Fitgers Great Lakes - Michigan

Brewed by Fitgers Brewhouse
Style: Scotch Ale
Duluth, Minnesota USA

Serve in Thistle

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65/204. Thanks Allen. A murky light brown with minimal head. dried cherry and faint bock aroma. A very tart cherry flavor wrhat dominates the bock. Very smooth.

Winterfest ’11. For as strong as it is, a surprisingly thin palate. There is a little smoke and mild hops as well as lightly sweet fruit and sugar. It is good, but not the thick, rich scotch ales I prefer.

[Bottle] Pours almost still red with no head. Aroma is caramel, brown sugar, cherries and smoke. Taste has a lot of cherry, a dull sweetness that I can’t pinpoint, alcohol (gets a touch boozy after awhile), very restrained smoke, and some oxidation. Almost completely flat, smooth, medium mouthfeel. Overall, I like the idea of low carbonation with this beer, but this was just a little too much. Very nice taste and aroma though, and would be interesting to see this soured a bit, like with New Glarus Old English Porter. All of the Great Lakes Series beers has been interesting, but honestly, a little overpriced, and none have completely blown me away. Glad to have tried them though, and Ontario still awaits for another day.

Sample at Winterfest. From notes. A sweet cherry mess. Cherries were almost cloying on this one. There was a decent malt backbone to give it some character, but the cherry notes could have been dialed back to let the malt profile shine through.

On tap at Winterfest ’11. Hazy dark red/ruby pour, thin white head. Aroma has notes of cherry, toffee, caramel and some burnt malt with slight smoke. Taste is a nice smoke and roast, sweet caramel and toffee middle, leads into a bit of a weird inclusion of the cherry, finishing sweet, almost cloying. Good, but a bit odd.

The eleventh beer I sampled at Winterfest 2011 in St. Paul on 2-4-11. Approximately 2 oz. pour. Pours a reddish amber. Small amount of beige head. Sweet, fruity aroma features raisin and butterscotch scents. A bit of smoke in the taste. Fruit and caramel flavors. Light to medium body, surprisingly (I thought it would be heavier). Not my kind of beer; I’m not a fan of the style or the execution.

Minnesota Winterfest 2011. Dark gold color with no head. Dery cherry aroma. Definite Golden Promise/biscuity notes. Light caramel. Slightly smoky taste. Caramel and biscuit again. Light fruitiness, not nearly as much as the aroma.