Great Lakes Engine 20 Ale

Reddish brown pour, thick tan head w/ sticky lace. Grainy plain aroma, w/ a touch of smoke. Avg pal. Smoky flavor some light grains, touch of grass in the finish. odd but ok.

10/3/07 on tap @ the brew pub: Chestnut brown w/ a lasting light beige medium sized head. I was a bit put off by the aroma @ first w/ a bit of a smokey phenolic that when combined w/ the cascade hops is not all that pleasant to me! Sort of a spicy (not in a good way) plasticky mess at first... Ah, but wait until it warms! Caramel and toasted malts come through as it warms, and the hops and smoked aroma intermingle pleasantly w/ the malts, and become quite appealing when warmed after 10 minutes. The hops, also slightly soapy at first, loses it’s soapy character. The flavor is well balanced in the bitter/sweet, but has a bit of the soapy hop flavor when chilled. It dissipates as it warms to lightly citrus, smoked malt and a lightl toasted caramel malt flavors that evenly balance each other. The finish is dry and smokey, crisp, and has a lightly smoked malt/citrusy hop flavored aftertaste. Medium body, medium carbonation, again a crisp, yet smooth m/f. Very well used smoked malt. A little more than an undertone IMHO, but stilll well used. I was a bit apprehensive @ the start w/ using smoked malt with citrusy hops, but as it warmed, it worked extremely well. At first I thought I was a bit put off by the "fake" smokey phenolic, but it improves in a hurry!

Darker amber pour with small white head. Aroma was cascades and a touch of roasted malt. Taste was citrus and resiny hops balanced with both a caramel sweetness and a roasted malt touch to it. Really nothing too crazy about this beer, it’s like burning river with some roasted malts tossed in.

Cask version at Barley’s 5th Annual Mini RAF (04/28/07): This beer is a lightly hazed dark amber color with a medium off-white head that has good retention. Rings of lacing. The aroma is mostly hoppy with smokey malt undertones. Dry, medium body with both hops and smoke flavors, neither of which dominates. Light malt in the backgound as well. The finish is mildly bitter hops, with the smoked character still lurking in the background. Interesting beer, although it does not really push any boundaries.

This smoky ale would probably go very well with some grilled sausage or brats...unfortunately, I didn’t ahvge any of this food with me when drinkling this. It poured to a rediish orange, with a good off-white head and excellent lacing. Aroma was slight citrus hops,. but mostly was predominantly smoky. The smoky accent carried over into the taste and finish as well, so much so that it was har dot pick out any other flavor. Not my favorite Great Lakes beer.