Victory Compass Starlight Ale
Nickel Brook Brewing Co. - Burlington

A - Slightly hazed amber. Poured with a smallish head that sticks well to the glass.

S - Nose is juicy grapefruit and mandarin oranges. Light graininess and honey.

T - Solid grapefruit hops and a well balanced sweetness. Hints of lemon. Light grain in the back and an assertive bitter finish. Definitely hop forward. Seems to lose a little flavour as it warms.

M - Light bodied with a slight slickness.

D - Good tasty brew. Lots of citrus hoppiness.

Pint at the Victory Café on stop number two of the cask crawl. This was perhaps the winner of the night.

Picture perfect cask beer appearance, pouring a hazy yellow, with a smooth white head that produced great lace and exhibited excellent retention.The aroma is crisp and clean, but immensely satisfying. A combination of citrus and biscuit malt weave simplicity into something magical. Very citrusy flavour, with a lot of emphasis on the hops, but with enough of a biscuit malt backbone to balance everything out. The body is fairly light, but has a pleasing depth of texture.

Chalk up another win for the Victory Cafe. This is a stunning session beer that could hold its head high in any cask lineup.

Brewed for the Victory Cafe. 5% abv.

A great recipe that was perfectly cask-conditioned.

A: Hazy straw, white head, excellent retention, awesome lacing.

S: Citrus (tangerine & a little lemon), slightly grassy with hints of spearmint and an underlying biscuity malt.

T: Fairly hop-forward with flavours of tangerine, grapefruit and lemon-grass, with some nice biscuity malt. Good bitterness.

M: Light to moderate body is smooth & creamy.

D: Very drinkable (assuming you like a lot of dry-hop flavour).

It puts me in mind of Durham's hop head, though this one has a little more depth to the hops (citrus doesn't completely over-power), and there's maybe a little more biscuit from the malt.

Great stuff!