# 1001
Nøgne Ø

Dec. 2013: 250 ml nip bottle, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Pitch black colour, low brown head. Moderate aroma of mildly roasted malts, chocolate and wood, hints of mild spices. The smooth flavour is full of malty goodness, chocolate and vanilla, but is not too sweet. Bitterness is low. The mild spices are quite subdued.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

250ml nip poured into tulip 20/2/14

A black liquid with a cola edge, large mocha head quickly falls to a pinky finger and then sits there, a couple thick rings of lace followed by some random patches, looks

S root beer and cola, spruce, pine and juniper, coco and faint coffee, licorice root, brown sugar, and earthy notes to the point of top soil, some mint and raisins, smells different but it works

T mimics the smell quite well, there's somethings I can't place woody ginger root perhaps, no idea what they spiced this with but much like the nose I like it

M leaning towards full, bubbles soften it up, not much booze for 10%, a little char on the finish, no complaints here

O unique brew with a fair bit going on, I feel the need to bump the score a little overall as my glass was empty before I figured it out and the booze is well hidden

I'm curious to what they used to spice this brew, perhaps I should talk to google, not cheap in the 2 nip gift pack for 20$ but I had to try it

250ml bottle, part 2 of the #1000/#1001 dual, um, "gift" pack, with still more Arabian lore imagery, Aladdin and his pudgy genie hanging out on the fringes of the label.

This beer pours a solid black, with very subtle basal red cola highlights, and one finger of densely foamy, somewhat bubbly, and mostly creamy mocha head, which leaves a bit of melting iceberg lace around the glass as it slowly ebbs away.

It smells of roasted caramel malt, wet dark toast, bittersweet chocolate, spicy ginger, cloves, thyme, other indistinct, yet still edgy herbs, and a menthol-like heat, the kind that tickles your nose-hairs. The taste is nutty caramel malt, dark cocoa, mint, neutered ginger, a touch of dry roast coffee beans, brown sugar, herbal liqueur notes - bordering on gin - and a musty earthy, leafy hoppiness.

The bubbles are soft, but at least perceptible here and there, the body a surprisingly wavering medium weight when I stop and think about it, and barely smooth, as the char, spice and alcohol all take their metaphorical pound of flesh. It finishes still fairly sweet, the mangled caramel malt still game and good to go, amongst the continuing swirl of exotic (in origin, not in availability) spices and booze.

The Middle-Eastern guest spices seem to work somewhat better with an Imperial Stout base, or what have you, where they can get lost for a while, if necessary, unlike in the #1000. Still a weird concoction, and interesting enough for a milestone celebration, but once again, I don't think I'd want to make this a regular thing, which I suppose, is the whole point.