Nogne O Blonde

Nogne O Blonde

Style: Blonde

Alcohol Content: 4.5%

From: Grimstad, Norway

Purchased from: UtoBeer, Borough Market, London, United Kingdom
http://www.nogne-o.com/ 

Nøgne Ø is an independent brewery, founded in 2002 by Gunnar Wiig and Kjetil Jikiun in Grimstad, Norway. Nøgne Ø was founded late in 2002 by Gunnar Wiig and Kjetil Jikiun. The brewery name, Nøgne Ø, is old Danish for "Naked Isle". It was selected from a well-known 19th century Norwegian poem called Terje Vigen by Henrik Ibsen, who worked for a time as an apprentice pharmacist in Grimstad.

The brewery does a range of beers, including an amber ale, which is a 6% abv semi-dark ale using Chinook hops, and a 4.5% abv bitter using East Kent Golding hops. In all, 32 varieties are made as of January 2009. In 2009, about 50% of the production was exported to Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, USA, Canada, Australia and Japan.

Perhaps the most sought after beer from this brewery is called Dark Horizon 1st Edition, which was a Gold winner at the World Beer Cup 2008 in San Diego, California for the category of "Other Strong Ales." It is a Russian Imperial Stout with an abv of 16%. Nøgne Ø's Porter got a silver in the category "Robust Porter".

O this is going to be interesting!

Colour: Pours a bright, fizzy yellow. It reminds me of my girlfriends hair in some ways. A big, bushy, foam head is created once first poured into the a glass. This dissipates very quickly and leaves no foam in the glass. Another feature of this beer is that the liquid is actually completely clear.

Aroma: As soon as you pop the cap, you will be presented with hints of spicy cloves mixed with notes of freshly cut straw. Once settled in the glass, fruity notes of mandarin, apricots and peaches rise from the glass. These are held together by a sweet lavender honey perfume.

Body: For a blonde beer, this drink actually feels quite heavy in the mouth. The body is very malty and it will not feel very sticky in your mouth. For me, this beer feels more like a saison rather than a blonde. Very easy to drink which makes it a great beer to compliment salads or fish dishes.

Taste: On my first sip, I actually thought that I was drinking a Weiss beer. Hints of cloves and banana swam over your taste buds. The second sip is where the beers true character lies. Coriander and citrus notes will being to reveal themselves. Also, like a Weiss beer you can pick out the notes of the fresh yeast used to create this beer. The aftertaste is something to be desired however. It is quite acidic or metallic, like a corked wine. For me, this unfortunately spoils my experience.

Similar to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/adnams-southwold-spindrift.html

Different to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/magic-hat-brewing-number-9-not-quite.html

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