About
Founded in 2013 by Travis Prueter, Nic Winsemius, and Greg MacKeller, Big Lake is committed to being an owner-operated brewery. They brew a variety of beers for consumption in their pub, and their mainstay products are also brewed and canned for distribution across the state of Michigan.
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8.1/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8.5
16 ounce can into tulip glass, canned on 2/25/2019. Pours opaquely hazy/cloudy deep golden amber color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky off white head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice dense soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big tangerine, red grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, guava, berries, citrus peel/rind, wood, onion, mint, peppercorn, pine, wheat, cracker, biscuit dough, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops and moderate bready malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big tangerine, red grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, guava, berries, citrus peel/rind, wood, onion, mint, peppercorn, pine, wheat, cracker, biscuit dough, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of tangerine, red grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, guava, berries, citrus peel/rind, wood, onion, mint, peppercorn, pine, wheat, cracker, biscuit dough, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops and moderate bready malt flavors; with an awesome malt/bitterness balance, and no lingering hop astringency after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, creamy/bready/grainy, and fairly sticky/resinous/rindy mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 6%. Overall this is an awesome NEIPA. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops and moderate bready malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the modestly bitter/resinous/drying finish. Nicely soft feel, and not overly aggressive. Awesome Galaxy/Citra profile. Very vibrant, juicy, dank, and earthy balanced hop complexity; with a great balanced wheat/oat/malt backbone. Mild residual sweetness with lingering resin dryness. A really enjoyable offering, and impressive style example.
Tried from Can on 06 Apr 2019 at 03:50

8/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
16 ounce can into tulip glass; Batch 001, canned on 1/30/2019. Pours very hazy/cloudy deep golden/amber/light orange color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky off white head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Thick soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big tangerine, orange juice, red grapefruit, lemon, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, blueberry, gooseberry, citrus peel/rind, wood, light peppercorn, pine, wheat, cracker, biscuit dough, light honey, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops, bitter orange peel, and bready malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big tangerine, orange juice, red grapefruit, lemon, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, blueberry, gooseberry, citrus peel/rind, wood, light peppercorn, pine, wheat, cracker, biscuit dough, light honey, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of tangerine, orange juice, red grapefruit, lemon, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, blueberry, gooseberry, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, wheat, cracker, biscuit dough, light honey, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops, bitter orange peel, and bready malt flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance; with no lingering hop/orange peel astringency after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/silky/bready, and fairly sticky/resinous/rindy mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 5.8%. Overall this is an excellent fruited NEIPA. All around great citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops, bitter orange peel, and bready malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the mellowly bitter/resinous/drying finish. Nicely soft feel, not overly aggressive. Very flavorful and balanced for the ABV. Feels like Galaxy, Citra, Mosaic. Extremely juicy, vibrant, and fairly dank/earthy hops with bitter orange peels; and a great balancing wheat/oat/malt backbone. Mild residual sweetness with lingering resin dryness. A very enjoyable offering, and spot on style example.
Tried from Can on 24 Mar 2019 at 03:24

8/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
16 ounce can into tulip glass, canned on 2/11/2019. Pours slightly hazy medium golden amber color with a 1 finger dense and rocky off white head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice dense soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big red grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, mango, melon, citrus peel/rind, wood, mint, peppercorn, pine, honey, cracker, toasted biscuit, light caramel, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of citrus/fruity/earthy hops and moderate bready malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big red grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, mango, melon, citrus peel/rind, wood, mint, peppercorn, pine, honey, cracker, toasted biscuit, light caramel, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of red grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, mango, melon, citrus peel/rind, wood, mint, peppercorn, pine, honey, cracker, toasted biscuit, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/earthy hops and moderate bready malt flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance, and no lingering hop astringency after the finish. Moderate increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready, sticky/resinous/rindy, and fairly crisp balanced mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 6.3%. Overall this is an excellent IPA. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/earthy hops and moderate bready malt flavors; very smooth, easy, and fairly crisp to drink; with the modestly bitter/resinous/drying finish, not overly aggressive. Feels like Columbus, Centennial, Amarillo. Very vibrant, juicy, dank, and earthy balanced hop complexity; with a great balancing bready malt backbone. Minimal residual sweetness from lingering crisp resin dryness. A very enjoyable offering, and spot on West coast style example. Great classic hop profile. I was guessing either Chinook or Columbus would be the dominating hop before I even opened the can.
Tried from Can on 24 Mar 2019 at 02:31

8/10
Tried from Draft on 01 Mar 2019 at 17:43

6/10
Meh I was hoping for more
Tried from Draft on 01 Mar 2019 at 17:28

8.5/10
Tried on 01 Mar 2019 at 17:06

8.5/10
Tried from Draft on 01 Mar 2019 at 17:05

8/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
16 ounce can into tulip glass, canned on 12/10/2018. Pours fairly crystal clear medium golden yellow color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky white head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big red grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, mango, melon, berries, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, cracker, white bread dough, light honey, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops and moderate bready malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big red grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, mango, melon, berries, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, cracker, white bread dough, light honey, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of red grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, mango, melon, berries, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, cracker, white bread dough, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops and moderate bready malt flavors; with a nice malt/bitterness balance, and minimal lingering hop astringency after the finish. Moderate increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately bready/grainy, sticky/resinous/rindy, and fairly crisp balanced mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 7.5%. Overall this is an excellent IPA. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops and moderate bready malt flavors; very smooth, easy, and fairly crisp to drink; with the moderately bitter/resinous/drying finish. Pretty aggressive, but not overwhelming on bitterness. Feels like Columbus, Centennial, Simcoe, Amarillo. Very vibrant, dank, earthy, and fairly juicy hop complexity; with a nice bready malt backbone. Minimal residual sweetness from crisp resin dryness. A very enjoyable offering, and spot on West Coast style example. Loved the classic hop profile.
Tried from Can on 12 Jan 2019 at 03:53

7.9/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
16 ounce can into tulip glass, canned in 11/2018. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky khaki head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice dense soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, and dark/brown bread crust; with lighter notes of smoke, charcoal, molasses, dark fruit, wood, herbal, floral, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/black/roast/bready malts and light-moderate earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, and dark/brown bread crust; with lighter notes of smoke, charcoal, molasses, dark fruit, wood, herbal, floral, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate herbal, woody, floral, grassy, peppery hop; and roast/charcoal bitterness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/black/roast/bready malts and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; with a nice roast/hop bitter/sweet balance, and no acrid/astringent flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering hop/char bitterness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/silky/grainy, and fairly sticky/chalky, and lightly resinous balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Minimal warming alcohol for 6.5%. Overall this a delicious American porter. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/black/roast/bready malts and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the modestly bitter/drying finish. Just a touch too bitter/charred/drying than expected, but not aggressive. Great well rounded and nicely rich porter malt complexity, with balancing earthy hops. Mild residual sweetness with lingering dryness. A very enjoyable offering, and great style example.
Tried from Can on 01 Jan 2019 at 12:46

7.1/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 8 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7.5
Can. Pours a near clear yellow with a white head that dissipates to the edges. Aroma is citrus forward with a bit of rind, onion and sweet grains supporting. Flavor has a nice combination of citrus and sweet grains with a hint of onion underlying.
Tried from Can on 26 Nov 2018 at 03:58