Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter

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

Tap at The Map Room: Deep ruby brown beer with a lacing creamy tan head. Nice aroma- some apparent fruity malt character of toasted coconut, raisin, mild roast and a smoky peat like note. Nice creamy body. Firm malt character in the flavor with some soft sweetness, yet it remains soft and fluffy. Some toasted marshmallow and coconut with a peat like mild smokiness and later long roast. Balanced, bold and long flavors. Nice.

Poured from bottle into pint glass. About a finger of head that dissipates quickly into a small cocoa layer with an interesting but minimal lace. The beer is not quite "none more black" but it’s damn close. Smell is a good strong toffee scent, a light hint of chocolate, and a roasty coffee smell. Excactly what I want from this style. Taste/Mouth - The beer is carbonated just right and meduim bodied, with the beer seemingly going through distinct phases of taste as it coats the palate. Opens up robust and roasty and then finishes with a creamy/coffee/chocolatey aftertaste. Drinkability is very good. I don’t see why this wouldn’t be a perfect session beer. Great Lakes is a name which I greet with high expectations and thankfully this Edmund Fitzgerald was able to live up and perhaps exceed the standards that I have come to leave GL with.

Bottle at cellar temperature. It’s dark brown, almost black with a thick, creamy "coke-float" of a head, two inches thick. The aroma is wonderful, very balanced: creamy fresh coffee, milky chocolate; it’s slightly lactic with subtle nuts in the background. The mouthfeel is terrifically smooth and full. There is plenty of green hops in the flavour, more coffee, hazelnut, chocolate. The finish is long and full of coffee.

It pours opaque brown, almost black in color with a thick foamy creamy tan head...somewhere around two fingers thick, that thinned rather quickly. The head has left nice sporadic lacing in the glass. It’s aroma is quite light, but has hints typical of dark beers like this - milk chocolate, dark French or Italian style coffees. There is also a bit of a hop flower presence in the aroma. First sip is very carbonated, has a medium mouthfeel, a slight bitterness, one that you would get not only from hops, but also from coffee that has been sitting around for too long. It has a lingering taste though, maybe a bit nutty. Very enjoyable.

Pours black with a small white head. Aromas of bitter dark chocolate. Flavors of roasted coffee and chocolate. Medium bodied. Nice finish.

Ridulously good!!!!! This is the BEST porter that I’ve ever tried....I’m surprised that I’m just now reviewing it since, I’ve been drinking it for awhile now. Pours the beautiful dark, dark brown....with these amazing reddish hues. Looks interesting...with a beautiful light tan head. This ship smells of cocoa powder, coffee grounds, dark fruit and a definite hoppiness. Upon tasting its very light yet bold in flavor. Starts with dry cocoa powder, an oakiness follows and then malt. The finish is all hops..a light, bittering flavor realy complimets this beer. Pretty Good!!!

This is a good porter! I need to get some more. Coffee dominates the Edmund Fitzgerald. Roasted malt, missing an equal amount of chocolate but who cares? Surprisingly bitter for the style but an interesting asset that sets it apart from others in the style. Wish the head waited a little longer to die.

Creamy and dry coffee notes, one sided but very full. Dark rich brown, fluffy tan head, strong lacing. Dry and bitter coffee notes, strongly burnt. The 60 IBUs is VERY surprising, I’ve had this bottle for a while but still can’t imagine that they’ve fallen off this much. Dry and bitter mocha finish in the back of my mouth.