Glory & Gold

The 2019 entry from Nickel Brook Brewing Co.’s Reserve Series, Glory & Gold is a bourbon barrel-aged cuvée; a 9.5%, 37 IBU ale brewed in Burlington, Ontario. G&G comes in 500mL bottles, wax-dipped and boxed. [As an aside to any brewers who might be reading—I get it, waxed dipped bottles look great. They’re also a colossal pain in the ass for your customers. Either add an easy-tear tab like a bottle of Maker’s Mark or don’t do it.] Listed among the ingredients are Demerara sugar, orange peel, dried figs, raisins, vanilla beans, cardamom, allspice, cinnamon, black pepper, and lactobacillus. According to the copy, the beer is aged for two years in Kentucky bourbon barrels.

G&G is a murky, rusty ale with a modest cream head. Boozy and sweet to the nose, it has aromatics that are well spiced, heightened by dried fruit, and a wee bit funky. The flavour is equally complicated, with sweet and fruity notes up front, backed up by tangy mulled wine elements, and a surprisingly bitter, spice-rich finish. There are warm, woody notes throughout, though these are understated—or perhaps just lost in the noise of everything else going on.

An enjoyable wintry ale with lots of pop, Glory & Gold is ambitious, but a bit busy. To my mind, there is simply too much going on to make this beer the classic that I think Nickel Brook set out to create. Each sip has layers, and that’s commendable, but I feel too many of these were stepping on their fellows’ toes, with a somewhat muddled result. I was particularly fond of the peppery finish, though, as well as the mulled wine character. I think this beer had a lot of potential and showed a lot of promise. I liked it, but not enough to buy another to cellar (although I am curious about how it’d age).

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.