Great Lakes ... something changed?

I had a bottle of Christmas Ale on Thanksgiving and something about it was just "off". Couldn't quite put my finger on it, but now that you say this, it was a bit sour.

 

They may not have changed their recipes, but I think something has changed somewhere along the line.

Dortmunder is a perpetual favorite of mine. I hadn't had any in a while, so a couple of months ago I bought a six pack. It hadn't yet reached the best by date, but it was completely flat and stale. It was so bad that I returned the remaining 5 bottles to the liquor store, and they have me another sixer to try. It was definitely better, but still not good, and nowhere near how it has tasted in the past. I couldn't quite put my finger on what was wrong with it, but it was a far cry from the Dortmunder I knew and loved.

I have been wary of buying any of their beers since then. Given the mixed responses in this thread, I wonder if they may be having sporadic QC issues.

 

That is a good suggestion.

On your discussion topic of recipe, a beer can be brewed via the same recipe but the beer can indeed taste different. Brewing is as much about process as it is ingredients. There are also post brewing aspects which can have flavor impacts:

• A poorly operating/maintained packaging line
• Issues wrt storage and distribution both at the brewery and further down the supply chain line
• etc.

IMO @popsicleian made an excellent post.

Cheers!

 

I agree and certainly understand those points, but most of the people responding to this thread, as well as other threads with the generic title "Has (beer X) changed this year?" imply that the brewer has done something different, not that there might be QC issues.

And BTW, Great Lakes did have some QC issues recently, but the problem was pretty obvious: the beer had turned and was sour, not something vague like "it was off...didn't taste like I remember..."

https://www.greatlakesbrewing.com/node/1267

 

I drink a lot of Great Lakes too and have heard from a lot of people that Christmas Ale hasn't been the same since one of the brewmasters left for Thirsty Dog? I haven't had Christmas Ale this year because I've been trying so many other good Christmas beers. The BA Christmas Ale went sour, so that doesn't look too good on GLBC.

I have Ohio City Oatmeal Stout and Blackout Stout in the fridge now and both have been really good. Hope your luck changes soon!

 

Completely agree. Ever since the label change. They are either using some very different hops or really messing up the making of the beer. I get a gross vegetable flavor in every single one of their beers, from draft or bottle. Another guess is that they are dry-hopping all their beers which can impart that flavor. I noticed Dortmunder now says it's dry-hopped on the label.

 

I have been telling people this for awhile as well. But hey , so many great brewery's in Ohio, Great Lakes isn't even in my top 10....................no lie.

 

I'll be going to the source late next month ... will report on it. I have faith in the brewery.

Have they expanded recently?

 

I'll tell you this. I use to seek out the Great Lakes Christmas ale and if you got some you were so happy. It was so hard 2 come by, look forward 2 it every year, last 2 years my local gas station had about 15 unsold cases sitting stacked by the cooler late into January........till it was either thrown out, or picked back up by Great Lakes........sad.........

 

Why not just contact GLBC and ask them if anything has changed?

 

Edmund Fitz is still awesome.

 

I remember you telling me.

 

They're still making great stuff, as you'll taste next month. But while in town make sure to visit Platform and Brick And Barrel (both close to GLBC). And if you're in town for longer, take the hour trip south to Wooster to JAFB or east to Bottlehouse and/or Willoughby Brewing.

 

I got a single bottle of Sharpshooter in August , if I remember correctly.Liked it, and got more about 10 days later : not bad, just not as good as I remembered it. I think it was me, and the day I had the single it just was the right circumstances to seem especially good. *shrug* The Alberta Clipper I had awhile ago was fine.
I found a bottle of Rye Of The Tiger a few days ago, leaned over, lurking behind other stuff, dated 7/02/15. I was debating whether to even try drinking it. This decided me. It's not as good as fresh, but still drinkable. It doesn't seem "watery", or "off" .
Our taste buds generally change, and diminish with age. Could that be part of it, from one year to the next? How about drinking other beers, that maybe are better than what you had been drinking &/or GL, or at least different, so that when you go to GL, it doesn't impress anymore?

 

Great Lakes isn't available in Texas due to archaic prohibition-era laws still in effect that make out-of-state brewers pay through the nose just to sell beers here. A friend of mine in Columbus sent me a 12-pack sampler with the classics (Dortmunder, Eliot, Commodore, Edmund, Burning River) and a separate 6er of Conway's for Christmas.

Except for having the Dortmunder a few years ago when I was in NY, the rest were all new to me. Except for the Conway's and Burning River (which were still good), I thought the beers were above average with Edmund and Eliot being fantastic.

I realize that this thread is about suspicion that the quality of the brews have declined for some reason and I don't have a point of reference like you guys that have drank it for years--but it may shed some new perspective on the "did the beer change or did the drinker's taste change" question. With the advent of so many new breweries everywhere, I think my take on my old "regulars" has skewed a bit. As a longtime seeker of craft beer, I've not seen too many breweries that can beat GL's starting lineup. You guys with regular access are lucky and I look forward to pursuing their other brews.

 

I thought that their Oktoberfest was among the best (brewed in the USA) this past year. Love their Eliot Ness, almost always have some in the fridge.

 

I regularly have Dortmunder, EN, and BR in the fridge, and get Oktoberfest, Chillwave, and Christmas ale every year. It seems to me Dort tastes a little different every time I have it, but I chalk that up to me, not them. I think Oktoberfest and Christmas were a little different and a little better this year. As for Eliot Ness, that was the first craft beer I bought regularly after I graduated college and got gainfully employed. I've only come back to it recently, and it does taste sweeter than I remember. After the rebrand, the ABV dropped to 6.1% (I think it was 6.2%, possibly 6.3, before). Also, the IBU is now 28, and I seem to recall it being higher before. So that's one that has changed for sure, but I think the perception of sweetness may be an evolution of my palate; 28-30 IBUs was very high back in the day. Either way, still an awesome beer and will continue to buy regularly.