Better Bitters Nickel Brook Ice Bock

Formerly brewed at Better Bitters Brewing Co.
Style: Eisbock
Burlington, Canada

4oz glass at the Kitchener Ribfest ’08. Dark with a thin white head. Flavour is sweet, with some nice roast malt in the backgound. Not bad.

at Cest What. great, like a more sour Christoffel Winterse Bok. Has a cola-fruity flavor and aroma with some hop edge, and is a bit lactic-sour. I get a little grapey sultana-raisin and some banana. Murky dense brown.

Bottle: Decants a hazed rusty-brown lager with a lofty 2 finger head that reduces to a thick surface cap and laces well. Aromas are somewhat subdued but there are dark fruits, black strap, bread. Flavor is toasty, some char/cocoa but dominated by Noble hop herbal-nutty-woody tones ....finish is anticlimactic with the hops riding out over a weak malt profile. Not what one would expect for the style....to be fair I suspect this sample is a few months old and not as bright as a fresh sample...all the same its not a loss as I love the Tettnangers as they come forward in this brew.

On tap at C’est What, Toronto. Deep copper, cloudy colour with small tan head. Slightly sweet malty aroma with notes of yeast and slight hop bitterness.

Bottle- Deep and transparent mahogany liquid sits under a small and short lived thin off white head. Some lace. Nose is sugary (brown sugar, demererra) some nutty notes with a bit of dark fruits and metallic nuances. Tastes of sweet nutty caramel malts, brown sugar, and again, dark fruit. The slightly higher than normal alcohol doesn’t really show up. Finishes sweet with only a small serving of hops, quite astringent. Ok.

On tap at Volo , Toronto
Appearance: dark amber brown feel , light mid creamy head.
Nose: Medium light aroma. Slight ripe fruit feel , plums and caramel.
Flavor/Palate : Medium full bodied. Slight feel of decent malt with sweet light brown character. Alcohol well blended. Light hops in shadow. Black tea like at finish.

Draught. At BeerBistro - 2008 Golden Tap Awards. Cloudy, light copper pour with a decent frothy head. Aroma of cranberry and light cedar, with a strong underlying sweet malt base, only mild spice. The taste didn’t quite live up though, sort of wan and dead - dry woodiness, weedy bitterness, weak sweet malt body. Average bodied, slightly dry and astringent, with a long, increasingly acidic finish, almost lactic by the end. Smells very nice, but sort of falls apart after that.

Very fruity beer, winey, with a bit of caramel, grapes, and dark fruits. Not too much alcohol. Well-balanced and fairly enjoyable. Great fruit.