Premium Lager
Great Lakes Brewery
- From:
- Great Lakes Brewery
- Ontario, Canada
- Style:
- American Lager
Ranked #227 - ABV:
- 5%
- Score:
- 84
Ranked #30,586 - Avg:
- 3.67 | pDev: 7.63%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 9
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Feb 05, 2026
- Added:
- Apr 14, 2021
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 1
SCORE
84
Good
84
Good
This crystal-clear lager pours brilliantly bronze with a snowy white head that glistens like a polished crown. Aromas of lightly toasted malts that offer notes of honey and hay alongside some underlying lemon drop from a generous hop bill (for the style). The light bodied crisp beer is wonderfully refreshing with flavours of fresh straw and wet grass. A titch dry, Great Lakes Lager finishes clean with a noticeable bitterness reminiscent of a freshly cut lawn. A great everyday beer!
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by scott451 from Canada (ON)
3.73/5 rDev +1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
3.73/5 rDev +1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Poured a 473ml can into a pint glass. A one finger fine white head on a pale gold. The head soon diminishes to a ring. Minimal lacing.
Bready smells. The taste is grainy malts. moderate bitterness.
Medium body and moderate carbonation. Overall a fine American Lager. Better than most. This easily rivals your standard imports.
Feb 05, 2026Bready smells. The taste is grainy malts. moderate bitterness.
Medium body and moderate carbonation. Overall a fine American Lager. Better than most. This easily rivals your standard imports.
Reviewed by talisen-crw from Canada (ON)
4/5 rDev +9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev +9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
At my lady Pamela's house; canned and chilled, 473mL in a pint glass. From my favourite LCBO at Tecumseh Mall in nearby Windsor. Canned March 17/25. My 18th beer from the Etobicoke, Ontario brewery, and 1st for 2026. Reasonably recommended by Sundae the cat...
Jan 06, 2026
Reviewed by CAMRAhardliner from Canada (ON)
3.88/5 rDev +5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
3.88/5 rDev +5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Pours clear brass with a compact, craggy head. The aroma is fresh bread dough, some grass and some herbal hops. The taste is malt forward with restrained bitterness and a whisper of vegetal DMS. Light bodied with prickly carbonation The finish is light and pleasantly dry.
A straightforward and light lager with just enough hops and malts going on to make it interesting.
Jun 15, 2025A straightforward and light lager with just enough hops and malts going on to make it interesting.
Reviewed by Mikehicks100 from Canada (ON)
3.25/5 rDev -11.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
3.25/5 rDev -11.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Pretty good beer. Not the best available in stores, but its still a good beer that anyone who likes plain old lager will enjoy. Starchy tastes with a slight hint of booze, but not much. A solid beer for any occasion honestly.
UPDATE: So on my 3rd 473ml can dated Dec 18 2024 looked very yeasty and like an unfiltered beer. Almost like specs of sugar floating around in the beer. It's only maybe 3 months old. I drank 2 of these maybe a month ago and thought this was a filtered beer so maybe my memory is off. Drank the whole thing. Not as flavorful or grainy as i remember a month ago. Didn't put me off or anything. It got me thinking now, so I opened my 4th and last can dated Dec 16 2024 canned 2 days prior. Filtered and clear, just like I thought. So does that mean I drank a "Bad Beer?" The clear one seems a little better and cleaner or crisper tasting as well, but not by a huge amount.
Does that mean i drank an off or a bad beer? 3 out of 4 of these beers were filtered, 1 was very yeasty and unfiltered dated 2 days apart from the one i just opened to confirm my memory from a month ago is correct. Taste was fine but i doubt you would want an inconsistent product as a company. Anyone else see anything like this?
Feb 05, 2025UPDATE: So on my 3rd 473ml can dated Dec 18 2024 looked very yeasty and like an unfiltered beer. Almost like specs of sugar floating around in the beer. It's only maybe 3 months old. I drank 2 of these maybe a month ago and thought this was a filtered beer so maybe my memory is off. Drank the whole thing. Not as flavorful or grainy as i remember a month ago. Didn't put me off or anything. It got me thinking now, so I opened my 4th and last can dated Dec 16 2024 canned 2 days prior. Filtered and clear, just like I thought. So does that mean I drank a "Bad Beer?" The clear one seems a little better and cleaner or crisper tasting as well, but not by a huge amount.
Does that mean i drank an off or a bad beer? 3 out of 4 of these beers were filtered, 1 was very yeasty and unfiltered dated 2 days apart from the one i just opened to confirm my memory from a month ago is correct. Taste was fine but i doubt you would want an inconsistent product as a company. Anyone else see anything like this?
Reviewed by Alexc11 from Canada (QC)
3.87/5 rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.87/5 rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Pours clear golden and foamy two-finger head which recedes to a thin ring fairly quickly. Little lacing. Somewhat mild aroma restricted to cereal and fruit (peachy). Taste a nice balance of grainy/cereal with a sweet edge. No bitterness and elevated carbonation with a light crisp finish. Very good.
Feb 11, 2024
Reviewed by taxandbeerguy from Canada (ON)
3.55/5 rDev -3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.55/5 rDev -3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
473 ml can served cold into a beer mug. Canning date of of January 23, 2023. LCBO purchase for about $2.80CDN.
Appearance - Clear golden color with few bubbles. A finger of loose white head on top and good staying power.
Smell - Lots of bready notes, other grainy, slight suggestion of sweetness, but not overbearing.
