Über - Peach
Nickel Brook Brewing Co. - Burlington

 

 

Peach works!

This one is just anonymously sour to me. Not getting much in the way of peach, mostly just generic fruitiness. Has nice sparkle and a pleasant, not over the top sourness, but not much wow to it. NBs raspberry version of this is more interesting for being properly fruity.

 

 

 

500 mL bottle from the LCBO; can't make out the bottling date, but as far as I know this has only been on shelves for a month or so. Served slightly chilled.

Pours a turbid, translucent lemon drop yellow hue, with one finger of smooth, foamy white head situated atop. It disintegrates over the course of the next five minutes or so; in its wake, a creamy collar and cap have been left behind, alongside a modest swath of lacing. Looks good to me, though I'd be lying if I said the aroma was everything I'd hoped for - there's a light note of indistinct stone fruit, but other than that I'm only getting some gritty wheat grain, as well as a few faint notes of funk and lactic acidity. Too bad; peaches are one of my favourite fruits, and I was hoping for a bit more presence on the nose.

Hmm... tastes fine, although (much to my disappointment) the peach does not seem to be a major factor in the flavour profile. Notes of sour lemon juice and lactic acid come through on the forefront, overlapping with the gritty, grainy wheat sweetness of the underlying Berliner Weisse. Tart flavours of underripe peach are also strewn about, but fail to seize the reins of the profile; instead, it's more lactic sourness that ties things up at the finish, preceding a moderately tart aftertaste that fades quickly. Light-bodied, with lively carbonation levels that prickle the palate aggressively, frothing up slightly in the mouth; the resultant mouthfeel is light, airy, crisp and refreshing.

Final Grade: 3.62, a decent B grade. I had high hopes for Nickel Brook's Peach Über, but unfortunately it left me wanting. Don't get me wrong - as a Berliner Weisse, it's actually rather well made... it's just that the peach fruit failed to carry over into the flavour as well as it should've. Perhaps that's just the way this batch turned out - I understand sours can be tricky to perfect, so I'd be willing to give it another shot at some point in the future. But in the meantime, I'll be sticking with the raspberry and pineapple variants. Worth a look.