Nogne-O-Renaissance Brewing-8 Wired O for Awesome Imperial Amber Ale

At Discount Wine and Liquors in Boonton, NJ, I picked up a bottle of the Nogne-O-Renaissance Brewing-8 Wired collaboration O For Awesome Imperial Amber Ale. The beer pours a brown color (not amber!) with a lofty and frothy beige colored head. The aroma consists of caramel, toffee, pine, lemon, and pepper. The taste is toasted toffee, caramel, lemon, pepper, and malts. The finish has a hint of coffee and chocolate with a fairly strong hop bitterness. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. I thoroughly enjoyed this Imperial Amber Ale with its overly roasted flavor and exaggerated hop content. I was a little surprised by the color of the beer, but I quickly got over it as I drank the beer.

Nogne-o Two Captains

In celebration of #IPADay, I ordered a glass of Nogne-o Two Captains from O’Reilly’s Taproom in Harrisburg. The beer pours a golden color with a bubbly white head. The aroma consists of lemon, pine, and tangerine. The taste is extremely bitter and biting on the tongue, providing plenty of punishment. Citrus flavors appear in the form of lots of lemon with pine and pepper spices. On the finish, there are hints of caramel as a base for the beer. The after taste is very dry with some spruce accents as well. The alcohol content is 8.5% ABV. Wow was this a bitter hop bomb to drink. I enjoyed is resiny goodness, as well as the citrus notes that accompanied. The flavor of this beer will linger for a while long after you are done drinking it.

Nogne-o Tyttebaer

I picked up a bottle of Nogne-o Tyttebaer from Al's of Hampden. The Tyttebaer is a wild ale brewed with Scandinavian cranberries. The beer pours a red amber color with a lofty and frothy white head that fizzles as it dissipates. The aroma consists of sweet and sour cranberries with a fresh zest of cherries and wheat. The taste is bitter and sour with a big helping of cranberries and some sour cherry underneath. The beer is light and bubbly on the tongue and it foams in the back of the mouth and has a light wheat after taste. The alcohol content is 8.0% ABV. I really enjoyed the refreshing nature of this beer despite being sour and bitter. Nogne-o has provided an excellent wild ale, especially with the addition of cranberries.

Nogne-o/Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales/Stone Brewing Special Holiday Ale

I picked up a bottle of Special Holiday Ale when I was in New Jersey visiting. This beer is a collaboration from Nogne-o, Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, and Stone Brewing Company. The beer pours a dark brown color with a bubbly tan head. The aroma is spicy, consisting of nutmeg, cinnamon, molasses, pine, and pie crust. The taste is thick and smooth, with heavy accents on the molasses, nutmeg, and cinnamon. There are accents of sage and pine in there as well. The beer finishes with a pie crust taste and a bit dry from the great hops in the beer. The alcohol content is 8.5% ABV. This was a totally delicious brew and I highly recommend picking up a bottle if you get a chance. There were so many levels to this beer, no doubt due to the fact that three different brewers had a hand in it. My only regret is not buying more bottles of this, as I was saddened when the bottle was gone.

Nogne-o/Det Kompromisslose Bryggeri Dark Horizon, 2nd Edition

My friend Matt and I noticed one remaining bottle (enclosed in a tin, of course) of the Nogne-o and Det Kompromisslose Bryggeri [no website] collaboration Dark Horizon, 2nd Edition, at TJ's in Paoli, so we picked up the bottle and split it. The beer has a dark black color with a bubbly tan head. The aroma consists of chocolate and alcohol with light hints of bourbon as well. The taste is mostly chocolate and oaky, and it really hits on the alcohol. However, the alcohol does not bitter the beer, as it is very smooth and tasty. The alcohol content is 17.5% ABV. This was a phenomenal beer, and one of my favorite Russian Imperial Stouts that I have had. The oak and chocolate really played together nicely, and the bourbon actually rounded the bite of this high-alcohol content beer.

Nogne-o #100 Barley Wine Style Ale

I picked up a bottle of Nogne-o #100 Barley Wine Style Ale on my last visit to New Jersey. The #100 is the 100th beer the Nogne-o produced, and it was put into production by popular demand. The beer pours a dark brown color with a very lofty and foamy tan head. The aroma is sweet with toffee accents. The taste is sweet and mouthwatering (an odd description, but try it and you will understand). It has a mandarin orange accents with a chocolate undertone and a dry finish of light hops and a warming alcohol. The alcohol content is 10% ABV. This was an amazing barley wine that had so many different flavors and levels. It was very smooth and easily drinkable. The entire experience was amazing and I highly recommend trying this beer.

Nogne-o God Jul

While in New York City, I grabbed a glass of Nogne-o God Jul prior to the Muse concert at Madison Square Garden. The beer pours a dark amber with a foamy tan head. The aroma is lightly hoppy and malty. The taste is sweet and malty, consisting mostly of caramel and chocolate, and has a light nutty undertone. The beer has a dry finish with light hops. The alcohol content is 8.5% ABV. I thought that the God Jul was very good and I would highly recommend this beer. Everything I have ever had from Nogne-o has been solid, and I anticipate trying more of their beers.