Great Lakes 15th Anniversary Ale

Formerly brewed at Great Lakes Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Tripel
Cleveland, Ohio USA

Date: 05/29/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Roadtrip

hazy gold, wispy white head, sweet malt aroma with a nice spicyness and a lightly tart musty funk, yeasty and spicy flavor with a lot of funk, the strong yeast character takes over the beer,

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 5/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 9/20
Rating: 2.5/5.0
Drinkability: 5/10
Score: *4

Hazy golden body with small off-white head. Aroma is sweet, apple, mango, yeasty. Taste is sweet, fruity, alcohol, finishing with a medium alcohol burn. Medium-full body. Interesting beer, but something seems awry.

Poured a hazy dark orange with a small off-white head. Smoky, citrus (orangy), spicy, and musty smell. Slightly sweet with a bitter finish. Tastes of orange, smoke, and spices. Alcohol well hidden with a slight alcohol aftertaste. I enjoyed this beer and glad I picked it up during my last trip to Michigan.

Pale gold hue covered by a light white head. Weird off notes have gained the aromas of this beer. While it had a best before july 04’, you’d imagine a trippel wouldn’t degrade so quickly(BB date 9 months after release?), expecially at 9.5%. That said, vinegar eggs and olive are hinted at in the spicy, mildly honeyed malty nose where any trace of hops seem long gone. Dryish graininess, sweet and most fruity appear in mouth. It can’t hide its alcohol, but nevertheless manages to procure fun moments in its peachy, pineapple-like fruitiness. Very thinned out body, sulphuric, with still quite active carbonation. Well, quite sweet and definitely not one that will support any age at all, like any Great Lakes it seems.

Crystal clear, light golden ale with a small, creamy, white head. Good retention. Very spicy nose with lots of clove, some mango and maybe a touch of pear. The flavor is very sweet and malty with plenty of clove and nutmeg. Full-bodied with a syrupy mouthfeel and soft carbonation. Lengthy, sweet, astringent finish with a touch of straw at the very end.

Rerate 11/20/05: Aged for two years. Estery floral Belgian yeasty aroma seems fairly unchanged. Body has mellowed and smoothed out some since the initial release. Still has a pleasant sugary Belgian malty sweetness well balanced with a hint of tartness and pleasant carbonation. A nice, fairly authentic Belgian tripel.

Original rating 10/20/03: Pours a darker golden with a thin white head. Aroma of fresh flowers, Belgain yeast and some bready malt, very authentic. Body is lightly syrupy and sweet with a subtle bitterness throughout and a hint of spice. Very smooth and hides its alcohol well. Kinda reminds me of the New Glarus Unplugged Tripel. A very good tripel and congrats to Great Lakes on 15 years.

The Lure:
Yeasty weirdness spitting vinegar-laden veggies onto the peachy fruitiness. How can a tripel not last that long?

The Festivities:
An astringent acid finish wounds the slight alcohol burn. Tons of yeast float around, farting away obscenities. Carbonation and body are fine though, signs that these perceived problems are maybe at an early stage.

Transcendence:
The night after a Chinese buffet.

The label makes me think it will taste like cake. mmmmm cake. This one has a sharp spiced apple crisp and baked cinnamon desert aroma... not exactly cake, but a close-enough dessert. Damn this is pretty much a dessert beer. Sweet lemons and oranges mixed in the flavor, with a sweet and spicy soap flavor as well. Very sharp overall.