HIGHER DIMENSION ~ NICKEL BROOK 

7.5% from Burlington, Ontario

Higher Dimension comes out of Nickel Brook’s Funk Lab. It is a dry-hopped Belgian Amber ale with brett. It is also a collaboration with VQH farms - who are Canadian Hop farmers, and breeders. Sampled on draught the beer poured a murky orange brown with a generous sudsy white head. Some tropical fruit, florals, toffee, dark bread, spice, funk and a touch of rubber on the nose. Those flavours are found in this muddled mixture too. Caramel malts mix with grapefruit and other tropical fruits, with bretty barnyard and a little spice. There is a lot going here, bitter and sour and sweet. The finish has a bitter bite, the carbonation was average and the brew was medium bodied. An interesting experiment but this one misses the mark for me, however it raises awareness of a great cause.

CUVÉE ~ NICKEL BROOK

Cuvee is an auburn ale, brewed with both North American and European malts, Caribbean demerara, fruits (figs, orange peel, raisin), herbs and spice (cinnamon, all spice, black pepper, cardamom and vanilla beans) and then aged in bourbon barrels. Good fresh and great for cellaring. Sampled on draught, the brew poured a very murky brown, with a finger’s height of puffy frothy beige head, which left some leggy lacing. The aroma contained spices, white wine, dried fruit, dark fruit, herbal notes, sugar, roasted grains, citrus and subtle oak, bourbon and vanilla - wonderfully complex. The flavour was just as complex, with flavours of spice, fruit, Christmas cake, wine, caramel-sugar sweetness, orange peel with a tart finish and notes of pepper, vanilla and oaky bourbon. The beer had a medium to full body, lots of active carbonation, and a slightly drying finish. A delicious and complex beer, I would love to know what an aged bottle tastes like. Expensive but worth it!
8% from Burlington, Ontario

BRETT FARMHOUSE (LAB SERIES 2 – 2016) ~ NICKEL BROOK 

Yet another great offering from the ‘Funk Lab.” This brew is farmhouse ale brewed with brettanomyces. Sampled on draught the beer poured a slightly hazy rich golden yellow with a moderate bone white head. The head didn’t last long, and only left scant lacing. The nose has lots of stone fruit, along with cereal grains, citrus, spicy Belgian yeast (three strains of saison yeast were used), pepperiness and funk. The flavour followed the nose with hints of funk and sour, Belgian yeast, wheat, light fruitiness and pepperiness at the end, along with citrusy-grass hops. The beer was not as sweet as the nose may have suggested. The body was light to medium, carbonation was lively and the finish was quite dry. This beer is crisp and bright and nicely balanced. Will revisit this one.

5.8% from Burlington, Ontario 23 IBU 

DUPLICITOUS (LAB SERIES 7 2016) ~ NICKEL BROOK

Duplicitous is a dry hopped gose from Nickel Brook’s funk lab. I believe Nickel Brook and Collective Arts have either combined forces or sharing a brewery. ickel Brook’s old brewery in Burlington has now become their Funk lab releasing their Brett based and sour beers. Sampled on draught the beer poured a light lemony yellow with a thin white head. The nose has a light sourness, little briny and grains and citra hops. The taste is quite bright and not too sour. The flavour has lots of lemon, a bit of sweet wortiness, a subtle amount of salt and that lovely dry hooped flavour from citra hops. The mouthfeel is on the thin side. The beer is refreshing and very approachable. Really enjoyed the funk labs offerings this year.

4% from Burlington, Ontario 0 IBU

PEACH UBER ~ NICKEL BROOK

Peach Über is a release from the 2016 Lab Series, from Nickel Brook. It is Nickel Brook’s Berliner Weisse (soured with lactobacillus during the sour mash process) with the addition of peaches. Sampled on draught the beer poured an opaque yellow body with the slightest hint of peach colour, with a generous foamy white head, which disappeared quickly. The aroma contained fresh peach and sour Berliner weisse traits, lemon and some subtle grains. My first sip was very peachy – not artificial peach, but a juicy peach picked right from the tree. After the first sip I found the peach to sit more in the background, as moderate sourness and citrus did it’s refreshing magic. There is a very subtle graininess and floral notes hat compliments the sour. The carbonation was lively, the mouthfeel was medium and the finish was tart, lightly drying and thirst quenching on an unseasonably hot day. A nice summer sour bomb!

4% from Burlington, Ontario

CERES CUCUMBER LIME GOSE (LAB SERIES 5 – 2016) ~ NICKLEBROOK

This most interesting brew is from Nickel Brook’s “Funk Lab”, which is at their original brewery site in Burlington. (Nickel Brook has moved some production to Hamilton now). Sampled on draught, this beer poured a light golden colour with lots of visible effervescence. The nose had lots of cucumber and tart citrus, with cereal grain too. I really liked this one, but perhaps it is not for everyone. The brew is a gose brewed with Himalayan sea salt and coriander, cucumber, lime (juice and zest) with a wheat base. It is a sour, tart and refreshing beer with bursting with cucumber and lime, with no bitterness. There are some great contrasts between the sweet, salty and acidic. It did not taste all that beer like at all, but a good descriptor escapes me at the moment. It does have a pickle brine/house salad quality too it (I know that sounds weird). I found this satisfyingly quenching on a day that was incredibly hot. A most unique brew…but perhaps not for everyone.

4% from Burlington, Ontario

LE PAYSAN SAISON ~ NICKEL BROOK

Sampled on draught this beer poured a rich cloudy golden amber with a generous white head that left beautiful lacing. The nose contained fruity esters (especially peach), along with spicy Belgian yeasts, citrus and grassy hops. The flavour was slightly sweet with lots of fruity esters and citrus. A nice spiciness finish with herbal hops. The beer did lack of typical saison funk. The beer is well-carbonated and medium in body. A decent version of the style, refreshing and containing lots of flavour. A very pleasant saison.

