with a toasted bitterness.

M - Thick chewy body, low to medium carbonation.

Not your average DIPA. Hops are there but are crushed by a sturdy malt bill. Yeast really bullies things around as well. More of a barleywine.

Serving type: bottle

07-29-2012 01:50:34 | More by StaveHooks

tlazaroff

Virginia

2.98/5  rDev -23.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

The nose is lighter than expected for an IPA as big as this one is, but it's good. Floral bouquet with some pear, apple, and other fresh light fruits.

Muddy brown in color, no speakable head whatsoever and lacing is non-existant.

The beer feels barrel-aged, although I can't find anything saying if it is or isn't. It has vanilla, mixed with a very strong ripe apple, pear, and peach fruit flavor. It tastes good, but is a bit confusing.

Carbonation is strong enough to cleanse the palate and the body is thick. It has a good presence, but feels lacking.

Serving type: bottle

07-28-2012 02:15:03 | More by tlazaroff

heygeebee

Australia

3.35/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

BB 2013

Pours a deep gold colour, one finger off white head, good lace stays throughout.

Aromas of malts primarily in a big hit, then mandarins, orange peel.

Taste as a with aromas but add in a massive hit of initially well balanced malts. And here is where it goes downhill. Typical Nogne O taste, quite dry, add in some dark treacle toffee notes, almost burnt. Not good in the long run.

Mouthfeel is neutral neither oily nor too light.

Overall an ok beer, but I am finding general Nogne O taste not to my liking due to a certain dryness overall.

Serving type: bottle

07-27-2012 12:05:18 | More by heygeebee

superspak

Michigan

3.8/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

500 ml bottle into tulip glass, no bottle dating. Pours extremely hazy red orange color with a nice 1-2 finger dense off white head with good retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Some good spotty lacing clings to the glass. Aromas of caramel, orange, grapefruit, mango, herbal, bread, earth, floral, and citrus rind. Pretty nice aromas but are very malt forward; but I pretty much expected that given that this is probably well over a year old. Taste of grapefruit, orange, mango, caramel, honey, bread, pine, herbal, earth, floral, toast, and molasses. Fair amount of herbal bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of citrus, pine, caramel, honey, bread, molasses, earth, toast, and herbal on the finish for a while. Nice flavor balance and complexity, with no cloying sweetness at all. Medium carbonation and full bodied; with a creamy, thick, and fairly slick mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is extremely well hidden with almost no warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a very good Double IPA. Despite the obvious age of the beer; it has held up pretty well with nice flavor balance and smooth sipping. I am sure that this was a great beer when it was released initially. Still quite enjoyable as of right now.

Serving type: bottle

07-22-2012 06:24:52 | More by superspak

mattsander

Alberta (Canada)

2.65/5  rDev -32.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

A: Muddy deep brown, extremely light carbonation. Not appetizing, not to style IMO. The 'P' stands for 'pale' right?

S: Mountains of caramel, toffee, slightly metallic, crisp hops. Smells like a barleywine, very malt-centered.

T: Sweet caramelized malts dominate with some dark fruit, musky old hops. Medicinal, very syrupy, very malty. Feels messy and unfocused to me, this was difficult to drink.

M: A sipper to be sure, it felt like I was drinking a loaf of bread.

This was a drainpour for me, a total mess that I hope to never repeat. Far too much caramel flavor (even for a barleywine this would have been too sticky for me). Yikes

Serving type: bottle

07-19-2012 14:39:52 | More by mattsander

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

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

500ml bottle poured into tulip 8/7/12

A a brownish amber pretty dark for the style, not enough clarity to see bubbles other then the few popping up the side, just a short lived finger of foam leaves no lace

S piny citrus, lots of caramel, and some floral hops with just a little booze, some lemon and lime rind and even more caramels as it warms

T lots of pine resin and rind with some grainy sweet malt creating a little balance, almost a little nutty on the finish if that makes any sense

M pretty thick and enough carbonation to give it a creamy feel, quite bitter with a little grit, not much for heat and a lingering piney rind aftertaste, feels great

O this would've been intense fresh, a few months old and still very hoppy, a pretty solid DIPA with well concealed booze

a little pricy but I don't feel ripped off, almost like a fresh Barley Wine and the BB date 5 years down the road makes me want too age one

Serving type: bottle

07-09-2012 05:23:12 | More by wordemupg

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.88/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

500ml bottle. Very, very nice to see this brewery make its way to the remote outpost of Alberta.

This beer pours a dark, somewhat hazy ruddy amber hue, with two fingers of puffy, bubbly ecru head, which leaves a low lunar landscape of lace around the glass as it evenly subsides.

It smells of bittersweet grapefruit pith, moderate bready, crackery, understated caramelized malt, a subtle alcohol edge, and more bitter spicy, leafy hops. The taste is more bitter grapefruit and soused orange fruitiness, a stronger bready caramel maltiness, some lesser toffee and molasses addenda, even a twinge of field honey, some tannic tea/red wine notes, and a further mediated bitter generic fruity/leafy hoppiness.

The bubbles are fairly sedate, the body a sturdy medium weight, and actually quite smooth, given the swirling hops and booze. It finishes on the sweet side, the malt gaining a dusty, old character, while the hops prance about in their merry way, not really forcing the issue, as the alcohol simmers mostly unheeded underneath.

