Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Pours black, small tanned head. Smell is full, roasty, dry, burnt malts. Taste is intense, dry, roasted malts, with a sweet, umami like character. Ashy, burnt, walnuts, works very well. Armagnac doesnt really show itself, but provides a mild apple-like fruityness, along with the mild red fruit aroma's present in the beer.

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8

This year’s Dark Horizon by Norway’s first craft beer pioneer is apparently aged on Armagnac barrels. Thanks to Didier Dieu for sharing at Billie’s Craft Beer Fest! Pale yellow-beige, open, mousy head on a pitch black beer. Very intense, but alluring bouquet of black chocolate sauce, coffee liqueur, freshly made espresso even, roasted chicory, gravy, whisky, oak wood. Sweet onset (dates, raisins) with umami accent, softish carb, very full and oily mouthfeel – yet thinned a bit by the sheer alcohol. Toffeeish and dark-chocolatey middle, mouth-filling and lovely bittersweet with emphasis on sweetness, which in the end is accentuated by the Armagnac, providing not only sweetness but also peppery booziness and a long, heating effect, while retronasally a strong coffee aroma rises upwards; some woody tannins and herbal, tea-ish hop bitterness, too, but relatively softly so. Very boozy as expected, too much so even in comparison with previous editions, as the alcohol has a somewhat thinning (and certainly burning) effect; feels sweeter than what I remember from other editions as well. Good, but not as great as some of those earlier versions.

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 10 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 9

For en lykke! Av to fat i Norge (de seks andre gikk utenlands, og de 7200 flaskene ble revet bort fra polhyllene på seks timer) fikk altså Cirkus det ene. Nesten helt svart med ok skum. Vidunderlig, kompleks og ekstremt fyldig aroma og smak. Vanilje/eik, lekre dessertchokolader i stort utvalg, franskbrent espresso, feit og mørk sjokoladekake med fyll av armagnac-marinerte svisker, mørke karamellsjokolader og mye mer. Intens og samtidig superbalansert. En sublim og enestående opplevelse, og jeg var førstemann ut her på Cirkus! Ettersmaken tror jeg kommer til å vare til bybrua og vel så det.

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 10 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 9.5

Sort med beige skum. Aroma karamell sjokolade malt . Smak lakris malt sjokolade vanilje spor av alkhol. Kraftig og smakrik lett bitter. Flaske på Nøgne Ø tap take over på Agenturet, delt med DjOeye

Aroma karamell sjokolade malt . Smak lakris malt sjokolade vanilje spor av alkhol. Kraftig og smakrik lett bitter.

Riktigt jävla häftig! Den smakar så som 5/5-öl smakade 2007-2010. Som ölen jag jagade på den tiden smakade. Svunnen tid ❤️ Thx Pontus J.!

Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8

9-5-8-5-17 On tap @ Bergen Ølfestival. Pours pitch black, with a creamy mocha head. Aroma is dark roasted malts with lots of coffee, rye bread and sweet liquorice, as well as cocoa nibs, muscovado, tobacco, herbal notes and wooden notes. Creamy body, with soft carbonation. Flavour is dark roasted malts with coffee, cocoa nibs, dark fruits, tobacco and herbal notes, as well as wooden notes and minerals. A bit fresh perhaps, but still already a classic.