5.7% from Burlington, Ontario

MALEVOLENT ~ NICKEL BROOK

Malevolent is an Imperial Black IPA. Sampled from a tin the beer poured almost black with deep burgundy highlights. It had a large creamy dark mocha head, which lasted quite a while and left a good amount of lacing on the glass. Aromas contain coffee, piny resinous and citrus hops (Simcoe, Columbus and Centennial hops were used), roast malts, molasses, and perhaps there are some subtle fruits in there too. The taste is a wallop of piny and citrus hops followed by dark roasted malts. Notes of chocolate, dark roasted malts, coffee, chocolate and earth also are found in this brew. The finish is bitter and slightly drying. The alcohol is well hidden. The carbonation is average and the beer is full bodied and creamy. This is a bold but refined brew, there is lots going on, but the tastes don’t compete with each other. Most excellent.

9.5% from Burlington, Ontario 8o IBU

BRETT PALE ALE ~ NICKEL BROOK

This is a Pale Ale made with Brett and a Belgian yeast strain. Sampled on draught this Brett pale ale poured a murky golden colour with a small off white head. It was chocked full of flavour. Farmyard funk, stone fruit, mango and lots of citrus were on the nose. The flavour followed much as would be expected. The funk swirled with grapefruit and lemon and orange citrus. There was a very subtle sweetness before it ended with a pine resin hop finish that was crisp and dry. The pine and grapefruit mellowed as it warmed, letting more of the subtle sweetness and earthiness emerge. The carbonation and body were medium. Though this is brewed with Belgian yeast, it tasted more like complex American Pale ale to me.

5.5 % From Burlington, Ontario 42 IBU

NAUGHTY NEIGHBOUR ~ NICKEL BROOK

Sampled from a fresh tin (made with no preservatives), Naughty Neighbour is an American Style Pale Ale. The ‘neighbour’ part of the name is a reference to our neighbour to the south. The beer poured a cloudy light amber colour with a sizeable eggshell head. The head lasted a while and left some lacing as it disappeared. The beer was clearly unfiltered and left some sediment at the bottom of the glass. The nose was dominated by hops at first, leading with citrus and pine (cascade, centennial and Citra); there were also subtle fruity esters (tropical fruit) happening and a hint of grain and bread. The flavour is crisp and clean. Lots of citrus and pine in the flavour but there are also more subtle flavours in the background: tropical fruit, floral, grass, bread. This pretty juicy APA finished with a moderate hop kick and a dry finish. The carbonation was moderate (the beer is naturally carbonated) and the beer was full flavoured. Tons of flavour and a low ABV make this a great session beer. For me personally, I prefer my session beer to be a little less hoppy.

4.9 % from Burlington, Ontario 38 IBU

HIGH TEA IN EXILE ~ NICKEL BROOK

Sampled on cask. It is an English Mild style beer, brewed with the addition of Earl Grey tea and lemons. It poured a dark golden colour, with a little cloudiness. It is very pleasant. The flavours of tea and lemon are there but not overpowering in the least. The beer contained some lemon and floral notes on the nose. The tea complimented the light malts and the lemon takes the edge of the tannins of the tea. A very nice blend. Unfortunately this was a one-off brew.

5% from Burlington, Ontario

SAWDUST CITY & NICKLE BROOK  

~11.05 IMPERIAL SAISON ~

Every year Sawdust City and Nickel Brook release a collaboration beer in honour of both their head brewers birthdays. This year Sam Corbeil and Rick Morrow teamed up to make 11.05 (the third birthday brew) which is an Imperial Saison. It is a limited time release and only available at the brewery’s stores. Sampled on draught, the beer pours a copper amber colour with little head. The aroma and flavour are packed with fruits, liquor, and citrus – the smell reminded me of the brandied fruit we always soaked overnight to bake into the Christmas cake. The beer was quite sweet and almost wine like. The citrus was evident (the beer contains five different fruits: orange, tangerine, lemon, grapefruit and lime) as was an overripe berry taste and a mild breadiness. Complex but remarkably easy drinking for 11.5%.

11.5% from Burlington and Gravenhurst, Ontario

AUTUMNUS ~ NICKEL BROOK  

Sampled on Draught.  Autumnus is a hefeweizen and a one-off brew form Nickel Brook   It pours a hazy light yellow with a small white head.  The aroma is quite floral with herbal and earthy-grassy notes.  Flavour is quite similar to the nose with lingering herbal and floral notes, and a touch of citrus and subtle spice.  There were no traces of bubble-gum or banana so often found in other hefes.   The beer had creaminess to it with a clean bitter finish.  Nice mix of wheat and hops.  Good beer for transitioning seasons.

5.7% from Burlington, Ontario

ÜBER ~ NICKEL BROOK

Nickel Brook has made a one-off , summer Berliner Weisse.  This was the third Berliner Weisse I tried this year, and though it is a good example of the style of beer it was my least favourite.   Sampled on draft.  Aroma is tart with lots of fruity lemon and a peppery spiciness.   The taste is quite tart, exploding with lemon juice and unripe fruit, with a subtle earthiness underneath.  The finish is what makes this my least favourite of the Berliners I have tried – it was too dry.  The beer left a dusty, ashy aftertaste – a taste I do not find pleasant.

 3.8% from Burlington, Ontario
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CONTINENTAL DRIFT ~  NICKLEBROOK BREWING CO

Belgian Style pale ale. Brewed by using Belgian yeast and American Amarillo and Columbus hops. Pours cloudy pale straw yellow. Citrus hops balanced with a maltiness. Nice summer beer!

5.5% from Burlington, Ontario

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