Nogne O - Brown Ale

Nogne O Brown Ale- Gamle Rygene Kraftstasjon - Grimstd, Norway - 4.5% abv
1 PT .9oz dark brown bottle. No freshness date.

Pours an overly dark, almost Porter-like dark black coffee color with a thin, but creamy beige color, along with some patchy and trailing lacing.
A mild damp woody aroma fades fast. With some concentration, a whiff of dried chocolate malt escapes.

Tastes of strong coffee, toffee and scorched malt are upfront. Minor flavors of sweet grapefruit and a metallic bite lie beneath.

Oddly, for such a low abv brew, a light alcoholic fuminess is noticed.

A nice brew, just somehow floating about as a Brown Ale. Too dark for a brown, too mild for a Porter, perhaps it's a Dark Brown Ale?

Michelob-Amber Bock

I chose a pseudo-craft beer as my 100th review on BeerAdvocate in 2003. One of our duties as reviewers is to enlighten or warn the unsuspecting, so here goes. I sampled this horrible brew at The Tiki Bar, an outdoor grill on the beach on Marco Island. Michelob was test-marketing Amber Bock in several states and it was my misfortune for having vacationed in Florida at this time. It was a sunny and balmy afternoon. Bikini clad beauties were bouncing around, showing off what they had developed over the winter (quite a distraction from my relaxed reading and quite the chore of appearing disinterested with my girlfriend's harsh glare beating down upon the back of my neck). The smell of grilled shrimp and burgers wafted over me, exciting my remaining senses. I wandered over to the Tiki and noticed, with curious interest, Michelob Amber Bock on tap. Hmmm! How bad could it be? Well, despite my most excellent surroundings and laissez-faire attitude, the answer, to be kind is Disgusting!! Flat dark tan in color and rapidly vanishing off-white head. Sweet sugary malt and soaked corncob aroma. The pasty-mealy malt is difficult to swallow. This bland, sweet tasting, lightly hopped beer is in keeping with the A-B tradition of marketing over quality brewing techniques. Again A-B had the opportunity to enter the craft brew market by brewing a really fine bock beer. They chose instead, the road of mass-produced-type swill and major advertising campaigns. Argh! In case you’re still interested, the rest of my vacation went very well despite A-B’s attempt to ruin it.

Michelob-Porter

12oz dark brown bottle. No freshness date.
Pours a deep red-tinted root beer-like color with a fast-fading light tan head, along with some wispy trails of lacing.
Smells of coffee and dark chocolate are present throughout. Light whiffs of barnyard hay and hints of citrusy hops come and go.
Fairly strong tastes of sweetened coffee with rich chocolate are upfront. Mild citrusy hop bitterness lends a little balance. As it warms, a light taste of prunes peeks through
A flavor of toasted rye bread is noticed. A light rummy alcohol fuminess adds a bit of interest.
Smooth...almost oily (in a good way) Nice easy-to-gulp Porter.
Well done!