Tag Archives: Great Lakes Brewing Co.

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Great Lakes Alchemy Hour Double IPA

Great Lakes Alchemy Hour Double IPA
One of my favorite things about drinking craft beer is drinking great local brews. Although I live in Columbus, and Cleveland is two and a  half hours North-East of me, many locals (myself included) consider Great Lakes to be a “local” beer. It is one of my all-time favorite breweries, and just about everything they do is out-of-this-world delicious. Great Lakes Alchemy Hour Double IPA is a brand-new brew from the Cleveland brewery which just started hitting the shelves this month. It certainly lives up to Great Lakes’ stellar reputation.

Alchemy hour is a beautiful copper color with a slight reddish tint. The color reminds me of a Summer sunset. I poured the beer rather aggressively into the glass and, despite my vigor, I was only able to yield about one finger of head. The head promptly dissipated, leaving behind no evidence of its existence. Nevertheless, this is a nice-looking beer.

The aroma is more complex than I’ve experienced with a lot of IPAs. I definitely get a lot of hops, but there’s also a lot of other fragrances going on here as well. There’s pine notes, some caramel and honey from the malts, and some breadiness. I also detect a few floral notes, and it seems the more I sniff the more I can pick out. The aroma is very tempting and it makes you want to dive right in.

Like almost every other Great Lakes beer I’ve had (and I’ve had most of them), this one does not disappoint in the taste category. Up front, I get some sweetness from the honey malts, and there is some breadiness in the middle. On the back end there is a very bright hop flavor and it finishes dry with a mild alcohol burn. The flavor is just as complex as the aroma, with hints of pine, honey, caramel and spices. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied, feels chewy (even a bit sticky), and has medium to light carbonation. As I sip this beer, though, I feel like there is something missing and I can’t quite put my finger on what it is. About half way through the class I realized that what is lacking in the IPA is citrus flavor. It’s there, but it’s very understated. This makes for a unique flavor profile for an imperial IPA in that all the other flavors are allowed to shine.

I am a huge fan of Great Lakes Brewing Company, and this beer only further reinforces how great they are. This isn’t even my favorite IPA by Great Lakes (that honor goes to Lake Erie Monster), but this is still an awesome beer. If you’re not familiar with Great Lakes, my recommendation is that you become acquainted  and if possible, get you hands on some Alchemy Hour Double IPA in the process.

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Great Lakes Dopplerock

Doppelrock is a beer that I had heard about but had never actually seen in the store. The 4-pack I picked up happened to be the very last one on the shelf, so I didn’t hesitate to grab it. I’ve been a big fan of Great Lakes for a while, so I was quite eager to give this brew a try.

Doppelrock is a doppelbock beer, which, for anyone who may be aware, basically means this is a very dark, malty lager beer. It pours a very dark brown, copper color with about two fingers of creamy, off-white head. Head retention and lacing are fair to good and there is good bit of carbonation in this beer. The aroma is rich with dark bread malts and hint of caramel. It smells quite sweet, and I may have detected a bit of fruitiness (cherries, perhaps).

Doppelrock is a fitting name for this beer because it rocks. The most prominent flavor is the rich bread malts, but I also noticed some chocolate malts as well. Along with the malts, there is also a bit a caramel, and those cherries from the aroma sneak in there, too. It is sweet, but not overwhelmingly so. On the finish, there is very little hops flavor, but there is a bit a sting from the alcohol that lingers on the tongue.

I have not had too many doppelbocks, but I’m certainly a fan of the style. After trying Doppelrock, I’m going to seek out some others for sure. Let me know if you have any suggestions. This is the first time I’ve ever seen this particular brew in a store, and since I’m not sure when or where I will be able to get it again, I plan to savor the couple I have left!

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Liquid Gold

Great Lakes Brewing Co. Dortmunder Gold

Great Lakes Brewing Co. in Cleveland OH doesn’t call this beer Dortmunder Gold for no reason.  Not only is the name indicative of its amazing color, but it is also an allusion to its gold medal-winning potential.  Dortmunder Gold has won countless awards, and for good reason.  This is an outstanding American Lager that is incredibly drinkable.
Appearance= 5
This may be the most delicious-looking lager beer I’ve seen.  It has a very rich golden color (as the name suggests) that is free of any cloudiness.  When poured into the glass, it has about 2 fingers of head that dissipates after a few seconds, but leaves a thin layer over the top.  This beer leaves a surprising amount of lacing on the glass for a lager beer.
Aroma= 3
There is nothing too special to report about the aroma.  It basically smells like a typical lager; a slight malty sweetness, a bit of grainy, bread-like smell, and bit of hoppiness.  It smells good, but I’m not that impressed.
Taste= 4
This beer is good…. really good!  It has a very good balance of malts and hops.  It starts out with a malty sweetness and finishes with just the right amount of hops bitterness.  It has a medium level of carbonation, but it is very smooth and very drinkable.  The best quality of this beer, however, is its drinkability.  I could easily drink several of these without the taste getting old.
Dortmunder Gold is everything a great American Lager beer should be; complex taste but no overwhelming and very drinkable.  It is easy to see why Great Lakes Brewing has won so many awards for this beer; it’s outstanding.  In fact, you should go drink one…right now!
Verdict= Victory