Leelanau Good Harbor Golden

Leelanau Brewing Company
Brewed at Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales
Style: Bière de Garde
Lake Leelanau, Michigan USA

Pours a somewhat cloudy school bus yellow and sporting a thin sheet of white. Big, sour, and cheesy funk in the nose with added elements of apricot and oak. Very earthy and woody flavors but very dry and ghost-like on the palate. Seriously vinious with loads of oaky brett notes. Warming alcohol...this is actually a quite nice, dry, bretty, warming, and relaxing concoction.

Bottle courtesy of Greg at Birreria Paradiso - thanks Greg! Cloudy golden color with a medium white head that settles slowly to leave great lacing. Aroma of sour grapefruit and coriander. Moderate funk. Flavor is sour throughout, but with big malts also, and a hint of spice in the background. Great body and mouthfeel. Unique and very tasty.

Bottle thanks to ditmier for sharing. Pours out a hazy yellow topped with a white head. Aroma was of wood, fruit, and brett. Taste was more of the same oak, brett, fruits, and sour. Sour I was not expecting this from this style. But it was very tasty.

Bottle. Pours a cloudy golden yellow with a small white head. Aroma of funky barnyard, sour candies. Flavor is tart/sour/funky in the initial sips with sweet sour candies in the finish. Some dry, lemony hops as well. Quite tart and acidic. Biere de Garde? This was a sour ale all the way... 7/4/7/4/15 [3.7/5]

At first i didn’t understand this beer, but it has grown to be my all-time favorite. Some bottles are better than others, depending on batch, age in cellar, how it’s handled, the weather and setting, ect; but really, it’s always fantastic. Notes of herbs, peaches and barrel funk in the aroma appear in the in the mouth too, but that just scratches the surface of everything going on.

750mL bottle, no date. Effervescent clear golden body with a three finger rocky white head, great retention. Lemon juice (not the shitty BHT-ridden stuff--the real thing) and leather up front with some old wooden barrel and pale malt notes. I know this isn’t a new bottle, but I feel like I get some green herbal hops mixed in as well as some light peach/apricot. Flavor has some stronger lemon notes as well as some alcohol. It seems a little more peachy as well, with a hint of oxidation (wet paper). Slight alcohol burn in the dry finish--this wasn’t sweet at all (other than the peachy notes). Moderate to high carbonation with a medium body. Good beer--I’ve had this a couple few times now, the other ratings will be inputted when I finally enter my notebooks.

Bottle thanks to ditmier, the first of the night! Pours a clear yellow color with a medium white fluffy head. The aroma is complex; woody and sour, but also some funk and apricots. A tart and woody flavor with some fruity and funkiness. An awesome take on the style.

2009 Bottle - Thanks coyotehunter! - Pours a hazy golden with a large white head...aroma is gorgeous, wood, citrus, brett...flavour is similar, nicely tart without being sour, tropical fruit, oak, floral and lightly malted...this rocked!