A rather impressive way to celebrate your 500th batch, as I am a confirmed hop-o-holic. This offering, however, only alludes to such an overindulgence, preferring instead to render an actual balanced DIPA experience, which of course means a hefty malt offset - in the end, things work out, somebody gets the girl, and there's grinning all around.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2012 05:14:01 | More by biboergosum

Jamesthebrit

Michigan

4.3/5  rDev +10%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: Bottle declares it to be the 500th batch brewed. The beer looks unlike any IPA I've ever seen. It looks like apple cider. It's got that brown hazy color to it. Looks a little thick, good head that leaves some great lacing. Very nice

S: Sweet, a lot of alcohol, not so much floral as the average IPA. Cloves... allspice.. pretty interesting.

T: Verrry interesting. Starts much like an old ale with a sharp alcohol and oaky backbone. The finish though is where the IPA really comes through. Some good hops on the finish. I dare so too many powerful flavors. They all hit very well but it seems like theres just big alcohol, big barley, then a good hit of hops. Not really any subtitles.

M: Mouthfeel is thick and bitter and alcoholy. A little too much bite at the end.

Definitely not what I was expecting. Drinks more like an old ale than an IPA but either way it's still pretty good. Certainly unique and worth checking out. Probably a good idea to split a bottle of this bad boy as it's pretty intense.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2012 00:49:39 | More by Jamesthebrit

warnerry

Michigan

3.83/5  rDev -2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Pours a ruddy caramel color with one and a half fingers of tan head. Head has decent retention and leaves some pretty solid lacing.

S - Lots of caramel and toffee, also a bit bready.that Assuming this bottle is old based on other reviews and the very mild hop presence in the nose.

S - Similar to smell with big caramel and toffee, along with some citrus and a bit of molasses. Does have an herbal bitterness that partially counters the sweet malts. Leaving style aside, it is actually pretty tasty. Leaves a strong tea-like aftertaste.

M - Big, sticky sweet mouthfeel that becomes more bitter on the finish.

O - While this is an old bottle, I find it hard to believe that even a fresh bottle would have seemed like a DIPA. At this point, it reminds me a bit of Double Bastard. Pretty tasty, but definitely a big malt bomb.

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2012 03:14:48 | More by warnerry

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.9/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Recent bottle from Maria's in Chicago. Sales people said it must be a recent delivery, and given that it would and should disappear from the shelves, I must believe. That contradicts the ultimate tasting, which yielded a hoppy American barleywine/American strong. Still enjoyable! With a good citrus orange and grapefruit taste, and minty piney hops in the finish. Good drinkability, a little boozy.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2012 02:46:11 | More by northyorksammy

Sunnanek

Sweden

4.15/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A: Pours deep hazy amber with a medium large, but very compact tan head. Slow dissipation leaves rather nice lacings.

S: Rich American hops, bitter but even more floral, in great balance with the sweet syrupy caramell malt.

T: Slithtly roasted caramell malt, with quite some sweetness to it, is balanced by the American bitter but even more floral hops; grapefruit and oranges with a little pineapple in the back. Rather bready, but also fruity.

M: Long sweet aftertaste. Body is full and molasses-like while carboantion is held back. Alcoholic, but not in an offensive way. Very smooth.

O: This is, as always, another fantastic beer from Nøgne Ø.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2012 19:10:29 | More by Sunnanek

BrownNut

Florida

4.13/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

22 to tulip. No date yet again. Love this brewery but throw me a bone here!

A - Cloudy medium flat brown like unfiltered apple cider. Not attractive. Picture perfect one-finger cream head. Very attractive. Cancel each other out for slightly above average.

S - Man this smells wonderful. Smells like raw honey and caramel and malt with a whispered promise of booze. What it doesn't smell like at all is hops, which is a surprise for an imperial IPA. But then again I don't know how old it is.

T - Mostly malty caramel flavors that, just like in the aroma, blend seamlessly into a low-level booze flavor that gives it some complexity. A previous reviewer mentioned a candi sugar effect and I can kind of see that. That may be the sort of raw honey + booze flavor I note. I don't get any of the orange several previous reviewers mentioned. At the end there's just a bit of sourness in the lips and tip of the tongue. There is no hint of hops, only a faded footprint in the form of barely noticeable tongue abrasion. Reads more like a barleywine.

M - Creamy leaning towards viscous. Really smooth. Maybe that's the oats in it. A real pleasure

O - This was a rich, thick, smooth, strong, delicious beer and I'll take another any time. I have to think it was an old bottle though, because with zero trace of hops there's no way they'd call this an imperial IPA. It's much more like an IPA that has sat long enough to fall back to only malts. So it's hard to rate this to style so I'll just rate it irrespective of style.

I had their Two Captains Imperial IPA as well, and while I think I like this one a bit better objectively, I think that one was somewhat closer to DIPA style, though still pretty balanced and with prominent malt.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2012 22:37:05 | More by BrownNut

beerdrifter

Germany

3.98/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Picked this up while on vacation in Oslo. Batch #758. Cloudy copper-amber pour with one finger head that quickly fades with excellent lacing. Big, bold nose with tons of resiny hops along with hints of orange, mango, rye bread, caramel, brown sugar, and just a touch of squash. The taste mirrors the nose. The hops are huge and resiny, but a solid caramel malt backbone really balances it out. Hints of orange peel, mango, pine, brown sugar, caramel, rye, and just a bit of grassiness. This is close to being in barley wine territory. The mouthfeel is thick, syrupy, and chewy with a little creaminess as well. The 10% ABV is well hidden making this highly drinkable. The finish is bold with a great tangy, bitter hop bite. The Norwegians are definitely in the craft beer scene!

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2012 19:53:07 | More by beerdrifter