Purchased: Single bottle (12oz) from the Great Lakes sampler pack thingy purchased in IL; 2012
Style/ABV: American Pale Ale, 6.0.%
I'm continuing with my Great Lakes Brewing conquest, which has kind of been part of a recent effort to drink all the familiar and readily available beers around me that I have not tried before.
The appearance is what you might expect for this style. 2-fingers worth of wonderful, white/slightly-off-white head, and a body that is a darker amber/bronze color in low light. The head is foamy, but it has a slight dish soap complexion as well. Head retention is nice, and as the head pulls away I am getting lacing on my tulip glass. There is quite a bit of carbonation in the form of small rising bubbles, and this beer is transparent and filtered. In bright light, this beer takes on a wonderful golden-amber color.
The aroma is bright citrus, grass, lawnmower, and some malt. There is a hard biscuit note from the malts, orange, tangerine, light and pleasant English-hop note, and some other suggestive fruity flavors. I'm pulling an orange note out of this that smells like the orange filling in these chocolates I used to have as a kid. I wasn't particularly fond of the filling because it was not overtly sweet or orange, but it smells good in this beer. There is some pine and wet leaves in here for good measure too, hints of caramel, hints of gum, and some grass/lawnmower.
Again with the great palate depth...something is in the Great Lakes Brewing water or something, because all of their beers are a great experience across the palate. This hits you with hops up front, but immediately balances the hops with big malts. The back end is bittering, but immediately balances the bitter flavors with more malt kick. I'm tasting mild and pleasant orange, tangerine, bitter grass and burgeoning bitter tangerine, biscuity and caramel malt supporting the hoppy flavors, bitter grass, bitter floral, and bitter wet leaves, and some bitter greens. This is sweet, balanced, hoppy, and appropriately bitter.
This is medium-light, generously carbonated, smooth, and drinkable. Above all else, this is balanced, with a nice play of sweetness, hoppiness, and bitterness. The finish is citrus and slightly drying. This is very easy to drink, and you do not feel any burden from the 6.0% ABV. The palate depth on this is fantastic, with some really nice contrasts in the front, middle, and back palate. The complexity is high as well. Up front you get carbonation, hint of malt, and citrus hops with burgeoning malts; this rolls into a hoppy and malty middle; the back is bitter, hoppy, and balanced by lingering malts. The finish is dry citrus. There is actually a touch of hop spice in this beer, almost a peppery note.
I'm continuing with my Great Lakes Brewing conquest, which has kind of been part of a recent effort to drink all the familiar and readily available beers around me that I have not tried before.
Burning River Pale Ale is an assertively hopped, citrusy, and piney American Pale Ale. The beer is named after the Cuyahoga River, which apparently burst into flames in 1969 and sparked the Clean Water Act of 1972. Great Lakes gives some info on the history of the Pale Ale: the style evolved from the English town, Burton-upon-Trent, that was known for its hard water supply and tendency to brew lighter-colored beer. The American Pale Ale is well hopped, and indeed this beer features citrus and piney flavors from the hops. This beer uses Northern Brewer hops (bittering hop for English-style ales), and Cascade hops (citrus and grapefruit aroma and flavor). Clocking in at 6.0% ABV and packing 45 IBUs, we might expect a big, bold American Pale Ale.Great Lakes Brewing Company was founded on September 6th, 1988, brothers Patrick Daniel and Conway Daniel. It became the first microbrewery in the state of Ohio. The brewery expanded both in 1992 and 1998, and in 2010 and 2011 the brewery spent over 7 million dollars to improve their brewery and brewery equipment. The brewery produces over 100,000 barrels annuals, and serves 13 states and Washington D.C.. According to the Brewers Association "top 50 breweries list" from 2010, Great Lakes Brewing Company is ranked #22 for beer sales as a craft brewer, and #31 for beer sales in general (in America). You can take a stroll to the Great Lakes Brewing history page to get the full story about the brewery.
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| Great Lakes Burning River Pale Ale |
The aroma is bright citrus, grass, lawnmower, and some malt. There is a hard biscuit note from the malts, orange, tangerine, light and pleasant English-hop note, and some other suggestive fruity flavors. I'm pulling an orange note out of this that smells like the orange filling in these chocolates I used to have as a kid. I wasn't particularly fond of the filling because it was not overtly sweet or orange, but it smells good in this beer. There is some pine and wet leaves in here for good measure too, hints of caramel, hints of gum, and some grass/lawnmower.
Again with the great palate depth...something is in the Great Lakes Brewing water or something, because all of their beers are a great experience across the palate. This hits you with hops up front, but immediately balances the hops with big malts. The back end is bittering, but immediately balances the bitter flavors with more malt kick. I'm tasting mild and pleasant orange, tangerine, bitter grass and burgeoning bitter tangerine, biscuity and caramel malt supporting the hoppy flavors, bitter grass, bitter floral, and bitter wet leaves, and some bitter greens. This is sweet, balanced, hoppy, and appropriately bitter.
This is medium-light, generously carbonated, smooth, and drinkable. Above all else, this is balanced, with a nice play of sweetness, hoppiness, and bitterness. The finish is citrus and slightly drying. This is very easy to drink, and you do not feel any burden from the 6.0% ABV. The palate depth on this is fantastic, with some really nice contrasts in the front, middle, and back palate. The complexity is high as well. Up front you get carbonation, hint of malt, and citrus hops with burgeoning malts; this rolls into a hoppy and malty middle; the back is bitter, hoppy, and balanced by lingering malts. The finish is dry citrus. There is actually a touch of hop spice in this beer, almost a peppery note.
Rating: Divine Brew
Score: 92%
Everything that I want in an American Pale Ale is right here. Drinkability, balance, good hop flavor, and wonderful malt balance. And the palate depth is spectacular. This beer actually evolves as it transverses from front to back palate, and it remains equally hoppy and balanced along the way. I am really enjoying what I have tried from Great Lakes Brewing so far, and I have one beer left to review: the Edmund Fitzgerald Porter. So until then, cheers.
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