Sweet Nikki Brown
Half Pints Brewing Company

Sweet Nikki BrownSweet Nikki Brown
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From:
Half Pints Brewing Company
 
Manitoba, Canada
Style:
American Brown Ale
ABV:
4.9%
Score:
91
Avg:
4.1 | pDev: 7.32%
Reviews:
32
Ratings:
40
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Apr 06, 2013
Added:
Oct 29, 2006
Wants:
  15
Gots:
  0
This beer has been brewed especially for my wife, Nicole. Just like her, it’s a little sweet, and a little bitter. This hoppy ale is nut brown, just like her hair and eyes. The addition of crystal malt gives the beer a sweet flavour while melanoidin and chocolate malts lend a complex nutty character (draw your own conclusions) to the finish. We’ve used Centennial hops to add a citrus finish to the beer.

27 IBU
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Photo of jrenihan
Reviewed by jrenihan from Canada (ON)

4.11/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Beer is dark brown with a smallish tan head which fades fairly quickly. A lot of lacing.

Smell strongly contains roasted nuts, as well as some chocolate. Some hop scents poke through as well: pine and some citrus.

Roasted nuts for flavour, with chocolate, bread and a touch of coffee. The strong malt flavours are accompanied by a hop flavour, pine and some citrus. Good mix. A nice balance between the rich sweet malt and bittering hops. A bit like a hoppy porter, though the strong nutty flavour emphasizes the brown ale.

Medium to light bodied, moderately carbonated. Bready.

Overall, quite good. No date on the bottle. so I don't know when it was bottled, but it tastes good to me.
Apr 06, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by DuffIII from Canada (SK)

Mar 16, 2013
Photo of Sammy
Reviewed by Sammy from Canada (ON)

3.72/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
I finally caught up with this one. A very decent brew for a brown, but not a top rated beer from Canada at all. Starts as a nice chocolate malt, and ending with a decent hoppiness, which surprised because it was not evident in the nose. Good drinkability. Dark brown body with abundant white head. refreshing.
Feb 08, 2013
Photo of Serge
Reviewed by Serge from Canada (AB)

4.32/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours a dark brown with a frothy off-white head. Leaves a bit of lacing Smells of sweet caramel with citrusy, floral hops, and a hint of coffee. Feels light on the tongue but smooth and satisfying. Flavours start with malty, dark chocolate coffee that transitions smoothly into floral, citrusy note. Aftertaste is similar to the start with a nutty chocolate biscuit flavour. I like it.
Oct 09, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by 4ster from Canada (ON)

Sep 28, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by Litrecola from Canada (MB)

Sep 14, 2012
Photo of papat444
Reviewed by papat444 from Canada (QC)

3.57/5  rDev -12.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Thanks to wordemupg for this one.

Poured from a 341ml. bottle.

Appearance: Massive light mocha foam fills the whole glass, like many HP beers i've had. It takes a while to settle (and see the brown-red body) but it has amazing lacing.

Smell: Chocolatey, resiny hops and a strong roasted aroma which is real nice.

Taste: Thick malt edges the piney hops though they do leave a bit of their mark. Roasted flavors and cold coffee are also present. Good, but not as much as aroma.

Mouthfeel: Some bitterness and easy to drink but i found it wanting overall. I don't want to say watery but somewhere along those lines.

Overall: Pour this one very carefully and even then, it still might fill up your glass. The aroma is great but the taste doesn't match. Good but nothing more.
May 03, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by WoodersonMB from Canada (MB)

Feb 22, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by Howlader from Canada (AB)

Jan 30, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by adhallick from Canada (MB)

Jan 29, 2012
 
Rated: 4.25 by schopenhauerale from Arizona

Jan 19, 2012
Photo of leaddog
Reviewed by leaddog from Canada (AB)

4.33/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Appearance - Pours a rich dark brown with a dense cream-coloured head (which creates nice lacing). Not much translucency.

Smell - Nutty sweetness (hazelnuts, almonds), sweet fruit notes (perhaps reminiscent of cherries), slight hint of vanilla.

Taste - Roastiness from the nuts and slight hops are present that leave a slight piney characteristic. Doesn't taste as sweet as the smell would lead you to believe. Light bitterness that leaves with a pleasant aftertaste.

Mouthfeel - Very smooth and creamy medium bodied ale. Very nice creamy finish.

Overall - A lovely tribute to the beermaker's wife. This ABA is well balanced and pleasant to drink. Half Pints does not disappoint and is definitely worth a try (and a second purchase).
Jan 15, 2012
Photo of Phyl21ca
Reviewed by Phyl21ca from Canada (QC)

3.7/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Bottle courtesy of Oakbluff: Poured a deep brown color ale with an average foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of deep caramel and toffee malt is quite interesting. Taste is a nice mix between some caramel and toffee malt notes with a medium dry hoppy finish. Full body with some good carbonation. Very well done over all but was hoping ( and would have like) a hoppier finish.
Jan 11, 2012
 
Rated: 5 by MrTinnedPEach from Canada (AB)

Nov 14, 2011
Photo of Dawkfan
Reviewed by Dawkfan from Canada (AB)

4.07/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Forgot to enter this one in from awhile back.

