Great Lakes Brewing Orange Peel Ale

Draft @ West 50. Seasonal, tart orange rind taste without being sweet like other fruit beers. Nice amber colour. Beginning to be a fan of Great Lakes brewery!

Bottled sample via gregclow. Light orange in colour with strong carbonation. Fairly malty aromas, with secondary notes of nuts, orange, and earthy hops. Flavor wise, the juicy orange note is nice, and the bittering level is nice, but there’s a bit of an issue with the malts. The malt profile is a kinda muddled, and overly sweet. It’s close, but no cigar.

Orange-amber in colour, very thin off-white coloured head, very thin lacing. The aroma is quite sugary, light orange citrus, grainy and floral. The flavour is soapy, lightly bitter, grainy, moderate orange citrus. Bitter mouthfeel, medium body, high carbonation. Finishes lingering, the soapyness continues, long bitterness. Was the intention of this an IPA? Not bad but very gimmicky.

650ml bottle from the LCBO in Peterborough, Ontario for $4.95.
Purchased on May 4, 2007 and opened on June 8, 2007.
No best before date.

Mild citrus nose, Wow! Orange is the colour too, wearing a tiny off-white head. Flavour is orangey, with some malt. Light bodied,bitter and sweet. Fair.

Draught.
Well, I’ve had this several times and I enjoyed it a lot more when it first came out so my score is kind of an average of all of the iterations. Sparkling/effervescent orange with a sudsy white head and sheet lacing. Orange and tangerine are evident in the aroma with a touch of biscuit as well. Nice creamy body with slight mineral notes and pleasant carbonation. Sufficiently bitter but never over the top, simply quenching. Not much orange besides what is contributed by the style of hops. Sugar coating in the middle and almost wheat-like at times. Fine balance and an overall decent thirst quencher but not something I’d necessarily strive for.

draft at volo in toronto. mild fruity aroma,. it has lightt yellow hue with small white head. the aroma and flavor is orange and the finish is slightly bitter.

A nice enough ESB-style, but let’s face it...this is sold as Orange Peel Ale, not Acceptable Amber Ale, and I like to judge beers on the standards they set for themselves. There was little-to-no orange character (some tartness, but who knows?), and I had more fun peeling off the foil before opening it than at any point after. Looks nice enough, pours nice enough, tastes okay (again, as an ale, it’s just fine), but I wanted orange peel. I don’t think that’s a lot to ask, since I wouldn’t have bothered to try this beer if it didn’t make the claim. Perhaps they could add more orange next time they make a batch...? As it is, not worth the price and doesn’t nearly live up to expectation.

650ml bottle, 5.3% a/v Orange brown in color, with a quickly dissapating offwhite head, the nose is of the oranges, and some dark malt. The taste is of the malt, obviously oranges, honey, and even a slight note of chocolate.. The palate is smooth with a nice hop finish and more orangey chocolate taste. Not bad, more of a fall beer then a summer beer.