Vienna Lager
Great Lakes Brewery

473 mL can served slightly chilled; dated Nov 3 2025. Day 17 of the 2025 Toronto Brewing advent calendar.

Pours a deep copper-brown color, taking on more of an orange-amber hue when illuminated. A little over an inch of frothy, soapy, off white-tinted head settles atop, receding down to a tight collar and wispy cap within a few minutes. A narrow band of lace clings to the perimeter, transmogrifying into more of a doily pattern with each tilt of the glass. Looks great. Rich, malty aroma of biscuits, toasted bread, toffee and roasted nuts, with hints of leafy, earthy hops adding some variety to the mix.

A quality Vienna lager. The flavour continues where the nose left off: toasted grains and bready, biscuity malts, with caramel/toffee sweetness and a roasty, nutty note that adds some complexity. Hints of earthy, herbal hops make a brief appearance towards the finish, concluding with a bittersweet aftertaste of toasted malts and earthy hops; there might be a very slight touch of roasted chicory in there, too. Light-medium in body, with feisty carbonation that remains prickly right down to the last couple of sips.

Final Grade: 3.96, a B+. I don't think it's much of an exaggeration to say that Great Lakes' Vienna Lager is one of the best Canadian-made examples of this style that I've come across, at least so far. The malt contributions, in particular, are outstanding - and I don't just mean the flavour profile, but also on the nose. Another point in its favour is its balance: yes, the malt bill is robust, but this brew is definitely not 'too sweet', which has historically been my most common complaint about Vienna lagers. This is at least as good as Boston Lager, if not a step or two ahead already - any fan of amber lagers should consider this a must-try.

'pours clear mahogany with amber glints and a compact, flash in the pan head. The aroma is of caramel malts and some rye like spiciness along with herbal hops. The taste is of roasty, dark malts, chocolate, a bit of espresso and some citrus hops. Light bodied with medium carbonation. Light bitterness and expansive dark malts in the finish.

A nice Vienna Lager with quite a dark, roasted malt profile. Worth a try.

I picked up 2 cans from the brewery new design for can thought it was a new beer .dark Copper color or reddish
Poured into glass with a 2 finger head
Leaving a lace as you drink it.
Easy drinking lager beer with a low bitterness level. Vanilla and malts
Malty caramel and a hint of sweetness
Cheers

16 ounce can.
Pours a beautiful dark copper colour - just short of clear - with a finger and a half of creamy off white head.
Aroma is rich and malty - caramel, toasty, a bit of a toffee note and slightly nutty.
Tastes of sweet caramel malt, bready/toasty, a nice nuttiness - soft flavours of the hop with minimal bitterness, smooth and sweet.
Solid medium mouthfeel with brisk carbonation - creamy, malty and nice balanced finish.

growler, filled at Abe Erb...pours a lightly hazed beautiful copper-red with a 3 finger off white cap that lasts and laces the class sides...aroma is demure but it has solid toasty-nutty malt aroma with dried leaf undertones, light caramel tones....mouthfeel is full bodied and creamy but character is malty-toasty with clean dryness....flavor is toasty-nutty maltiness in the front that gets balanced with a spicy-earthy-tea hoppiness...slick finish goes dry...soft natural carbonation....I love Viennas, and this one of the best domestic craft Viennas I have had, they really hit the style benchmark with this offering..right color, right character and flavor

Appearance: Poured with a thumb of head that sadly did not lace or retain. The body is a cloudy brown that leans on amber when put up to the light. Carbonation is fairly steady throughout the beer.

Smell: Ample caramel malt, grain and a hint of earth and hops. Warming did help bring it out a bit more, but it wasn't needed as it's decently potent.

Taste: Same as the nose, and nice hit of sweet caramel malt to start that mellows out a bit into a more grainy note that round out with a dusting of earthy hops.

Mouthfeel: Nice caramel malt aftertaste and the carbonation helps out the entire beer. The transitioning is also on point on this one, but there is a bit of cling in the aftertaste I'm not a fan of.

Drinkability: On the lighter end of medium body, and settles down very well. Refreshing but still has character to be interesting. All around solid stuff.

Final Thoughts: A more then serviceable Lager from a style I wish was more commonplace. Just an all around great Lager that would be the perfect thing to have with any lunch. Good work.