On December 8th, I posted a review of the Great Lakes Burning River Pale Ale. The first bottle I reviewed was 5 months past its “Sell By” date. At that time I gave this beer a B+. Thanks to The Wookie, I was able to sample a much fresher version on New Year’s Eve. While the December 8th pour was a bit cloudy and had very little head, last night’s was much clearer and had a rapidly rising head that lingered for a really long time. As far as the flavor, the citrus notes were much more vibrant and the hop finish was even more pronounced. Gonna have to upgrade this beer to a very solid A. I guess those freshness dates really do mean something!
Categories: Brew Review, Great Lakes
AMKrouse
The Alemonger
G-LO
limpd
The Wookie
The ROK
Sarah -BeautifulTangibleThings
The Astounding Prism
It's just the booze dancing... 
Gotta agree with G-lo on this one, it’s rare that we agree but it does happen. Great Lakes is rapidly becoming one of my “go to” breweries (like Smutty Nose and Weyerbacher). Each of their beers seems to be masterfully crafted and well balanced but their selection of brews has enough diversity that their is something in their lineup for every mood, moment, and/or food pairing. But unlike Smutty and Weyerbacher freshness has been an issue with Great Lakes for me as well. They do all the right things like dark brown bottles, tall sided 6-pack containers, and “best by” dates but I don’t think they are getting the turnover here in NJ that they need to ensure a steady supply of fresh brew. So if you see Great Lakes on tap … drink it! If you see it in bottles … check the date!
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Excellent advice!
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It was amazing that even the bottles at the pub the other night were past their “Best By” date by more than a month. We need more people to enjoy Great Lakes so there is more freshness in the supply chain!
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I’d say we’re doing the best we can to spread the word about these outstanding beers.
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I can’t find Great Lakes beers near me (and they’re finder doesn’t turn up anything within 100 miles of St. Louis), but I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to find it when I go to Madison in a few weeks. How would you say it compares to the other beers in their line?
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Great Lakes does not distribute to Missouri yet but you should be able to find it Wisconsin (assuming that’s the Madison you are talking about). Check out [ http://www.greatlakesbrewing.com/beer/great-lakes-in-your-market ] for states they market to.
I would put Burning River second on their list of year round beers behind the Dortmunder Gold. The Dortmunder Gold is awesome! If you can find it, drink it (but check the “best by” date on the bottle).
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Just stumbled on this. Beer Geekery meets Movie Geekery…
Click to access Profile%20Nosferatu.pdf
Haven’t had it, but I really want to track this one down!
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I wonder if that means it tastes like blood and/or is from 500 year old barrels.
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500 year old barrel conditioned beer. Now that would be something! If they ever start a TV ad campaign for Nosferatu, maybe they could get Willem Dafoe to play Max Schrek again.
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SO far, I’ve had the Christmas Ale, Burning River, and Elliot Ness. All are very very good. The Wookie is a big fan of their Dortmunder Gold and I have an Edmund Fitzgerald Porter on deck (I hear very good things about that one). Overall, they have a very solid line up.
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