Nickel Brook Bolshevik Bastard Imperial Stout

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 10

This is one amazing stout and was voted one of the world’s best a few years back, and it’s not hard to know why. The blackest pour imaginable is topped off by a creamy brown head. Aromas of coffee, roasted malt, licorice and vanilla fill the air while the flavour is nicely balanced with a nice bitter finish and no aftertaste.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Pours a frothy brownish head and has a dark brown appearance. Thick dirty lacing. Aromas of light toffee and toasty malts. Very mild smokey like flavours along with notes of toffee, light chocolate and hints of nuts and breads. Sort of like a milk stout. Slick and oily mouthfeel with a mild tingling sensation. Pretty good, smooth and creamy and easy to drink. Alcohol is very well hidden.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Enjoyed at Borthers Beer Bistro in Ottawa, ON. Pours a very dark brown colour with a small light brown head and not much lacing. Smokey roasted malt aromas with hints of maple. Nicely balanced between the dark malt and sharp bitterness. Decent hop lingering in the aftertaste with notes of molasses. A nice light dry mouthfeel. Well-blended Imperial Stout that goes down nicely.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Bottle purchaced from brewery. Pours a very dark brown with a small brown head.No retentention and little lacing. Aroma is of dark chocolate and dark fruits. Lots of flavor,like the smell with the addition of coffee and a hint of licorice. Very smooth but I expected it too have more body. Overall it is very drinkable. The best from this brewer so far

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Aroma is of alcohol. Pours great and looks scary like It's name. Very dark beer with a very dark head that disappears quickly. Leaves a sugary aftertaste on your teeth. I think less is more with this beer, reduce the alcohol, and brew with less residual sugars. Oh yea, this is my favorite beer label to date.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Nickel Brook Imperial Stout 550ml draught
9.0% ABV
I tried this beer on draught on December 30, 2011 at "C'est What" in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The beer poured a solid dark brown with black edges and a creamy brown coloured cap. The aroma is roasted malt, coffee, and chocolate with hints of bourbon. The mouthfeel was full bodied with medium carbonation. The flavour was roasted malt, lots of coffee, and a splash of vanilla. The best Nickel Brook beer I've had to date.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Bottled samples from the Brewery: poured a pitch black ale in the tulip that defies light to pass through the glass with all but slight ruby high lights. Thick sticky two finger deep cola-colored meringue like cap. Modest natural carbonation. Aroma is well defined and becomes more pungent as it warms: fairly complex nose to it with amalgams of dried fruit, chicory, coffee, cocoa, ripe fruits, malts, nuts and some grassy notes. Great aroma, fills the room. Silky mouth feels, rich rounded flavor with a slick mouth feel. Taste profile starts with rich roasty malting and a chicory-cocoa presence that pummels the palate as the complexity of dried fruits, dark roast coffee, licorice, hazel nuts and resinous hops work the edges and back of the palate. Finish is long, drying, bitter-roasty and luxuriously smooth. As it warms it gets a port-like discernment in nose and palate. A world class Imperial stout from a solid local craft brewer. The beauty of this Impy is the way it is dry and smooth in the finish, verrrry drinkable! I can hardly wait to try the oak barrel aged version of this in a few months’ time.