Great Lakes Alberta Clipper Review

Name: Great Lakes Alberta Clipper
Style: Porter
ABV: 7.8%
IBUs: 40

Before I get started with this review, I wanted to address two things regarding my last post that I've gotten a couple of emails about and I figured now would be a good time to end the confusion right now:

1. No, I am not ending my blog. In fact, I'm quite excited to continue writing once I move.
2. I will be doing a couple more Duluth/Superior Beer Roundup posts before I move back to Minneapolis

Since we got that out of the way, let's get to the review!

Despite me not reviewing the majority of Great Lakes Brewing's beers, I am quite familiar with the line-up as a whole. With that said, I have never seen this beer until maybe a couple of months ago and that beer is the Alberta Clipper Porter. It's a porter that is brewed with chocolate and raspberries.

Knowing that it's named after a weather phenomenon that brings cold temperatures and high winds to the Great Lakes area, I assumed this to be a winter seasonal. That is until I did my research and found out that this is actually released on a rotating basis.

Appearance - Pitch black with a khaki colored head. Not really too much in terms of visible carbonation and the lacing is more on the sparse-side

Aroma - Strong Chocolate sweetness and mild floral hops in front. Followed by some raspberry fruitness and light roastiness. It smells good but I was expecting a bit more roastiness, this IS a porter after all.

Taste - Strong raspberries and chocolate malts upfront with some potent roastiness to back it up. The back end of the flavor consists of mild bitter hoppiness with some more roastiness that is fairly mild when compared to the front of the palate.

As cliché as it sounds, it's like drinking a chocolate-covered raspberry in beer form. It's got a fairly simple flavor otherwise, but it all comes together so nicely and in a vibrant way. Though it would work better as a winter seasonal, I'll have this regardless of the time of year.

Great Lakes Alberta Clipper - 9/10

Great Lakes Conway's Irish Ale Review

Name: Great Lakes Conway's Irish Ale
Style: Irish Red Ale
ABV: 6.5%
IBUs: 25

I was originally going to review this beer last week in honor of St. Patrick's Day but I got distracted by another beer so I'm making amends with this review of Great Lakes' Conway's Irish Ale, named after the co-founders' grandfather, Patrick Conway. You know spring is not too far off when they start releasing Irish Ales for the masses to enjoy

Appearance - Clear red color with a mild amount of visible carbonation. The head is white and quite thin, while the lacing is sparse/non-existent.

Aroma - I'm getting some toffee maltiness and light roastiness. I'm also picking up on some light nuttiness that reminds me of cashews along with some Munich Malts. There's also some slight bitter hoppiness in here as well but it's eclipsed by the other components of the beer.

Taste - Strong toffee maltiness and chocolate notes upfront, paired with some moderate bitter hoppiness and nuttiness. The aftertaste is mainly strong bitter hops and munich maltiness.

I've had my fair share of Irish Red Ales before and while none have yet to blow me away, this is definitely one of the better ones I've had. It's got a nice flavor profile and it's surprisingly easy to drink. Seek this one out before it's gone until next year.

Great Lakes Conway's Irish Ale Review - 8.5/10

Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold Review

Name: Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold
Style: Dortmunder Lager
ABV: 5.8%

Even though it is the middle of winter, that doesn't necessarily mean that every beer has to be dark and heavy. Sometimes I just need something to change things up, which is why I'm taking a look at Dortmunder Gold from Great Lakes Brewing Company. The beer gets its name from winning Gold Medals at various competitions across the country.

Come to think of it, I haven't reviewed a single beer from Great Lakes since starting this blog nearly 2 years ago. Better late than never I suppose.

Dortmunder Gold pours a clear dark yellow color with some mild carbonation. The head is quite foamy but the lacing is on the spotty side.

The nose starts out with some pale maltiness & floral hops, followed up by some yeastiness and barley. I'm getting some light Pilsner malts in here is well.

The taste starts out with some floral hops and yeastiness upfront before settling into some pale maltiness and a bitter hop aftertaste.

Dortmunder Gold is not overly complex by any stretch of the imagination but it doesn't really need to be. It gets the job done and the end result is a nice, easy drinking beer. If you need a six-pack for the weekend, then this'll do just fine.

Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold - 8/10