“Jan Halvor Fjeld, winner of the Norwegian home brewing championships 2010 brewed his champion Imperial IPA at Nøgne Ø. We at Nøgne Ø are of course proud to be with him in making this happen.”
Served in an IPA glass. The copper colored body is covered by a two finger head that steadily recedes but maintains a healthy overlay that draws a hieroglyphic-style wall of lace as it ebbs. Looks fantastic! The aroma is pungent – hop forward, as expected, with big bitter grapefruit, pine, citrus and orange peel at the forefront. Some sweet and tropical fruits do come through but they’re slightly clouded by the 8.5% ABV that gives the olfactory’s a good old tickle. We can’t ignore this lovely savoury sweetness too – caramelized malts maybe? At times it has a palm sugar scent to it. Even lavender and lychee juice have a go. Bloody hell we could go on all night, this is superb! In the mouth it’s incredibly smooth with a delayed yet contained bitterness forming late. Co2 and body are both medium. We’re literally gobsmacked to see the IBU sitting at 100, she drinks at a much lower level and is somehow sessional. The palate is kick started with dank resinous pine and chewy caramel malts initially. An assertive bitterness joins the party as the mid lays a platform for light floral hops to carry forward in to a bitter, at times herbal, dry and crisp finish. Good duration on the rear palate too. Wow this was unexpected. But then again should it be? These Norwegian masters have long been respected purveyors of fine craft beer so when the winner of the national Norwegian home brewing championship teamed up with the Nogne O team we should expect nothing less! Enjoy, we did.