Great Lakes Brewing Orange Peel Ale

Bottle from matt7215. Thanks once more! Pours a slighty hazy orange amber with a rapidly diminishing white head. Aroma seems a complex blend of malt and orange. Near medium body with foamy carbonation. Flavor is orange zest and nicely roasted malt. Not so much a fruit beer as an interesting pale ale, if you can accept using orange oil in place of hop. Not saying there are no hops, just that there’s a lot of bitter orange oil. And bitter is what it’s all about. Finishes mildly astringent and highly tasty. Surprisingly good stuff.

Poured out a thin looking beer, bright orange and super clear, decent foamy white head that foams up nicely but fades away to a bit more than just rim. The aroma is very very nice , mainly cause I like orange. But here’s the thing: from a distance or a quick sample its very very appealing with it’s vitamin C supplement smell ( what the hell was that stuff called? It was like big pills that were orange, smelled of fake orange and dissolved in water.... is that still sold? anyone?.. ack... gotta ask my parents tomorrow - they are old - they will know:D) but once you really take a good huff that fake almost sour orange aroma buts mixed in with a bunch of faceless malts and hops that don’t compliment each other. This is not saying that the aroma is bad, just off. The taste, for a second is very fresh with the orange stuff but then a drying dullness with bunch of mild strength hops take over. Further tasting widens the orange realm but I don’t like how the bitterness finishes it off. The malts and hops, however, do balance each other out nicely. Damn. I really like the orange here but the hop blend does not match as much as I would like. With that said, I still am enjoying this beer due to the orange edges. The aftertaste has the flavour of licking blood off of your hand and that bothers me. It’s only on the very back end of the finish though - the rest is pretty good - ample soft carbonation, tang form the oranges hits mid taste on every sip, light bodied... I’m just conflicted on the hops here, even in their mild state. I think I really like this beer and if I wasn’t analyzing I’d like it more. Still, it is very light. I’ll just flip a coin... and the winner is... ack! It landed on edge.....

Bottle at the LCBO - I originally thought "oh hey, it’s orange! I love orange flavour!"... But of course, it’s an orange oil taste instead. Not to say that’s a bad thing, but I expected more from it... Pours an orangey hue with a medium fall head. Smells pretty much the same as it tastes; clean, orange peel oil with semi-light hops. Pretty good and refreshing, but needs some real orange flavour.

Pours copper/orange with average white head. Aromas of malt and orange peel. Tastes of bitter orange peel with some hops, a little malt sweetness and a touch of added spice (ginger?). Overall a solid beer but leaves me wanting. Too much bitter orange peel perhaps?

Orangey pour with a really thick head. The name and look make me think of a creamcicle. Thankfully it doesn’t taste like one. Scent of hops and grains. Distinct Great Lakes scent. Taste is suprisingly bitter, Thick with a warm finish. Really well balanced. Slight spice aftertaste.

Bottle thanks to Matt7215. Pours a nice slightly amber gold with a thick white head. Aroma obvious of orange, citrus, slight malt, and a decent hop presence. Flavor matches well and is very easy to drink and enjoyable, but nothing all that special. Definitely enjoyable though.

650mL bottle. Pours clear golden-amber with quickly dissipating head. Light hoppy aroma with slight element of citrus - no overpowering orange aroma. Flavour is quite bitter - more ’peel’ elements than ’orange’. Finish is clean with a bit of lingering bitterness. Overall a bit different than expected - not quite as refreshing or fruity as I would have hoped.

Aroma is honey, hop and faint orange. Taste is hop, orange citrus and malt. Pleasant enough special beer.