Great Lakes Brewing Company

[VDub26Falcon]

Monday night, Amanda took me to the GLBC for my birthday dinner and it was absolutely great! I started the night with a pint of GLBC's AltBier, a beer that is only availably at the Brewery. It is a German style Hoppy beer and it is absolutely delicious. For dinner, I ended up with a Black and Bleu Burger and the beer sampler. The burger had blackened seasoning, some steak sauce (which I usually don't like) and bleu cheese (one of my favorites). The burger was a little over seasoned, as salt was one of the most prominent flavors when I didn't get a good amount of cheese in a bite.

And now, the beer sampler...
#1 Dortmunder Gold - For anyone who has tried this, you know it's good. It's GLBC's answer to Miller Lite and Bud Light, but way(x10) better. Nice golden color and a great taste with a smooth finish.

#2 Burning River Ale - An American Pale Ale, which, in my opinion are much better than India's version. This is definitely a full flavored beer with citrus and pine notes. I like it!

#3 Edmund Fitzgerald Porter - If you like coffee and chocolate, this beer is for you. If you like just one of those things, you'll still like this beer. A quick whif gives you both of these smells. The hops are also well noticed. Not my favorite GLBC Beer, but still very good.

4. Eliot Ness Amber Lager - My favorite beer in GLBC's collection. It has a great malty taste and the hops balance the flavors very well. If you haven't tried this one, you should do so IMMEDIATELY!!!

5. Commodore Perry IPA - I usually don't like IPA's because of their bitterness but this one has a sweet finish that makes it very, very good. I really don't know what else to say about this one other than saying that even if you don't like IPA's, give this one a try.

6. The Grassroots Ale - This is a new beer for GLBC and I like it quite a bit. It is brewed with Herbs that they grow on a small section of the Hale Farm and Village. The herbs are noticeable from the first scent. I would definitely give this beer a shot if you like something a little bit different!

So there you have it, my night out at the GLBC! If you've tried any or all of these beers, give me your thoughts!

[hammb]

Glad you enjoyed the trip there! GLBC is a pretty good brewery, and the brewpub is an awesome time. I've always been pleased with my food, and it's reasonably priced as well. And, of course, the beers are pretty good.

That grassroots thing sounds interesting, and I've thought about making the trip there to try the Altbier...that's a good style. Judging by your comments I don't think our beer tastes are real similar. I love IPAs...and FWIW they're not from India I also think Dortmunder is by FAR the best of GLBC's standard offerings...I'm not alone either, as it is their best scoring beer on ratebeer.com as well. But that's the cool thing about the brewery, they've got beers for all tastes!

Of the ones you list I rank them as:

1. Edmund Fitzgerald -- Quite simply this is the best porter I've ever tasted. It's just great.
2. Eliot Ness -- A very good malty amber lager. This is a fairly boring style, but a great rendition of it, IMO.
3. Commodore Perry -- IPA is my favorite beer style, and this one is a very drinkable rendition. It suffers, IMO, because it's just not as good as IPAs from other breweries (Two Hearted, Stone IPA, Hop Devil, etc.). Still this is a good beer, and one of my favorite GLBC regular offerings.
4. Dortmunder -- This is a pretty boring style. It is the best light lager I've ever tasted, but it's just not a real great style, IMO.
5. Burning River -- I typically LOVE APAs, but something about Burning River has always turned me off. I just don't care for it. I try to like it, and I just don't. They say it has lots of Cascade flavor, but I don't get that...not in the same way as I do with an SNPA or Bell's PA. This beer generally scores well as an APA, and it's a style I love, but for some reason I've never been a fan.

Where the GLBC really shines, IMO, is their seasonal and pub-exclusive beers. I've not tried either of the pub exclusives you had, but the ones I've tried have always been good. My very favorite GLBC beer, and actually favorite beer period, is Nosferatu. It should hit the brewpub in early September and be found in 4 pack bottles around the area around then as well. The Blackout Stout is also a phenomenal beer (Imperial Stout), and the pub-exclusive barrel aged version of it is even better.

GLBC, on the whole, is a very good brewery, but they really shine with the brewpub experience, IMO. They combine top notch food with a good selection of beers that they don't even bottle. If you go on Saturday's they even give brewery tours. Glad to hear you had such a good time, it only confirms what I've always felt about their brewpub. I would definitely recommend it to any beer lover, they do it right.

[ZiggyZoomba]

And don't forget Nosferatu!

[VDub26Falcon]

I think I am most upset with myself because I still haven't tried the Blackout Stout. I never know when their schedule has it available. I've heard that it is absolutely phenomenal and I really, really, really want to try it!!! Nosferatu is a great beer too!

[hammb]

I think I am most upset with myself because I still haven't tried the Blackout Stout. I never know when their schedule has it available. I've heard that it is absolutely phenomenal and I really, really, really want to try it!!! Nosferatu is a great beer too!

I think Blackout is sometime in the late spring...I want to say April-June or something like that?

[VDub26Falcon]

I know that one year it was January-March...we have the old 2006 schedule in our basement.

[hammb]

It probably still is then...I'd go with what the schedule says over my beer-fogged memory