Great Lakes Brewing Orange Peel Ale

Pours light copper coloured with frothy off-white head. light aroma of oranges and malt. Low carbonation. A medium alcoholy apricot mouthfeel, mostly malty with a short mild bitter finish.

Vibrant orangey colour. Orangey, apricotty aroma. Full of bitter orange peel flavour with slightly firm malts in the background. Finishes quite dry. Had on tap - maybe the bottles aren’t as good?

Draught at Victory cafe, Toronto. Lovely orange color with haze. Nice off-white head, served in pint glass. Fresh aroma is more spice than fruit but does have a dry orange aroma. Crisp hoppy finish that accepts and integrates the orange peel bitterness exceptionally well. Incredibly refreshing, surprisingly so. Soft, silky mouthfeel. Hits the spot in many ways, had no idea what to expect from this. Becomes juicier with every sip. Really enjoyable, oozing with zest. Sessionable quaffer that hits the H-(hop) spot without going overboard. This was one of the big surprises on the trip to Toronto.

Pours a nice deep amber colour almost a faint brown, with a nice rocky tan head. Nose is pretty tame, mostly caramel malts, and a tiny bit of orange. There’s a nice undertone of grassy hops too. Flavour is very similar, very malty and sweet, with pretty strong hop bitterness. There is some nice orange peel, it’s not overpowering, but it is stronger than you might imagine, and it’s pretty nice. Carbonation is low, which I’ve been enjoying more and more lately, and it’s reasonably chewy. I like it.

Bottle, September 2008. Golden brown with a reasonable head. This has some heather or dandelion, grass in the aroma with faint orange zest. I taste grass; it’s a bit watery in flavour and mouthfeel, with a bit of caramel, and there could be a hint of orange in there too.