Great Lakes Nosferatu

Pours a very deep red-amber with little head that dissipates down into a ring around the glass. Aroma is dark fruits and some sweet breadiness. Taste is a woody maltiness with a nice smoky flavor cleared off by mild citrus and dominant pine hops. Hops overpower the malts and make it a touch too bitter for my taste. Dry finish and refreshing.

Bottle, with 6 months or so of age on it. Pours a dark reddish amber with a creamy off-white head. Aroma of biscuity malts and citrusy grapefruit like hops. Not overly bitter, but quite nice. Flavor is very simple, dominated by caramel malts and piney hops, finishing in a quite sharp bitterness. Palate is probably the highlight of the brew, which comes on heavy, but finish very tight due to the perfect carbonation and bittering hops. This was a very nice offering from GLBC.

Rated 10/6/06: Stock Ale with a Vampire on the label, leave it to Great Lakes to always entertain me with their brews. This seasonal is very nice but not over the top. Good hearty aroma, wine-like sharpness with a generous helping of hops. Pour is a medium dark ruby red with some amber tones, minimal head and little lacing. Due to the higher abv I can’t complain too much about how this looks. Mouthfeel is powerful and unbelievably clean it hits you then melts away. Hops-a-plenty round out the high maltiness creating a nice sipper of a brew. Bitter and citrusy at first you think this doesn’t work but as you go forward it all melds too easily. I like this ale very much.

bottle courtesy of Willblake at the CL anniversary party. Pours deep amber. Aroma: Caramel malt with notes of orange and grapefruit. Taste is malty, with some biscuit and alot of caramel malt, hopping seems somewhat subdued in comparison to the commercial description of the beer. Still, it is pretty nice, notes of grapefruit/citrus blend nicely with caramel malt, creating a nicely balanced beer. Clean and enjoyable, although I have alot of other ASA’s I liked a bit better.

awesome dark, clear amber color. Smell is pretty good. Pours kinda flat, but the head that is there stays a while. Taste is very good, malty and caramel are there with a little hops. Very good brew.

My Bottom Line
Noble herbal hops and their citrusy wings float atop the chewy cereals. Another balanced masterpiece from Great Lakes which manages to please those in search of memorable flavors and those looking for a friendly pint.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A sheet of foam covers the clear ochre red.
-Carbonation is perfect, helping drinkability and letting the malts build a smashing body.
-Herbal hop bitterness firmly greets the tastebuds before slowly fading away.
-Orangey fruitiness stems from the hoppiness and branches out into the sweet cereals.

Bottle.

12 oz bottle from West Lake View Liquors. The owner put it on sale b/c its been sitting around for to many months. Its was still worth a try to me. Pours an amber orange with a tall head. Aroma of malt, citrus, hops, and bready. Malt flavors, carmel, toffee, bready, a little citrus. I guess it is supposed to be hoppier, but I really enjoyed it. I am surprised to see the alcohol so high, very well hidden. A nice offering from GLBC.

sampled from a 12oz bottle. not sure how fresh this bottle but i believe this was from a new batch just released. the reason for mentioning that is i found this to not be nearly as hoppy as i remember it. a very balanced nuts and caramel in both nose and flavor. alcohol was very well hidden. and hops are pretty subdued. a decent ASA but i thought i liked this a lot more before......................................................................10/14/07, sampled an aged bottled best before 11/23/06. yikes! this was bad, somewhat sour, carboard, and vegetable. undrinkable. oh well.