Great Lakes ... something changed?

I think it is your taste buds which have changed

I drink Great Lakes beers all the time....they are local for me.....have noticed no discernible changes in quality

Drank an Eddy Fitz earlier and will be drinking a Blackout soon....

All their beers are solid and on point

 

I got an Alberta Clipper thinking it would on par with Ed Fitz and Blackout.. I was SADLY mistaken.

Keep your berries out of my Porter, Thank you!

 

I've become a really big fan of theirs as of lately. I love their Burning River Pale Ale. Nosferatu Imperial Amber is badass. I tried their Ohio City Oatmeal stout and Black Out imperial stout yesterday and I LOVED both of them.

 

Their oktoberfest is still among the best beers on earth and the best example of the style you'll find.

 

Funny you say that. It was one if the worst beers ive ever had.

 

Keep an eye out for the Vanilla and Cherry infused Eddy Fitz...I had it on a ferkin at a bar opening a few years back and oh my was it good. I actually liked alberta clipper but this was much better

 

that actually sounds pretty tasty!!

 

Blackout was great last year not tried it this year......E Fitz was never a fave of mine. Thin and so so taste wise.....Always liked Founders porter much more.......Really like Burning river but not had it in a year or so.


Enjoy

 

People always blame the brewer before their palate, even though the latter is usually what has changed.

The only old GLBC beers I've had since the label change have been Lake Erie Monster and Nosferatu and they were both as good as ever, I'll have to revisit the core beers.

 

GLBC is local for me. I drink more of their beer than anyone else's, and I think it's just as good as it's always been.

 

Something seemed off with the Dortmunder Golds that I've had, both from different batches. I can't even really describe the flavor, but it was metallic and the hops tasted very old, though it was still easily within its code.

 

Eh. Maybe insofar as American Oktos go, but it's nowhere near actual German Oktos. Way, way too sweet.

 

Yeah I used to really love that beer, on draught and bottles, and thought it clearly the best domestic dortmunder available. Agree that something has changed and is missing...not the beer it once was.

 

"It can't be my subjective palate---it's got to be a change in the beer" says a beer geek at least once a day somewhere.

 

A bad review can start a chain reaction. This is not a bad review. Just a beer drinker that's disappointed with a seasonal beer that had high expectations. Don't claim to be a beer connoisseur, however, last year's Christmas ale was a lot better than this years. This years Great Lakes Christmas Ale does taste watered down

 

No you are not the only one that feels this way, in fact my co-workers and I (I work at 99 Bottles) have been discussing this very issue lately. I was always a fan of Great Lakes but have come away disappointed from their offerings as of late. Like you stated they do seem watered down. And this years Lake Erie Monster was absolutely atrocious. (Which was a huge bummer as I really enjoyed it last year) In fact the only brew of theirs that still tastes right to me is Edmund Fitzgerald. I don't know what is up but I hope they get it figured out. As stated above it could be a change in palate but when it is myself, 4 co-workers, and multiple distributors/customers all feeling the same I gravitate towards the idea that something has changed in the brews not just all of us.

 

Yes, my feeling exactly. In September, I had four GL beers in a blind tasting, each one alongside two or three other beers that were similar styles (most from Michigan). Eliot Ness used to be my "go-to" beer, but when I had it in September, I thought the quality had fallen. GL Oktoberfest was also worse than I remembered it from the year before. And my first experience with Commodore Perry was disappointing. Only Blackout was enjoyable. More recently, I had a Nosferatu, which was good, but not quite as good as I remembered it to be.

 

Chillwave is pretty amazing if you get it within six weeks of it's March launch. After that it fades really quickly so far as taste.

 

couldn't agree more on Lake Erie. remember liking this a lot in the past. this year i couldn't give it away fresh

 

Drink a lot of Great Lakes.... Elliot Ness, Eddy Fitz, Dortmunder, Oktoberfest, and Christmas Ale are all as fantastic as ever. May be your taste buds are changing, but I seriously doubt the beer itself is.