Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter

Brewed by Great Lakes Brewing Company
Style: Porter
Cleveland, Ohio USA

Sample at West Lakeview Liquors, Chicago, Great Lakes Tasting. Opaque black color with tan head. Aroma is a good amount of dry smoke and roast, perfectly instyle. Flavor is roast and smoke once again but with a good amount of chocolate and subtle hop bitterness as well. Medium, creamy body. This is very nice and very much what Great Lakes does, prefectly well-balanced, instyle beers. I could see even people who don’t like "dark beers" digging on this as well as experienced imperial stout fans.

12oz bottle: Pours a dark black color. When put in front of a bright light it gives off a bright ruby glow. Fairly long-lasting creamy head. Roasted chocolate aroma. Initial flavor was of bitter cocoa, as the beer warmed it took on more of a smoky taste. Surprisingly lighter body than I expected. Laced nicely as it went down. A very solid beer that I will definitely have again.

I’ve drank my share of porters, and for the life of me I’ve never had one that I could point out that was "that much" different than a stout. To me, this beer is a porter... I know what it is now. Aroma is roasty, with some earthy hops. Smells like fresh baked cookies in some ways. Flavor is cocoa and coffee hints, with roasted malt through and through. Finish is dry bitter. Beer pours just south of opaque, with a creamy tan head that sticks all the way to the bottom of the beer. Trying this beer is like trying the style for the first time for me. This is a very good beer.

this beer poured a deepest black with a nice one inch thick head. the smell was big on coffee and malty sweet. i also pick up some toffee smell. there is a bit of alcohol smell in there as well. the taste is chocolate and toffee and a bit bitter, but superbly balanced. this beer got MUCH better as it warmed. very roasty. the mouthfeel is pretty full and is what i expect from a great porter. wow, what a drinkable beer. a superb porter that i could drink quite a few of.

This beer is excellent, especially because im from cleveland. its hard to come by on a college budget but i enjoy it when i can. more bitter than my normal beer.

Pours black as night with a hint of ruby around the edges. Head is small but dense and lingers throughout the session leaving decent lacing. Big time roasted malt smell with strong coffee and dark chocolate aromas. Definite dark fruit smell as well with a very nice faint hop smell to balance everything. One of the better porters I’ve smelled. Roasted malts form the backbone with a pleasant sweetness dominated by chocolate. The finish is actually fairly bitter with a lingering coffee aftertaste. Light to medium mouthfeel with decent carbonation. As sessionable porters go, this is near the top of the list. I could easily drink a few of these in an evening and I would seek it out.

12 oz bottle. Pours very dark, looks black til you hold it up to the light and see some hints of ruby, 2 cm of a light tan head that is slowly diminishing. Aroma is malty, bitter chocolate, dark fruits, and some coffee as it warms. Initial flavor is sweet chocolate and coffee. Flavor ends similarly, but with some malts and hops to complicate the flavor, let leaving it balanced. Some lacing, limited carbonation, medium body, and limited alcohol presence. Overall a drinkable beer and the best regular octane beer that Great Lakes puts out.

12oz bottle. Aroma is roasted malt with notes of chocolate, coffee, pine hopps. Average sized off-white foamy head that left great lace and lasted for the most part. Very dark mahogany hue that lets very little light through. Flavor is roasted sweet coffee and cocoa then turns nicely bitter. Palate is watery smooth and soft with a nice clean finish. Light bodied, a real session brew. A very good porter; clean, complex, well balanced, and delicious. Top notch.