Snow Ghost Winter Lager
Great Northern Brewing Co.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured from a longneck into a sampler. A moderate pour produces a 3/4 inch billowy pale tan head that sticks pretty well. The beer is a fairly dark reddish brown with a tinge of yellow. Moderate carbonation.

I get some caramel undertones on the nose and in the taste. The hops are subdued but balance well. Overall, I get hints of caramel, toffee, and bread/biscuit. Nice, creamy mouthfeel. Tingly and clean on the palate with pleasant malty bitterness in the aftertaste and burps. A slight bit of alcohol warming is apparent as the beer progresses.

This very easy drinking and flavorful brew also features excellent label art, with the billowy heads of the snow ghosts suggesting the billowy, frothy goodness of the brew inside. This is the best offering from this brewery that I have yet tried.

 

Served on tap at the base lodge on big mtn(not whitefish mtn for all u snubs)
A: beautiful creamy pale mocha head-decent retention. Dark brown to ruby color, thick...
S: sweet malt scent with strong alcoholic aroma. Chocalate on the nose also with lingerin g traces of rye bread. There are a few layers in this aroma but at the same time its somewhat borish.
T: big roasted malt profile along with chocalate and bready rye. Alittle yeasty but just alittle. Also, strong alcoholic mix with a touch of hoppy dark and citrus fruit. Quite a lovely mix, not my thing though
M: big carbonation with an off-dry finish leaving behind a slightly burned bread aftertaste.
O: a well made winter lager, perfect for cozying up with your honeybun in front of your fire after a long day of dealin pow and grinnin from ear to ear. Proud to live in the town that brews it. It just so happens right now I'm sulking while drinking it cus I've a sprained ankle and watching it dump flakes outside. Oh well, such is life. Thx

Appearance- Dark red-brown with a finger of velvet head that persists as drunk and follows down the glass

Smell- Sweet base malts over the roasted while some of the yeasty esters give a little bready funk

Taste- Begins with a clean sweet (not doppel sweet) dark malt, followed by a light chocolate character, and finishes with a bit of spice

Mouthfeel- clean, medium body that could almost be light, I'd like it to stick around just a bit longer

Overall- mild mannered beer for those who aren't in the extreme market and want to relax, not be blown away

 

 

Appearance: Beer has a dark reddish brown appearance that turns to ruby red in the light. Nice carbonation with one finger of tan head. Very pronounced lacing was present.

Smell: Chocolate malt aroma. Smelled more like a porter than a lager.

Taste: Chocolate malt flavor with slight hoppy bitterness.

Mouthfeel:Heavier mouthfeel with carbonation noted.

Overall: Really liked this one. Feels more like a porter, but is not as heavy. Enjoyed the chocolate malt flavor with some bitterness.

From a bottle I got at the brewery in Montana into a tulip glass.

Visual (4.5): Nice dark ruby hue with minimal clarity. Off white, tan coloured head is rolling and settles slowly into a single finger thickness with great legs of lacing on the glass.

Aroma (3.5): Roasted malts are prevalent with a slightly alcoholic scent and hidden hop profile. The roasted malts take centre stage and really give a slight one-dimensionality to the smell.

Taste (4.5): Awesome malt character! I was blown away by the fantastic balance of coffee, chocolate, and sweet nutmeg flavours just in the initial sip. The sweet flavour lingers smooth and sweet, likely due to the honey additions in the beer. Alcohol is light on the pallet but definitely distinguishable at the end of the tasting. The hop character is a very fitting second fiddle. No real bitterness or bite from the hop, but hints of nice balancing really show on the swallow and in the lasting flavours.

Mouthfeel (4): Creamy, with a medium to heavy body that settles over the pallet. The film gives a nice full-mouth flavour spreading the roasted malt and alcoholic lingers across the pallet. The honey again adds a slight slick, thickness to the body that really compliments the "winter warmer" feeling near the Whitefish ski hill.

Overall (4.5): A fantastic craft beer; the perfect companion for after a day at Whitefish mountain. I loved the sweet, but complimentary malt profile that sticks on the pallet after the swallow. The aroma really had no chance of being anything besides a malt bomb. I wish I could get this beer in Canada; I'll have to keep an eye out next time I'm near Whitefish.

Review from BeerAdvocate Magazine Issue #47 (Dec 2010):

This dark, toasty lager is a few shades away from black, a good showing of lace on the glass. Smells of brown bread, cocoa powder and chicory. Smooth crispness with some body; clean palate throughout. Toasty, toasty, toasty ... a bit nutty with biscuity and dried grass flavors. Hints of chocolate and mild coffee deep in the middle. Hops are mild, yet keep an even keel; hint of oily, leafy hop flavor in the semisweet finish. Such a complex dark lager, with each sip we are drawn further into its embrace.

Note: Received from brewery for review on my blog.

Appearance: This beer poured a nice dark brown with a nice ruby hue. It had a nice foamy, tan head with great sticky lacing.

Smell: Wonderfully rich aroma of coffee and roasted malts.

Taste: Wow. Great rich and complex flavors of roasted malt, chocolate and toffee with a moderate but well balanced bitterness from the hops.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with medium carbonation.

Overall: A fantastic seasonal from these guys. Wish we could get this down in New Orleans.

On tap at a local restaurant this winter. Perfect winter lager, although seemed more like a brown ale. Enjoyable tastes of spices and roasted malts, and you can taste the hops too. So this is, as I said, perfect winter brew. They seemed to put a lot of effort into this brew, (can't say that about their others) Thanks GNB! A great winter brew!