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Great Lakes Brewing Winter Ale

Great Lakes Brewing Winter Ale - Spice/Herb/Vegetable

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 Percentile 
66
overall
Brewed by Great Lakes Brewing (Ontario)
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable

Etobicoke, Canada

bottled
available

on tap
available

Local Distribution
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 Ratings  Average  Score  Seasonal  ABV  Style Pctl  Serve in 
563.29/5.03.23/5.0Winter6.2%70.8Lager glass, Tumbler
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Commercial Description:
Inspired by the long, cold and seemingly endless Canadian winter, our 6.2% alcohol Winter Ale is a true winter warmer. Handcrafted with specialty hops and malts, combined with generous amounts of cinnamon, honey, ginger and orange peel, this unique beer is brimming with flavour.
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 DougShoemaker (2855), Toronto, Canada
3.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/56/104/514/20
Aug 26, 2007  
Spicey, pit fruit aroma, auburn, tiniest of heads. Some of the flavours are allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardomum, brazil nuts, and christmas pudding. Medium bodied, very complex really well balanced. Terrific! Very impressive offering, keep up the good work. Thank You Ralph.


 Nekronos (2243), Xalapa, Mexico
3.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/57/103/514/20
Apr 11, 2007  
Veyr good but too sweet and that made it too alcoholic for me. It was nic einc olour and shape, and nice foam.


 mabel (2530), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
3.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/102/57/103/514/20
Feb 26, 2007    Updated: Jan 13, 2008
[139-20061209] Bottle. Sweeeeet cookie icing, almost floral scent. Clear, brown body with no bubbles and an off-white head. Spicy (but not hot) flavour with background notes of ginger, cinnamon, plum, pot-pourri and a little Christmas pudding. Medium body with a nice feel. Very interesting complex flavour and not too thick. (8/3/7/3/14) 3.5

[990B-20071217] Tap @ C’est What (Toronto, ON). Cinnamon and ginger aroma has a hint of apple Life-Saver candies. Clear, dark red brown body with quick off-white bubbles. Flowery apple cinnamon and mild spices flavour. Medium body is a little watered down but still has an astringent finish. Nice, winter theme definitely present. (8/2/7/2/14) 3.3


 RaphaelN (195), Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/56/102/513/20
Feb 24, 2007  
On tap at Bar Volo. Served in an English Pint with an overwhelming white head. Smell was somewhat floral with a minimal hint of bread. Mouthfeel was fairly thin. Taste was of orange peel and mostly doughy yeast. Nothing really complex here. A decent beer, not something I would prefer to drink twice, but could.


 shintriad (698), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
3.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/56/103/512/20
Feb 12, 2007  
Tap at C’est. Reddish-brown with a small head. Smells vaguely of fruit and spice with forward malts and a decently dry finish. A little bit on the generic side, not enough body or overall flavour to really bring home the theme. No major flaws, at least.


 crushinat0r (227), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
3.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/102/57/102/514/20
Jan 28, 2007  
Smells of sweet sweet banana. Golden brown in colour. Weak dissipating head. banana in flavour, much like that banana medication (you know the stuff) with a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg. Strangely sweet aftertaste. A very nice dessert beer.


 StompBrockmore (300), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
3.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/57/103/515/20
Jan 24, 2007  
Draught at Bar Volo - came a deep amber brown, with a small tan head on top. I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flavour-wise when I ordered it, but the aroma immediately let me know - cinnamon, spice, darker malts, caramel...anyways, very spicy. The flavour was a much bigger hit of cinnamon off the top, followed by orange, ginger, malt sweetness with only a faint trace of hops in the finish. Nice stuff, but I started to find it a bit too cloying by the later part of the glass. Still, very unique and enjoyable and it’s fantastic to see Great Lakes with this spirit of adventure with their new seasonal brews. I hope it continues on well into the future.


 DerWeg (748), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/514/20
Jan 22, 2007    Updated: Apr 29, 2009
RE RATE FOR 2008 BOTTLING nice balanced enjoyably sweet spice-cake beer with wonderful body and balance - totally worth picking up ---- ORIGINAL RATING / 8 4 7 2 9 = 3.0 --- Bar Volo, Draught. I had no idea this was a spiced ale when I drank it, but I truthfully found it a bit in-my-face. Not the spiciness so much as the overall sense of palate fatigue, from the first sip to the fighting finish. Maybe there is an acidity or a hop type that doesn’t agree with me. The quality is there for sure, this just wasn’t for me.



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