Great Lakes Brewing Winter Ale

Brewed by Great Lakes Brewing (Ontario)
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Etobicoke, Canada

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.

Bouteille de 750 ml partagée lors d’une dégustation Ratebeer Montréal chez MartinT. Arôme: Odeur d’épices avec une pointe de caramel et d’agrumes. Apparence: La couleur est ambrée. Présence d’un mince col mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de canelle et de gingembre avec une pointe d’agrumes et de caramel. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement aqueuse. Faible effervescence en bouche. Légère présence d’épices en arrière goût. (Rating #2427)

[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

On tap at Volo, courtesy of Hogtown Harry, celebrating the birth of my son (thanks for the pint Harry). Wonderful spicy aroma, really reminded me of the Anchor Christmas beer. Dark brown body, medium white head. Lots of malt sweetness and tons of spice in really nice taste. Formidable body to back everything up (a pleasant surprise from these Lager folks), this beer was a bang on version of a solid Winter Warmer. Congrats Great Lakes on your fine achievement, I look forward to having it again next Winter.

Bottle shared with a bunch of folks at DougShoemaker’s Decemberfest 2006 - courtesy of R. Dark ruby-amber with a small head. Aroma of malt, banana, orange zest, brown sugar and a bit on cinnamon - quite nice. Flavour is sweet but not cloying - some fruitcake and licorice notes. As with their Devil’s Pale Ale, it could be a little more aggressive, but it’s still another great step forward for these guys - onwards & upwards!

Bottle: Poured a deep orangey color ale with a nice foamy head with OK retention but no lacing. Aroma of caramel malt with light spice mix is weaker then anticipated. Taste is a mix between some nice caramel malt with some notes of cloves and ginger. Body is thinner then expected with some medium carbonation. I was expecting a bit more character from this one but enjoyable nonetheless.

Veyr good but too sweet and that made it too alcoholic for me. It was nic einc olour and shape, and nice foam.

Draught. Dark mahogany with a small white head. Toasty almost smoky aroma with some sweet, earthy toffee malt. Nice flavour with moderate carbonation - plenty of caramel, spice, and roast flavour. Pretty good for a brewery that is otherwise uninteresting. Also worth mentioning that this is far better on tap than it is from the bottle.
Tasted at Volo on January 12, 2007.