Nickel Brook Bull Eye Gluten Free Pale Ale

Brewed by Better Bitters Brewing Co.
Style: American Pale Ale
Burlington, Canada

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tulip

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As a salutation of solidarity to my gluten-free brothers, I rate this beer. Quite frankly, I have no idea what it means to be sensitive to "gluten", or any other thing out there - I eat them all, and in some countries they give me the runs, but little else. So the fact that such a problem exists, and persists, and is even important enough that brewers will make a beer that avoids your affliction, I feel for you. It has a typical head and yellow body, the aroma is heavy on the hops but also exhibits leather, meat, salt, soft hops. The flavour is very perfumatic hops, several layers of it, lending a plantiness to the whole experiment. I’d call it a weird beer, it lacks balance, but then again I’m not averse to gluten and cannot say what a gluten-allergic person might think of the thing. Amidst all my non-gluten beers, this one is all right. For sure.

Can from the LCBO. Bright, clear golden with a good sized white head that recedes to a thin cap pretty quickly. Aroma is oddly tangy (likely from the sorghum) with a fruity back note and a very slight herbal edge. Nice mouthfeel that’s closer to a "real" beer than most other gluten free beers I’ve tried. Flavour could definitely be more beer-like - the pear juice is quite prominent, and it’s sweeter than I’d like - but the hops take a bit of the edge off, and there’s a nice subtle bitterness in the finish. Some might consider the use of pear juice and demerara sugar to be cheating, but if I was gluten intolerant and looking for a beer substitute, I’d probably be more concerned with finding something decent & drinkable than I would be with the ingredients used to make it. And decent & drinkable is exactly what this beverage is.

Canette 473ml sous le nom "Nickel Brook Gluten Free" et titrant à 5,8% d’alcool. De couleur dorée et claire. Nez de grains de céréales sucrés et de légumes bouillis, moyen de caramel butterscotch et d’alcool métallique, léger de fruits (pommes macérées, notes d’agrumes, traces d’ananas) et de houblon floral aux notes citriques et herbeuses (herbes mouillées). Moyennement ronde en bouche avec un pétillement moyen-fort et une texture légèrement huileuse. Moyen-léger goût fruité (pommes macérées, traces d’agrumes et de poires vertes) accompagné de notes de légumes bouillis sucrés lors de l’entrée en bouche auquel se rajoute un goût de grains de céréales moyennement sucrées avec un léger goût de butterscotch et des notes de pain mouillé puis en finale l’on retrouve une légère amertume de houblon herbeux (herbes mouillées) avec des petites traces florales ainsi que des traces d’alcool métallique. Post-goût moyen-court composé d’une légère amertume de houblon herbeux avec un léger goût fruité (pelures de pommes, pépins de poire) et des petites traces d’alcool.

UPDATED: JUL 5, 2011 A golden "IPA" with a thin collapsing white head. In aroma, rather strange butterscotch and coconut cream mix, not really hoppy, bizarre. In mouth, I have to admit this is half decent for a gluten free beer, subdued butterscotch, light British hops, caramel, but some off puting solventy notes. I’m not going to be too harsh given that for the genre, this is not too bad. Can from LCBO, June 2011.

Tried the cask version at Ottawa cask fest., June 26 2011., and that was a total miss, looking like pineaplle juice, aroma of floor polish, bizarre, strange and bilous mouthfeel, iodine, vomit, bad...4-2-3-1-4.

473ml can
5.8% ABV (as written on can)
I tried this beer on February 23, 2011 after purchasing from one of my local LCBO outlets. The beer poured a translucent medium gold colour with a short lived very thin white head. The aroma is exotic fruits and licorice. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with mild carbonation. The flavour is perfumey fruit and licorice.

Can from the LCBO. The pour is pale golden with a bit of white head. The aroma is a little bit cidery with a touch of light citrusy hoppiness. Light bodied with some moderate bitterness. It doesn’t have that odd sort of sorghum twang that I get from other gluten-free products. I don’t think it’s up to the level of some other examples I’ve had, but if I were gluten intolerant, I’d drink this in a heartbeat.

If I had to have gluten free things I would probably give up beer if I had to drink this kind of thing. It had a very ruff taste, your plate cleared quick but it was not a good taste.

473 ml can from LCBO, served cold in a tulip glass. Sold as “Nickel Brook Gluten Free”...02JA11.

App.: Clear golden with a loose white foam. Aroma: Oddly grainy, a bit fruity, sorta dusty cereals, a hint of...acetone, a strange phenolic note, not sure what to make if this! Palate: Medium body and fairly aggressive carbonation. Flav.: Old apple juice, strange musty/dusty grains, vague fruitiness, strangely peppery, overall pretty gross; dry with mild bitterness and a vaguely fruity, grainy finish.

Maybe gluten-intolerant individuals should stick to wine.

Comes in can written "Nickel Brook Gluten Free" on it. Wow... such a weird smell is the first thing you notice. A mix of caramel and balsamic vinegar. Pours a thick golden colour with almost no head, disappearing very quickly and no lace to talk about. Even the carbonation is hard to find. The taste is a bit better with some hints of apples and the decent hoppy finish. Ingredients listed are spring water, sorghum, pear juice, demerara sugar and hops. Pear juice ?? OK. I thank God I am not allergic to gluten.

UPDATED: JAN 19, 2011 Can: Poured a clear bright golden color ale with a large foamy head with good retention and some light lacing. Aroma consists of rotten hops and overcooked vegetable with some rotten grass. Taste is about as good as aroma description indicates. I am wondering if there was a change in recipee considering the newest ratings are so low.