A- Pour is a cola brown with lots of red highlites throughout. Frothy tan head rising to nearly 2 inches. Small ring of lacing above this brown.

S- The nose is fantastic, just what you'd expect in any good american brown ale. The citrus hops are right there upon first whiffs. Caramel and chocolate notes are quite evident. Underlying soapy and bitter roast aromas.

T- I first started writing this down halfway through the bottle and thought the hops weren't as noticeable as they were in the nose, but they really came through as it warmed. Balanced nicely with the malt.

M- Carbonation is on the higher side, body is lighter. Tingles at the start, smoothes out near the finish.

O- Nothing to complain about here, a solid ABA from one of Canada's finest.
May 05, 2011
Photo of chickenm
Reviewed by chickenm from Canada (BC)

3.8/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours dark brown with a large tan head. Aroma of sweet caramel, citrus hops, and nuts. Taste is malty and nutty with a hint of bitterness; body is medium-light. Well balanced and quite drinkable, this is a pretty nice brown ale from Half Pints that can potentially be a great session beer.
Apr 19, 2011
Photo of eat
Reviewed by eat from Canada (QC)

4.2/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5
Opaque and a dark, woody brown colour with root beer highlights. A good layer of cream-white head sticks around a while and leaves some decent lacing.

Citrus hops hit the nose first, followed with brown bread, nuts, light pine, toffee and a little roast. Smells pretty fantastic, though maybe not as powerful as it could be.

Lots of earthy hops up front (pine, grass, soil); nutty, roasty malt (with a perfect touch of molasses-y sweetness) through the middle and just enough drying dark chocolate (along with a hint of espresso) on the finish to make you want to keep sipping regularly. Bits of the citrusy hops found in the nose peek through along with a nice mineral profile. (This bottle might not be as fresh as it could be; I'm remembering it on tap as more of a 4.5 rating on taste.)

Beefy medium body with a medium-light carbonation. Nothing wrong here.

This is really great stuff; the bottle just disappeared. Finishing off a sixer would be effortless. If I lived in Winnipeg I don't think I'd drink much else through the winter (other than for reviewing purposes, of course). I had a great night at the King's Head in Winnipeg where they had this on tap; many pints were consumed and I couldn't even consider ordering anything else. Half Pints, why isn't this one of your regular brews? Probably my favourite amongst one of Canada's best line ups and quite possibly the best brown ale I've tried.
Mar 26, 2011
Photo of biboergosum
Reviewed by biboergosum from Canada (AB)

4/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
341ml bottle, new label, with whom I presume is Nicole staring out from her namesake beer.

This beer pours a slightly hazy, dark amber brown hue, with two fingers of dense foamy pale beige head, which leaves a decent broken wall of painted lace around the glass as it recedes. It smells of floral, soapy hops up front, and a nice nutty caramel malt. The taste is more caramel malt, an oily, earthy nuttiness, and leafy, bitter hops. The carbonation is present, but fairly sedate, the body medium-full in weight, smooth, and creamy, but for some bitter hop tingling. It finishes still fairly sweet, the nutty malt not to be denied by the equally persistent bitter floral hops.

A nicely balanced, restrained attrition-style beer, without the size to make you stop at just one - which I have no intention of doing tonight...
Mar 06, 2011
Photo of bobsy
Reviewed by bobsy from Canada (ON)

3.61/5  rDev -12%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
Dark oak brown with a foamy tan head that erupts over the top of the glass and threatens to cascade on to the counter. Great retention and some nice lace streaks. Really quite a looker. Nose is a bit soapy, with light citrus, malty brown bread, dusky nuts. Not bad, but I've come across better.

Flavour is rally quite good - subtle at first, but building up to a nice creamy nuttiness. Again brown bread plays the role of the lead, but is cut by a slightly acidic citrus character. Some herbal notes too. Nothing crazy and out there - just nicely made. Body is on the lighter side, but is bulked up slightly by the carbonation.

Not a bad brown ale, and one of the better ones in Canada. It's subtle and drinkable which I like, but doesn't have the strength of flavour to put it into the big leagues. Still... a very capable AAA team.

Thanks Colin!
Feb 12, 2011
Photo of marty21
Reviewed by marty21 from Canada (MB)

4.12/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A: Pours a very dark brown, A nice copper/amber colour around the edges when held to light. Has a tan head that doesn't stick around too long. But leaves a nice cap of head and has nice lacing.

S: A strong citrus/hoppy aroma but finishes with a nutty chocolate aroma.

T: Very similar to the aroma. Initially I taste the hops but it finishes nicely with the a nutty, chocolate and roasted taste.

M: Medium Carbonation with a smooth and creamy mouthfeel.

D: Wasn't sure what to expect with this one but now it's one of my favorites from half pints. Half Pints is brewed minutes from where I live and has quickly turned into one of my favorite breweries.
Nov 24, 2010
Sweet Nikki Brown from Half Pints Brewing Company
Beer rating: 91 out of 100 with 40 ratings