Big Lake Brewing

Microbrewery in Holland, Michigan, United States 🇺🇸
Associated Venue: Big Lake Brewing

Established in 2013

Contact
13 W 7th St, Holland, MI, 49423, United States
Description
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.

     Show


8.1/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 9 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 8.5
Very hazy, super opaque straw yellow coloured body with a nice one to two centimetre tall off-white head that stays afloat nicely above the 90 per cent opaque yellow glow. Aroma of oranges, light grass and hay, a dash of wheat malts and somehow - a ton of actual cotton candy! This is the first time i've smelt this in a beer and it's impressive as that's what they were going for! Medium-bodied; Pretty noticeable dry and wheatie malts at first with a big hit of the actual cotton candy and especially bubble gummy flavours that come out very strongly, especially towards the end, with a dash of grass and hay at the end, with a tiny bit of sweetness, but barely worth mentioning. Aftertaste is dry, pretty wheatie and balanced on the malt side with a bit of pepper here, but the fresh hop flavours that are somehow derived from the Cotton Candy and Bubble Gum notes of whatever hop varietal are in here (not specified on can) are very nice! Overall, a very enjoyable beer that hits the marks just right for the style and while on the light-side, it's drinkable, still full-of-flavour and robust - great from my home state and worth trying to find, especially if you like actual cotton candy! I sampled this sixteen ounce, pint-sized can, purchased from Beer Baron in Livonia, Michigan on 23-October-2022 for US$3,99, canned on 24-June-2021 and sampled at my house here in Washington on 06-January-2023.
Tried from Can on 01 Mar 2024 at 06:57

7.4/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
Tried from Can from Horrocks Farm Market on 27 Feb 2024 at 00:47

7.8/10
Tried from Draft on 10 Feb 2024 at 17:53

7.4/10
Tried from Draft on 10 Feb 2024 at 17:16

8/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 9 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
Very hazy, almost perfectly opaque straw golden coloured body with a frothy, ,thick, ugly white head, about three centimetres tall at first that fades to a single centimetre, but leaves very ugly lacing on the sides. Aroma of super strong pineapple, coconut and tropically fruit notes, with a lot of sugars and wheat in the nose as well - very aromatic and reminiscent of a real Pina Colada, for sure. Medium-bodied; Relatively crisp and pungent coconut water, pineapple juice and slight orangey notes show at first with a light bitterness and a touch of sweetness towards the end, with a small nuance of hay and grass as well, but this is balanced nicely. Aftertaste is crisp and clean, with coconut and pineapple by far the strongest here, but some actual hop bitterness shows through at the end and gives this a robust and complex finish. Overall, a nice and true-to-name beer that still shows off some bitterness and stays true-ish to an IPA itself - great to sample from Michigan and especially because I love real Pina Coladas! I sampled this sixteen ounce, pint-sized can, purchased from Beer Baron in Livonia, Michigan on 23-October-2022 for US$3,49, packaged on 22-July-2021 and sampled at my house here in Washington on 14-November-2022.
Tried from Can on 10 Feb 2024 at 06:46

6.4/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
Can. pours a hazy light orange with floats, a decent head and aromas of pit fruit, hay, aluminum, and maybe some sweet citrus (orange?). Flavor is decent, but uninteresting. It is just another NEIPA... no real distinction on the hop bill, nothing innovative with the flavor or color or palate. Decent, but that's about it.
Tried from Can on 07 Jan 2024 at 02:23

8/10
Go State!
Tried from Draft on 04 Nov 2023 at 13:03

7/10
Tried on 02 Nov 2023 at 23:42

6.8/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7
Tried on 14 Oct 2023 at 15:28

7.1/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 6.5
Tried on 27 Sep 2023 at 18:28