Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
On tap at the Miami Inn. Red-bodied topped with an initially fluffy, soon dissipating, light tan head. Toasty aroma with caramel notes. Flavor is classic Irish Ale: toasty with a Cheerios-like grain flavor, a touch of caramel, and finishing on a bitter note. Sweeter than Goose Island Kilgubbin. A nice treat.
Clarkvv (16523) reviewed 15th Anniversary Ale from Great Lakes Brewing 22 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5
Pours a syrupy looking deep yellow gold. Good white head. Aroma is slightly sharp and phenolic. Herbal and spicy. Body is very smooth and creamy, bananas and candied sugar. Good fresh flavor and decent belgian yeast appeal BUT as much as I bitch about belgians being highly carbonated, when they arent and are flat, such as this is, it just dosent seem appealing. Too sweet and flat and syrupy. Very good flavors though other than that. 7/4/7/3/15
Tried another bottle, 12/10/15.
Perhaps this much sugar helps impede oxidation? I don’t know but this stuff isn’t horribly oxidized. It is, still, intensely sweet and heavy handed on the peach, banana, clove and white pepper. Basically, about as Americanized of a "Belgian" beer as you can get and really nothing particularly redeeming. The alcohol is concealed, sure, but you could conceal anything behind this much syrupy sugar. Yuck. I’m much less forgiving now than I was back then, but I suspect even then I was being a bit forgiving, for no reason. Cidery, boozey, intensely peachy and clovey. The carbonation is low, but not altogether unpleasant. So there is that...Score is updated based on this, but also rethinking my previous rating.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
One of the premier porters in my sometimes humble opinion. Pours with a deep chestnut brown body and a thick, creamy tan head. Roasted malts, toast, coffee, and a hint of chocolate share the aroma. Rich flavor dominated by roasted, toasty malts, dry chocolate, coffee, and even a touch of caramel touching the palate. Finishes with notable earthy hops. Good bottles remind me in many ways of Victory Storm King.
Clarkvv (16523) reviewed Burning River from Great Lakes Brewing 22 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Amber-brown, most clear, good beige head. Fairly bubbly , good lacing. Aroma is of weak cascades, slightly soapy? Decent body, meaty and hoppy, less bitter and acidic than Sierra Nevada. Pretty good hops flavor, lightish caramel malt flavor. Very soft for the amount of bitterness in it. Good offering.
Clarkvv (16523) reviewed Christmas Ale from Great Lakes Brewing 22 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
You just got off your connecting flight late and have 15 minutes until the next flight leaves. Youve got a ways to go to the next gate. What do you do, walk to the gate or sprint to the airport bar, down a beer and sprint back? I took option B. Pours a deep reddish-brown with some brighter red-auburn highlights. Medium amount of yellowish head, small amount of lacing, filtered. Aroma of nutmeg, some sweeter ginger (due to the malt) and more spice. Begins with some nutmeg and ginger but has a good enough malt backbone to back it up. Light caramel malt flavor, very spicy all the way through the body. Finishes on a drier hops note. Reminded me alot of last year's Anchor OSA, though was sweeter due to a large amount of honey flavoring that lingers. It's like a honey ginger beer (well I've only had one honey ginger) with some cinnamon and a bit more caramel malt. Medium body, a bit of wateriness, carbonation not a problem as it warms, a bit too sweet to really be outstanding.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Poured a cloudy yellow-orange, with a thin white head. Aroma of banana, clove, and sharper (lemony) citrus. Flavor of strong lemony, tangy citrus, a touch of banana, clove and other spices. Tart and full-bodied. Some alchohol evident in the aftertaste, which finishes dry. My only complaint is that this beer is too syrupy, and the tartness is cloying after a few sips.
Silphium (4308) reviewed Christmas Ale from Great Lakes Brewing 22 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
2003 bottling. Amid a medley of spices and flavors, the folks at Great Lakes forget the "beer" when brewing their Christmas Ale. Pours with a clear copper body and a thin off-white head. Aroma of everything listed on the label: cinnamon and ginger dominate, and honey is evident. Flavor is strong ginger with some cinnamon and a touch of honey. Also a touch of biscuity malts, finishing with light, grassy hops. In summary, this ale is too much spice and too little beer.
omhper (44752) reviewed Moondog Ale from Great Lakes Brewing 22 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 7.5
Bottled. Deep golden. Raisiny, papery malt aroma. Wonderful deep malt character. Lightly orangey with some vanilla and toffee and well balanced bitterness.
jgb9348 (11828) reviewed Moondog Ale from Great Lakes Brewing 22 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Orange tint to an amber colour. Thin off-white head dissipates quickly. Great aroma of hops, malt, citrus and even noticeable alcohol. Medium-bodied; Full-flavoured hoppiness balanced with nice malt and even a subtle sweetness. Aftertaste left mild in comparison to the taste. Overall, a great treat for me, and another good beer from Great Lakes. Thanks to Jah_Noth (Dan) for the local trade, which evidently got it from Drew...so thanks guys! :-) I sampled this on 17-October-2003.
Dogbrick (24210) reviewed 15th Anniversary Ale from Great Lakes Brewing 22 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Sampled at From The Vine monthly beer tasting Oct 13th, 2003: Great rendition of a Tripel, you'd almost think they kidnapped some monks. Hazy light gold color with a bubbly medium white head. Aroma of clove, banana, wheat and spice. Crisp and sparkling with an eminently drinkable blend of sweet fruits, wheat, spice (coriander/pepper) and malt. The finish is sweet and clean. Very good.