Devil's Pale Ale
Great Lakes Brewery

Devil's Pale AleDevil's Pale Ale
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From:
Great Lakes Brewery
 
Ontario, Canada
Style:
English Pale Ale
ABV:
6%
Score:
84
Avg:
3.72 | pDev: 11.02%
Reviews:
122
Ratings:
195
Status:
Active
Rated:
Oct 10, 2021
Added:
Aug 12, 2006
Wants:
  21
Gots:
  15
Released in the fall of 2006, this was our first seasonal ale. However, the incredible response prompted us to make it available all year long on draught and in 473 ml cans. Brewed with 6 select malts and 4 premium hops, it has a rich mahogany colour, reminiscent of early English pale ales. The wonderful hoppy aroma is revealed even before your first sip, followed by a hearty malty body, and culminating with a pronounced bitterness. Prepare yourself for a devilishly good time…
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by largadeer:
Photo of largadeer
Reviewed by largadeer from California

3.09/5  rDev -16.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Pint sized can received from dyan in our latest trade, just in time for review number 666. Fucking metal. Consumed while listening to the new Miley Cyrus album, the most unholy music I could find.

Appearance: Dirty crimson, like bloodied water. The head is enormous and long-lasting, leaving gobs of lace all over the glass.

Smell: Smells extremely metallic - appropriate enough I guess. There's fruity sweetness beneath the overbearing mineral-like quality.

Taste & mouthfeel: A bit watery up front. Light malty sweetness with fruity overtones. Chocolatey. Mineral/metallic flavors detract quite a bit, and the finish is overhopped. Not such a great beer, but the gimmick is pretty fun.
Jan 30, 2009
More User Ratings:
Photo of Joe_Canadian
Reviewed by Joe_Canadian

4.34/5  rDev +16.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
My third beer of the night, following an Amsterdam Boneshaker and a Great Lakes Brewing NE Burst Pale Ale. Purchased 10/7/21, poured into a flared Ryes pint glass.

Appearance - Dark. Not quite black, but on the edge. Reminds me of a Stout or Porter rather than a pale ale. Light, one finger head that maintains through 40 mins of drinking and lacing that is light as well.

Smell - Smells like a traditional pale ale. Seriously, it brings me back to memories of British pubs when I visited in 2015 and my grandfather's basement, where we'd watch the Jays and he'd drink a few imported English brews. A little bit of piney hoppyness which is then overridden by the malts - a super dark pumpernickel followed by a bready, thick, mouth gumming dark fruitcake.

Taste - Super malty with a burnt finish. It crosses between a Pale Ale and a very malty Cream Ale (and I like my cream ales maltier than most). The maltyness gives way to a toasted, almost burnt baked good flavour.

Feel - Thick. Not quite as thick as an Imperial Stout of Bourbon Barrel Porter, but it coats my mouth in a good way.

Overall - I'm giving this a 4.5, probably because this is a seasonal brew. Could I drink this all year 'round? Definitely not. Will I drink lots of it over the next six months? Definitely.
Oct 10, 2021
 
Rated: 3.54 by Coronaeus from Canada (ON)

Dec 16, 2017
 
Rated: 4.31 by StormAles from Canada (ON)

Jun 29, 2017
Photo of leaddog
Reviewed by leaddog from Canada (AB)

4.24/5  rDev +14%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Appearance - Pours a cranberry with two fingers of cream coloured head.

Smell - citrus and piney hops, pine resin, tropical fruits, bready malts, caramel, and earthy yeast.

Taste - A nice balance between the hops and malts. The tropical fruits, caramel, and earthy yeast act as supporting casts to finish this brew off.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Finishes with a pleasant lingering bitterness from the hops.

Overall - A well crafted pale ale that showcases the balance between malts and hops. This one is on the cusp of an American Pale Ale. Another winner from Great Lakes.
Jan 08, 2017
 
Rated: 3.71 by Electros from Canada (ON)

Nov 14, 2016
 
Rated: 4.12 by MarkhamPete from Canada (ON)

Jun 11, 2016
 
Rated: 3.81 by CRObighit2 from Canada (ON)

Mar 24, 2016
 
Rated: 3.72 by beerhunter13 from Canada (ON)

Feb 04, 2016
Photo of RastaRhino420
Rated by RastaRhino420 from Texas

3.37/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
A beer with a cool concept and a nice fruity smell that feels good in your mouth. Not to big a fan of the extremely bitter after taste.
Apr 05, 2015
 