Taste - Clean with light grainy flavors, modest bitterness. Good depth of flavor. Flavor also seems to intensify as you get into the brew, never a bad quality to have.
Mouthfeel - Easy drinking with middling carbonation, semi-dry finish.
Overall - Good solid lager, easy to drink and quaffable. Not as delicious as some of the higher end German and Czech pilsners out there either and the hop profile is pretty muted.
Jan 31, 2023Appearance - Clear golden color with few bubbles. A finger of loose white head on top and good staying power.
Smell - Lots of bready notes, other grainy, slight suggestion of sweetness, but not overbearing.
Taste - Clean with light grainy flavors, modest bitterness. Good depth of flavor. Flavor also seems to intensify as you get into the brew, never a bad quality to have.
Mouthfeel - Easy drinking with middling carbonation, semi-dry finish.
Overall - Good solid lager, easy to drink and quaffable. Not as delicious as some of the higher end German and Czech pilsners out there either and the hop profile is pretty muted.
Rated by Spark420
3.3/5 rDev -10.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.3/5 rDev -10.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
All In all not bad, but I do find it a bit sweet for my taste.
May 28, 2022
Rated by Pmicdee from Canada (ON)
3.75/5 rDev +2.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.75/5 rDev +2.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Nov 6 2023
Sep 06, 2021
Reviewed by SSS from Canada (QC)
3.83/5 rDev +4.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.83/5 rDev +4.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
A-Hazy golden yellow with ring of white head
S-Aroma is not very pronounced but nice and malt forward
M-Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation
T-Smooth malt flavour and quite enjoyable
O-Very nice lager…
Jul 18, 2021S-Aroma is not very pronounced but nice and malt forward
M-Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation
T-Smooth malt flavour and quite enjoyable
O-Very nice lager…
Reviewed by thehyperduck from Canada (ON)
3.8/5 rDev +3.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
3.8/5 rDev +3.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Apr 13 2021 and served slightly chilled.
Pours a bright, clear golden-yellow colour, producing one finger of soapy, foamy white head that melts away within sixty seconds; it's quickly reduced to a thin collar and filmy cap, with minimal lace production. Looks like your average pale lager, and the nose fits that description, too - I'm getting cereal grains, crackers, and minor hints of doughy sweetness and grassy hay. Smells clean and inoffensive.
A quality craft lager with no corners cut - its flavours follow the nose, with crackery, grainy pale malts and a little bit of bready, doughy sweetness coming through by the middle of the sip. Just a touch of grassiness at the finish, with hints of bready malt lingering briefly into the aftertaste. Light in body, with moderately assertive carbonation that results in a crisp, satisfying mouthfeel well suited to the style. Highly refreshing and very easy to toss back in multiples.
Final Grade: 3.8, a B+. The term 'premium lager' has been co-opted by many breweries, often to describe beers that are anything but premium. Great Lakes is a name that I associate with quality beer, so I would've been really disappointed if this were a flop - but thankfully, its a darn solid craft lager. Bonus - at only $2.80, it's actually somewhat cheaper than most of the other domestic craft lagers you can find in Ontario, despite being just as good as any of them (if not outright better than most). A fine substitute for the Euro pilseners that make up most of my pale lager intake, and worth a try if you enjoy this type of thing.
May 25, 2021Pours a bright, clear golden-yellow colour, producing one finger of soapy, foamy white head that melts away within sixty seconds; it's quickly reduced to a thin collar and filmy cap, with minimal lace production. Looks like your average pale lager, and the nose fits that description, too - I'm getting cereal grains, crackers, and minor hints of doughy sweetness and grassy hay. Smells clean and inoffensive.
A quality craft lager with no corners cut - its flavours follow the nose, with crackery, grainy pale malts and a little bit of bready, doughy sweetness coming through by the middle of the sip. Just a touch of grassiness at the finish, with hints of bready malt lingering briefly into the aftertaste. Light in body, with moderately assertive carbonation that results in a crisp, satisfying mouthfeel well suited to the style. Highly refreshing and very easy to toss back in multiples.
Final Grade: 3.8, a B+. The term 'premium lager' has been co-opted by many breweries, often to describe beers that are anything but premium. Great Lakes is a name that I associate with quality beer, so I would've been really disappointed if this were a flop - but thankfully, its a darn solid craft lager. Bonus - at only $2.80, it's actually somewhat cheaper than most of the other domestic craft lagers you can find in Ontario, despite being just as good as any of them (if not outright better than most). A fine substitute for the Euro pilseners that make up most of my pale lager intake, and worth a try if you enjoy this type of thing.
Reviewed by Tony787 from Canada (ON)
3.94/5 rDev +7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
3.94/5 rDev +7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
i bought a can at the lcbo in Ontario poured a 2 finger head into glass that quickly evaporated and disappeared and left no lace at all it looked flat to be honest
dated April 13th 2021 under can .
tasted very fresh light bodied with a crisp finish.
very light bitterness .
overall a very enjoyable easy drinking and refreshing lager by the Great Lakes Brewery
one of the top Breweries in Canada i think .
they brew lots of kinds of beer that are very good especially the ipas
keep up the good work.
cheers
May 09, 2021dated April 13th 2021 under can .
tasted very fresh light bodied with a crisp finish.
very light bitterness .
overall a very enjoyable easy drinking and refreshing lager by the Great Lakes Brewery
one of the top Breweries in Canada i think .
they brew lots of kinds of beer that are very good especially the ipas
keep up the good work.
cheers
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