Month: May 2014

Profiled by Maria Devan for PGA

Pours clear and orange with golden yellow hues. A fat head of creamy off white foam that persists and clings to the glass. leaves, spots, patches rings and sheets of lace that slowly fall as you drink. The head refreshes with a swirl and lasted in a layer on top throughout the drink.

Nose is lovely. Smooth with both fruit and floral. Citrusy and tangy, tropical mango and stone fruit softness. There’s a bit of sweet sugar on the nose from malt and the promise of a little bread. The rye is subtle and balanced to the nose with an earthy scent. The rye spiciness is more subtle than the fruit, A soft herbal in the background.

Taste is smooth. The palate is balanced with the tropical fruit juiciness, the tangy citrus and the rye spiciness all standing toe to toe. A soft herbal and a light and fruity middle all are met by a favorable bit of bread. There is a moderate bitter that peaks with the rye . . . finally it comes forward . . .to go to a softly drying and lingering finish. The bitter peaks again on it’s own in the aftertaste where a tanginess revives all the sweet fruit you just lost only momentarily. Soft moderate mouthfeel and sweetly breaddy.

Tremendous. Great Lakes has never made a bad beer.

4

Maria Devan lives in Ithaca, NY and is frequent reviewer of beer and a beer lover deluxe.

Profiled by Ken Carman for PGA

Yarrow nose with rosehips (slight which could be other spices, or even mistaken for banana.) Somewhat of a wheat-like nose, or hefe yeast. Not much else but pilsner malt, or pale, way in the background.

Pillow head combined with a few medium-size bubbles. Very hazy, about an SRM 2. Head hangs.

Mouthfeel is wheat like: proteins. A hint of spices disappear very quickly. Low isde medium body,

Taste is very hefeweizen-like, with wheat-like protein sense in the mix. Elderberry, bog myrtle, Horehound, wormwood all seem missing. The bitter seems yarrow-like and it’s just bitter. Flavor mostly absent. Hint of orange which is rosehip-like but may be the elderflowers.

Beeradvocate gives it an 82 and an 86 for owners of site. Rate Beer 85 and 89 (“style” again done by site owners.) BA says base beer is Scottish. When did the Scots start brewing wheat beer?

Honestly? Why did they bother?To me the point of brewing a gruit is to honor a style before hops were almost mandatory in beer, and if what you have is a good wheat-beer like quaff, I don’t get the point. I have noticed this with Lips of Faith: hit and miss. Sometimes it’s exactly what they say: like the curry coconut. Sometimes they miss the mark, like this one. A gruit should stand out as spiced by somthing other than hops, and a quaff that’s unique. This is not.

3.5, with a .5 for “not bad for what could have been an odd wheat beer. The oddity is I wonder if they even used wheat. If not the spices came of as such.

Profiled by Ken Carman for PGA

No head whatsoever, even with heavy pour. Deep, murky red that light tries to avoid piercing.

The aroma is upright sour cherry, aged and a bit wooden, kind of oak-ish. Where’s the porter?

Mouthfeel is a bit slick and sour, more sour. The body is moderate and the sour clings after swallow. Carbonation? We don’t need no stinkin carbonation. There’s just the slightest fizz on the back of the palate. The bourbon from the barrels is kind of lost in the cherry.

Once again, where’s the porter? Especially since this is ROBUST porter.

Taste is cherry, sour cherry and oak/woody sense. No hops. The malt is way in the background. The firm malt presence asserts itself as it gets warmer but it’s still hiding with just the barest sense of roasted malt.

Overall: the problem here is I want to give it a bad score because, once again, where the hell is the porter? But it is so damn good, like a beer-wine aged just right, I can’t give it less than 4. It’s pure nirvana. The low carbonation is actually a blessing. It makes it all the more gentle, pleasing and heavenly. Get you hands on a bottle and sink into pure joy.

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Ken Carman is an entertainer, educational service provider, beer judge, recording engineer, songwriter, author of Autocide: a really weird, but funny, E-book, columnist and all purpose crazy man who edits PGA and several other sites.

Profiled by Maria Devan for PGA

Pours a beautiful gold with lovely clarity and some lager type bubbles floating ever upward to a fat head of bone white foam that had excellent retention and left clinging lace.

Nose is earthy and citrusy. A powdery and soft hop floral pervades the nose. There is a light and earthy pine and pink grapefruit sense. The malt to the nose is a but a drop of tempting honey, just a bit of sugary sweetness.

Taste is mild and juicy. The pink grapefruit abounds in the flavor. Tart, citric and with some of the bright zest of the fruit peel. The mouthfeel is west coast style lightness and as it warms a just a hint of cracker peeks through. It’s not very sweet but just sweet enough. The hops are floral perfection in this and exude their powdery musk throughout the drink. Their sweetness is unique in this aspect. The pine and a subtle herbal combine for a more delicate approach to the palate. The bitter is soft and graceful and ends this beer dry, with a slight pucker and with you wanting more.

4.

Maria Devan lives in Ithaca, NY and is frequent reviewer of beer and a beer lover deluxe.