Bottle at Sunset Grill on 11/17/05 with OldGrowth. Abundant and dense light beige-cream colored head is large and retained until I finish the beer. Ample lacing makes its way down the sides, and the drab, rusty-olive-brass colored body is noticeably hazy (though not so much that it detracts from the appearance). Aroma of earth, bark, nuts, roots, lemons, cream, vanilla, herbs, sweatiness. Not sure how people are getting pine and citrus out of this. Certainly the hops are in such force that some citrus notes are inevitable, and it is highly bitter, but I can’t see the pine at all. Much more a floral hoppiness, mixed with the earthy/nutty/musty type. Very strong aroma. Flavor does not let up either. Huge hop bitterness at first, but followed by plenty of pils malt balance and then a wave of hop flavor. Light yellow fruits, plenty of herbs, floral notes and soily/nutty/damp leaves. The body is full and leaves no lapse of flavor at any point. Carbonation is fairly tight, with some moderate expansiveness on the end. Juicy, succulent texture, drying on the end, with some fruitiness as well. Alcohol is well-concealed. A noble hops Double IPA would not be too far off from the truth. Not very similar to Rogue’s Imperial Pilsner at all. Not really sure how to assign numbers based on any real style so I’ll guess I’ll just do it based on my enjoyment, which, although I much prefer noble hops, this is still over-the-top. Should be very interesting to try in 6 months to a year.

Würziger Geruch, eher dunkles Aussehen. Sehr würziger Antrunk, der allerdings durch den folgenden wässrigen Durchhänger nicht ganz überzeugen kann. Im Nachgeschmack wirds dann dezent malzig, allerdings auch nur eine kurze Zeit. Ab und zu, warum nicht? Test vom 19.11.2005, Gebinde: Glasflasche Noten: 13,10,9,6,6,9 - 8,95

Clear, copper body with some ongoing carbonation. Virtually no head. Thin, cool, malt aroma with faint floral hops. Taste is clean and light, with some caramel malts, and a faintly dry finish that has a nice, floral hop profile. The hops are the best thing about this beer, which is otherwise wholly unremarkable.

Bottled, 5.6%. Copper coloured, huge beige foamy head, lacing. Sweet malts and alcohol in aroma along with cookies and weak chocolate. Flavour is caramel, malts, fruits and spices. Short finish, and almost no aftertaste. Some alcohol in finish, but brutally cut in flavour after that. Nice brew though, could have a few more of these!

Bottle. Nice color, and a good head for a macro brew. Fantastic Wheat/Bread aroma with the taste to boot. It reminds me why I do like lagers.

Bottle. Very malty flavour. Bright chestnut colour. Aftertaste is quite spicy. Very nice and easily drinkable. A little too much carbonation for me.

On draught at Sunset Grille on 10/20/2005. Served well-chilled in it’s own Koggen bier labeled glass (kind of a concave, oversized flute). Very lovely appearance. Fully cloudy, near opaque. White-gold with some deep, light-straw color and a well-retained one-finger high white head. Persistent lacing as it recedes. Smells of light honey, Belgian yeast, soft coriander and a touch of peach/tangerine/apricot. Very easygoing aroma that is soft, flowery-spicy, if that can be understood, with a light yeast and fruitiness that is quite inviting. The aroma is nice and strong as well. Flavor is full of witbier suggestions, but a good deal more fruitier, with less tart lemon and lacking a big clove bite. Light nectarine/apricot juice fruitiness, with light honeyish malt and a chewy, playful yeast on the end. Mouthfeel is wonderfully substantial thanks to the complete lack of filtration. Body is medium, with no thinning. Almost a milky, creaminess to it as well, with lightly dry spiciness (coriander and white pepper maybe) coming late. Can’t remember the abv but it was surprisingly higher than I perceived. A great effort. Can’t speak to what a real Koggen should taste like, but this is well-brewed beer for sure. Wish the JP brewery would open a brewpub. The JP brewed beers are completely different than the regular line.

Bottled (4,8%). Dark orange colour with beige mediumsized head. Fruity and malty aroma. Malty, hoppy and vegetably flavour. Long hoppish aftertaste. Balanced, but not too exciting.

Bottled, alc. 4.8% (BB 01/2006)
(my 100th US rating)
Copper brown, decent off-white head. Bready, ryeish, malty, slightly hoppy nose, reminds me about Brooklyn Lager. Cracker malty, rye bread, nice hops in the finish. Balanced lager.