Cuvée (2008-2011)
Nickel Brook Brewing Co. - Burlington

 

 

 

 

Appearance: It has a nice murky dark orange/brown color to it. It has a small off-white head that dies down quite fast and leaves very minimal lacing. A bit of sediment floating around.

Smell: The aromas definitly give out hints of cinnamon, clove and nutmeg with some banana and brown sugar.

Taste: Like the aromas, the spices dominate the flavor with cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg witch is followed by a brown sugar and almost banana bread like sweetness.

Mouthfeel: It has a light carbonation with a decent overall balance and feel.

Drinkability: It's a very smooth drinkable beer accompanied with decent flavors and aromas.

 

Special thanks to TheSevenDuffs for getting me local stuff I'd never be able to get otherwise!

A- Murky dark brown with hints of orange and red. A two finger off white head recedes to a thin soapy cap with moderate lacing.

S- Strong cinnamon notes with cloves, ginger and nutmeg. There is a slightly odd buttery note that doesn't seem like it should be there. There really isn't anything more to this than literally throwing the baking spices into the mix and walking away.

T- Strong dry cinnamon again, followed by ginger, nutmeg, allspice and caramel with a visit from that buttery sensation. There is a slight metallic note to it as well in the back end.

M- Light to medium bodied. Slightly slippery feeling.

O- Not bad, not excellent. Honestly can't see myself drinking more than one in a sitting. It's almost a Christmas beer but falls short.

12 oz bottle from the brewery in to Founders tulip.

A - Murky medium brown with a ruby glow around the edges. Half a finger of off-white head quickly receded to a ring around the glass.

S - Big spice nose - nutmeg, clove, cinnamon. Some light caramel notes in the background but very difficult to detect anything other than the spice.

T - Big spice flavour up front - clove, ginger, cinnamon. Some sweetness in the background with some brown sugar notes. A fairly one dimensional beer. Would be nice to taste a little more of the malt bill and a little less spice but overall this is still a nice beer with an inviting spice profile.

M - Medium body, light carbonation. Somewhat dry throughout.

Pours a murky brown, hazy, light white head on top, minimal lacing. Smell is herby at first, raisin, cinnamon, spicy notes, green/white pepper, ginger, touch of clove, banana. Taste is spicy, peppery notes, ginger, dark fruit, some good bitter notes and cinnamon. Medium mouthfeel, good weight overall, carbonation is pretty good as well. This shows lots of potential, would like to try this again down the road, much better than the stuff the can and sell at the LCBO.

On tap at Volo, served (quite cold) in a wine glass.

Poured a dark russet brown with some violet and mahogany to it. A thin ring of head is left, with very light retention and lace. Nose is full of spices, ginger, clove, some banana (?), dark sour dough bread and brown sugar. Taste still has alot of the spicing, more ginger and gingerbread, allspice and less cloves. Bready, with some almost belgian yeastiness, albeit muted. Overall, the spicing dominates and no alcohol is noticable. Warming and relatively full mouthfeel. A nice spicy beer, which I think would do quite well as a winter warmer.

Bottle:
Pours a burnished amber color, clear, bright, abundant white cap.

Sweet caramel-toffee malts in the nose spicy herbal hops...very rich aroma

Ample chewy body, sweet malt dominates the front side as fruity yeast esters and hop spicyness join later, long rich finish with some char/toast from patent malts, malty-sweet finish with a lingering sweet-bitter aftertaste.

Not a bad offering at all, these rich ales aren't my cup of tea but I like this one well enough

This is currently available in bottle form at Chancey Smith's in London, Ontario- Deep mahogany, almost opaque, with red hues. Nice creamy lace here, sticks to the glass. The nose is very spicy and inviting. Pure pumpkin pie filling with extra cinnamon, floral essence, American oak, some vanilla. Tastes like it smells. Lots of creamy pumpkin pie filling, sweet oak and vanilla, some cocoa nibs, ginger, a good dose of cinnamon. This is creamy, quite layered, and also pretty complex. My only complaint is that it seems to thin out a bit towards the end. Overall, a winner, and another great brew from a long line at Better Bitters. Keep up the good work John Romano, and thanks for getting this one in Milos!

Pours a hazy amber-brown with barely any head, looks kind of like dark apple cider.

Smells pretty complex. Cinnamon, apple, oak, a slight soury fruity aroma, pretty interesting.

Tastes like it smells, doesn't taste much like beer, pretty sweet and lots of interesting spices, very cidery and sour, but not bad.

Slightly watery mouthfeel, overall a very different beer, I didn't mind it but I probably wouldn't buy it.

Bottle at the brewery. Low natural carbonation, like a cask.Very nice, 60 days on the wood. Cinammon, I think nutmeg. Nice brown colour. Dry finish, nicely integrated. The cuvees that I bump ratings usually have more yeast and mouthfeel, still very enjoyable and this would be a regular if I could get it readily available.

Served at Victory's Winter Cask Ale Festival, and a contender for the best beer of the day. Here's the description from the program: "Dark amber coloured strong ale with a spicy aroma and flavour. Made with a special blends of herbs and spices, and cellared in oak for six months".

Poured a hazy amber with a bubbly white head that faded to a film and left a little lace. Intensely fruit aroma - lots of tropics - some sweetness and some spiciness. The flavour goes long on the tropical fruit - I guess if I had to pinpoint specific flavours I'd say mango, kiwi and lychee (which sounds like a nice basis for a fruit salad). There's also spicing akin to candied ginger and cinnamon, but there's better integration and complexity than a lot of spice beers. The alcohol is detectable in a warming finish, but surprisingly well hidden through the rest of the proceedings. My only complaint would be that the oak is not as prominent as I would expect from 6 months aging. The body has a nice medium heft and low carbonation from the cask.

Another winner (this was a good fest), and I'd pick up some bottles if it came up at the brewery. This is the best beer I've had from them so far.