Bought on a Thursday, opened on the Friday, draft into a straight half. Near black, with a tan head that holds for a minute and then settles into a collar.
The maris otter / crystal / special b bill carries the structure and Target does the seasoning. At 10.4% and 42 IBU it sits where the style should, and Nickel Brook have resisted the urge to push it anywhere else.
It drinks better than it smells, which is the right way round. The Target shows up as flavour rather than perfume, and the finish is clean enough to make the next sip inevitable.
At 10.4% this is a one-glass beer whatever the label suggests, and it warms up faster than it drinks. Twenty minutes in, the Target has receded and what is left is sweeter, rounder and considerably less interesting. Drink it over an hour or share it.
The barrel is doing real work here rather than decorating the label. Oak tannin frames the finish, and the spirit character sits underneath the beer instead of on top of it, which is the difference between an aged beer and a flavoured one.
Against the rest of the stout shelf this holds its own comfortably. It is not the beer that will convert anybody to the style, but it is the one you reach for once the converting is done, and at $15.50 / 500ml it is honestly priced.
Bought at Nickel Brook Taproom (annual at the time of writing). Cellar it. Two years turns the heat into depth.
A beer for the door of the fridge rather than a shelf under glass.
