Nogne is a brewery from Norway.  Doesn’t a Winter Ale seem to be an appropriate beer for a place that experiences some pretty cold seasons?  They know winter, but do they know winter Ale? 

First of all, this beer is 8.5% alcohol, which is plenty to warm a person up.  I poured this beer, and it was a deep brownish-black.  It had a nice, stable, light-brown head that smacked of meringue.

When I sniffed this beer, it had a nice hoppy aroma and a slightly metallic nose.  Along with the hops was an abundance of chocolate and coffee (it’s no surprise that chocolate malts are a part of the grain bill).  It’s also no surprise that Chinook, Columbus, and Centennial hops are all a part of this beer.

There was a lot going on in the nose of this ale.  Let’s see about the taste.  The beer had a hoppy and bittersweet chocolate caramel taste to it, which evolved into a long long coffee, chocolate, and burnt grain finish (finish as in end; I don’t want to insult any Norwegians).  A very nice mouth feel and slight alcohol warmth were other major characteristic.  The last impression was a bitter dryness.  

I highly recommend trying this beer and would love to try more of Nogne’s products.  By the way, I think this beer would be delightful with a cigar (to see some other beers that we’ve reviewed with cigars or about cigar and beers in general, click here).

Mike’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction:  

Among other Winter Ales: