Beer # 86 Nickel Brook Green Apple Pilsner

Nickel Brook Green Apple Pilsener


Better Bitters, The Nickel Brook Brewing Company
Burlington, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Flavoured Pilsner 4.0 % ABV Aluminum Can 473 ml.
$2.75 (Canadian) At The LCBO


Twitter: @nickelbrookbeer


Well this is the last of my Shandy posts, after this I return to my regular beer soaked ramblings. I will however, continue in the fruit and spice genre as this year there seems to be a plethora of fruit based beers. Let's just say in the next week there is raspberry, blueberry, ginger, and spice on my horizon ( and by extension your horizon too Dear  Reader ).


Nickel Brook is a fabulous little brewery in the grand metropolis of Burlington south of Toronto. I had the distinct fortune to visit them a few years back and enjoyed their family oriented business approach. The brewery started out as a brew on premises wine and beer shop. Eventually they added a full time brewery for commercial purposes. Still young and still growing, we are expecting great things from Nickel Brook. Tonight we are trying one of their flagship brands, the very brand that brought them to my attention in the first place: The Green Apple Pilsener.


Onto the tasting:



Colour is medium gold with an frothy off-white head made up of small bubbles. Distinct "Granny Smith" apple aroma the moment the can is cracked. Nose is sugar and hard apple candies, and lots of fresh apple cider. First sip reminds us this is a shandy. The intermingling of cider and rich malty pilsener hits us straight off. Apple candy carries through into the taste, as well as tart unfiltered cider. The beer notes are subtle yet still distinct, rich malt and mild hops, slightly medicinal. Finish alternates between candy apple and earthy beer tones. The beer is bright and effervescent. The can recommends serving with pork, and I think it would work well if you cooked with it.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional   


Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 5/6 PASS
Re-Order:  4/6 PASS
Experience:  5/6 PASS


Final Thoughts:


A very solid offering from the folks in Burlington, however I find it to be a bit of a novelty beer. I would use it in a beer pairing dinner, make a dessert out of it, or just generally cook with it. However, I would find difficulty in justifying buying more than one can of this. I would recommend it to anyone making the leap from "Ready to Drink" bottled cocktails, or coolers to beer. I am even pondering trying a beer based Appletini with it. Fear not, Nickel Brook has some other very amazing beers out there, and once I get my hands on some samples up this way, you will be the first to know. They have a rather good Organic I need to add, and of course I have already done the Nickel Brook Gluten Free. Keep up the great work guys.


Cheers
CJT

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Beer # 62 Nickel Brook Gluten Free

Nickle Brook Gluten Free

Better Bitters Brewing Company 
Burlington, Ontario, Canada (Independent)

Gluten Free Alcoholic Beverage 5.8% ABV Tall Can 473 ml.

$2.95 (Canadian) At LCBO.


I was quite surprised when I was going through the statistics of my blog. I had wanted to see what beers people were reading about so I could try similar beers for future blogs. My number one beer was Aguila, from Columbia, however the big surprise was that the second most read about beer was from Milwaukee Wisconson: New Grist, Gluten free. Now Celiac Disease, or gluten intolerance is getting a lot of press time. It is estimated that upwards of 1 in 1000 people have a sensitivity to the proteins in wheat. (if you suspect you have a gluten intolerance PLEASE GO to www.celiac.ca or www.celiac.com and seek professional help. A gluten free diet SHOULD ONLY be prescribed by a trained physician ) The beer industry, obviously, uses grains in the production of their product so people began to seek ways of making a beer tasting product without using barley or wheat. Tonight's tasting uses three fermentables in it's production: sorghum, pear juice and demerara Sugar. Sorghum is a grain used around the world in more tropical areas than Canada. Related to sugar cane, it can be used as a cereal, a grain, a starch or fermented into a beer-like substance. I say beer-like as most countries define beer as a beverage that must contain either barley wheat, or both.

Sorghum

Nickel Brook is the beer line of Better Bitters. It started life as a beer and wine making store and still carries that aspect to today. At some point the owner John Romano began to brew his own line of beers to be sold directly from the store. They have since expanded and now serve restaurants and are placing their products in the LCBO.


Onto tonight's tasting.


Light copper in colour, little to no head. Sugary fruity pear and grape like nose. First sips strikes me more as a wine, fruity, giving over to mild bitterness and herbal hops. Sweet but not cloying. Dry mildly bitter finish reminiscent of a pale. Aeration brings out the wine flavour, tastes like an unfinished merlot. 

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional

                                                                                                               

Cost:  5/6  PASS

Colour:  5/6  PASS        

Beer Style:  N/A  

Re-Order:  1/6 FAIL   

Experience:   3/6  SO-SO

Final Thoughts:
Well as I said in my earlier post about New Grist. The battle rages on whether a gluten free alcoholic drink, can be called a beer. I'm open to it as beers have been made from rye cake, millet, sorghum, and just about anything our ancestors could get their hands on. However, tonight's tasting, leans me the other way. This does NOT taste like a beer. It tastes like a wine made from pears. the hop character is incidental and of little consequence. That being said. This product tastes good, I won't knock it on flavour. However, It is not a beer. 


Cheers
CJT