Great Lakes Nosferatu

Brewed by Great Lakes Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
Cleveland, Ohio USA

12oz bottle via trade, consumed on Halloween. Pours an excellent deep blood red color with a creamy beige head that leaves good lacing. Aroma is somewhat sweet with caramel, earth, citrus, and pine. Well-balanced and tasty on the flavor, with caramel malt, nuts, roast, wood, spices, and citrus/pine hops. Like a good imperial red ale if anything. Medium-bodied and smooth yet sticky on the palate with some hop resins. Good stuff overall.

12 ounce bottle. Very hoppy and smooth aroma. Definitely some fruit in the first taste that fades into a nice lingering alcohol finish. Some citrus and nut in the finish.

Bottle at Miami Valley Beer Festival. Nice piney aroma on this, full of American woodsy promise. Doesn’t disappoint with a full outdoorsy alcohol-tinged kick. It’s a bit thin in body, but otherwise a great beer to sip by a campfire in the fall. (#3708, 10/24/2009)

Pours a deep dark amber/copper with a slight milky off white head. Malty aromas of caramel, citrus hops, touch of dark fruits, and a little whiskey. The flavor is malty upfront with some caramel with a touch of roasted malt, then rolls into the citrus hops with a touch of dark fruit. Leaves a roasted malt aftertaste. The flavors here are what defines "good beer." Balanced, complex, somewhat rich, tasty, semi-sweet, and bitter with a pleasant aftertaste. Has just about all the things that I look for in a beer.

12oz bottle. Pours a clear copper body with a deep reddish tint. Big beige head with some decent retention and lacing. Aroma is hoppy, sweet caramel, nutty with some cocoa and citrus scents. Medium to full bodied creamy mouthfeel. Flavor is well balanced caramel, hops, and nutty malts. Spicy finish. Very drinkable beer. Scary good!

Clear red amber, nice color. Thin, late forming tan head, zero lace. Aroma has clean citric hops and alcohol, well balanced. Flavor begins similarly, citric hops paired with a penetrating alcohol warmth. Resinous, aromatic, tea like flavors overshadow the slight sweetness the malts have. Finishes husky, with a bit of smoke and toast to the grains. Warm and zesty on the palate.

Bottle - Finally got a chance to try this one. Pours reddish amber with a pinkish tan head. Has lovely piney and grapefruit hops on the nose, with light cherries and a touch of yeast, black tea, and a bit of sour malt. Very interesting. Taste is very balanced, with enough nutty malt to counter the intense grassy hop bite. There’s even some butterscotch in there. As the malt recedes on the finish, the hops are all alone to run the show. It’s resiny, smooth, and absolutely wonderful.

Appearance: Pours a dark, clear amber with a creamy looking off white head. Aroma: Dark and milk chocolate, caramel, and a huge whiff of earthy hops. Whether it be from the hops or not, I get a bit of a fruity smell as well. Taste: Chewy dark chocolate covered caramel, red apple skins. Finishes earthy and very bitter. Mouthfeel: Sticky. Overall: A fantastic beer that comes out balanced in the end. I’d pair this with chocolate cake.