Rated: 3.92 by Bf_89 from Canada (ON)

Mar 30, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by gingerbread from Canada (NS)

Mar 24, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by Jotora from Canada (ON)

Mar 15, 2015
Photo of bendythumb
Reviewed by bendythumb from Canada (ON)

4.2/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Dark as sin. Pours with a small thick head. Similar consistency to a stout. A muted smell of hops is present, nothing too unorthodox or particularly distinct for a pale ale. The taste of hops is present at once as the devil's brew enters my mouth. A heavy, heavy taste of malts sets in immediately afterwards, providing balance to the hops. Slightly alcoholic aftertaste. Mouthfeel is sublime - more carbonated than I would have expected for a brew this dark, but quite smooth none the less.

A great local Ontario brew for those that enjoy the more traditional pale ales but aren't afraid to try something different.

At first, I didn't understand why this brew was named the Devil's Pale Ale. After all, it's magnificently balanced and doesn't have an extreme kick, nor does it throw any curveballs. But after kicking back a couple, I noticed that I was rockin' quite the buzz. Perhaps it's smooth feel and balanced taste was more insidious than I had thought; perhaps the Dark Lord was truly behind this splendid ale.
Feb 15, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by hunterjames from Canada (ON)

Jan 31, 2015
Photo of neenerzig
Reviewed by neenerzig from Ohio

4.19/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Picked up a single 473 ml can of this from a beverage store in Niagra On The Lake, Canada when my wife and I went there a few months ago. This can has been sitting in my fridge ever since because I knew when I first picked this up that because it has 666 in its title, I wanted to save this beer to drink and review for my 666th beer review for Beeradvocate.com and now that time has arrived! Poured into one of my pint glasses, this beer pours a clear, medium to dark amber color with a slightly tan/off white head that is about 1/2 inch thick or so when first poured. It eventually settles to a nice thick ring lining the inside of the glass along with some nice big cluster swirls of foam on the beer's surface. The color is certainly darker than just about any other pale ale I have had before. Aromas of some toasty toasty caramel malt sweetness along with hints of brown sugar and molasses and some piney hops. The flavors pretty much follow suit, with nice roasted caramel malt, brown sugar and molasses sweetness upfront that gives way to a good piney hop bitterness along with some grapefruit citrus. A very nice mix and balance of flavors. The bitterness really lingers after each sip. Has a crisp, yet smooth and frothy, slightly chewy, slightly oily, medium bodied mouthfeel with light to moderate carbonation. This one really coats the inside of my mouth and hangs around for awhile after each sip. Easy to drink, and you really just want to sip the hell out of this one and feel a bit regretful upon realizing the glass is almost empty. The devil made these guys brew a damn good, solid beer here!

Eric
Dec 20, 2014
Photo of Franck
Rated by Franck from Canada (QC)

3.5/5  rDev -5.9%
Well hopped. Hint of caramelized malt. Taste of nuts. Looks like a brown ipa.
Dec 11, 2014
Photo of taxandbeerguy
Reviewed by taxandbeerguy from Canada (ON)

4.04/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
473 ml can served cold into a pint glass. Purchased from LCBO for $2.60 CDN.

Appearance - dark mahogany color capped by a nice fluffy two finger tan head. Too dark to see much inside the beer in term bubbles or clarity. Good retention and some sticky lacing left behind.

Smell - mild caramel malts balanced by a leafy hop aroma dominate. It's pretty straightforward, but well executed.

Taste - leafy hop flavours that turn into a grapefruit citrus flavor with some lemon. Some caramel mealtimes in between but this is fairly hop forward for an English ale.

Mouthfeel - smooth and creamy with a dry finish. Reasonable well carbonated and great feel overall.

Overall - this is a beer that isn't outstanding in any area but is just really solid across the board, highly drinkable, with enough hop forward presence for hopheads but a nice balance that will appeal to newer craft beers drinkers. Really solid and should be a staple in my fridge going forward.

Update - Re-reviewed December 6, 2014. Comments are largely the same, but overall, this was even more delicious than the last time I had it. Most of the time when revisiting beers they can only meet (or sometimes fail to live up to) whatever rating I had previously given them. This is one that has a great big flavor bomb especially as far as English ales go. Nothing subtle about it, but really great for my taste buds.
Dec 06, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Jerboat from Canada (ON)

Dec 01, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by olradetbalder from Sweden

Dec 01, 2014
Devil's Pale Ale from Great Lakes Brewery
Beer rating: 84 out of 100 with 195 ratings