Midnight Melt Salted Caramel
Nickel Brook Brewing Co. - Burlington

On first tasting this was one of my favourites. However, after having it again I find it to be more of a one and done. Tastes like black coffee, espresso, chocolate. Can't really taste the alcohol which is surprising at 11%

Look: Pours black with a 3 finger tightly bubbled mocha coloured head. The head pulls back slowly leaving a solid 1/2 finger of cover and significant lacing along the sides of the glass after 5 minutes.

Smell: Smells most strongly of bourbon with a noteworthy astringent sharpness. Hints of bakers chocolate are present as well.

Taste: Leather, bourbon and oak on the front end. In the mid sip I picked up on medium dark chocolate, not as bitter as a dark bakers chocolate but not as sweet as a milk chocolate. Mid sip to the end a light taste of salted caramel came forward but it was underwhelming.

Feel: Very soft and full. Slightly oily over the front of the tongue and into the end of the sip.

A good, but not great offering from Nickel Brook. This new offer is worth trying but doesn't live up to the standards of their more developed yearly barrel aged offering of Kentucky Bourbon. It competes well with Café Del Bastardo. I'd give it an A-

12 ounce can from the brewery in Burlington - packaged Nov 30/23 - purchased Nov 20/24.
Pours black with small creamy short lived mocha head.
Aroma of caramel, vanilla, a bit of chocolate and dark fruits - a decent whack of bourbon and oak.
Tastes of sweet caramel, date, brown sugar, and vanilla all on a boozy oaked bourbon backing; chocolatey notes.
Medium mouthfeel with soft carbonation and a boozy sweet finish.

 

 

 

 

355 mL can from the LCBO; dated Feb 6 2023 and served barely chilled.

Pours black as night, giving rise to nearly three fingers of prodigiously foamy, dark tan-coloured head. It slowly dissipates over the course of the next ten minutes, gradually dropping down to a thin, creamy collar and patchy cap; a meandering, half-inch curtain of lace is deposited in its wake. Firm whiffs of bourbon, oak and ethanol greet the nostrils with the first sniff, paired with lesser hints of dark chocolate, vanilla, salted caramel and herbal licorice. Not especially aromatic, taking into account both the style and the beer's strength.

Sweet flavours of milk chocolate, caramel, oatmeal and toffee get things started, with vanilla, cocoa and bourbon developing more by mid-sip. Charred oak, burnt sugar, licorice and herbal hops on the back end, with bourbon, oak, vanilla and salted caramel lingering into a boozy, moderately sugary aftertaste. Full-bodied, with low carbonation that adds a faint spritz to this brew's overwhelmingly smooth, soft mouthfeel. Fairly easy to sip back, but putting this in a short can (vs. a pint or bomber) was the right decision, for reasons relating to affordability and drinkability.

Final Grade: 4.02, an A-. Nickel Brook's Midnight Melt Salted Caramel is a really good imperial stout, but I can't say it's their finest work in this category. The salted caramel comes through OK, but it's pushed out of the limelight by the bourbon and barrel flavours - added together, it comes off as merely a sweeter-than-average BBA stout. Worth a shot, but I'd take most of their Bastard beers over this one, i.e. Kentucky, Bolshevik, Café Del Bastardo, etc.

355 ml can served cold into a pint glass. LCBo purchase for $5 and change. Canned November 4, 2022.

Appearance - Very dark brown in coclor, nearing black. A finger plus of light tan head rests on top with a dense and frothy look to it.

Smell - Bourbon, sugar, vanilla, some caramel. The bourbon and vanilla relly the strongest aromas by far.

Taste - Lots of bourbon and vanilla. Boozy with some alcoholic bitterness. Caramel kind of finds its way through with some saltiness, but the salt and the strongness of the bourbon seem to counteract.

Mouthfeel - Full bodied, carbonation is low with a boozy sharpness. Texture is pretty velvety.

Overall - The bourbon sharpness just detracts enough here, the rest of the beer isn't seem featured enough. With that all said, Midnight Melt is still a solid BBA option, it just doesn't have the depth of other similar (and similarly priced BBA's)