Great Lakes Grassroots Ale

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

Bottle. This one is a weird one from Great Lakes. They usually do pretty well but this one misses the mark. Pours straw with a decent head. Aroma is spice and vegetables with some lemon. Flavor is better than aroma with spice and hop along with caramel. Medium bodied and not horrible but it is not their best effort at Great Lakes.

gold color, nice white head, some lace. peperry, spicy nose. spicy fruity taste. medium bodied, spicy finish. sample at a LoSBD tasting. i think cornfield provided the sample.

This pours a hazy straw color, with a thin white head. Aroma is of yeast, wheat, and a touch of herbs. Contrary to the label, this is no saison. It’s much more of a spiced wheat beer. The herbs and spices take the front stage with this beer, it’s drinkable, but not something I’m going to seek out.

12oz bottle from pimpp - thanks, Patrick! Been wanting to see what Great Lakes could do with this style, and honestly I’m a bit underwhelmed. Beer looks nice enough, with a modest body, crisp carbonation, and hazy straw color. Nose is a bit by-the-numbers, with grass, yeast, the expected spice profile. But the flavor is meh, not really up to snuff for the style, to me. Needs to have more of a dry finish, not so slick and watery.

Pours yellowish gold with a fluffy white head. Smell is light spice with coriander and a floral scent and some wheat. Taste is herbal with some wheat and coriander. A bit musty. Medium to thin body with soft carbonation. A bit more earthy and herbal than I prefer, but this is decent.

Bottle. Pours gold with a thin white head. Strange aroma, with some saison spiciness and some strange and lemony other spices. The flavor is a strange mix of flowers, herbs, saison, lemon, and other things. My mouth really has no idea what’s going on. Interesting, but not something I’d ever have again.

I picked this up at the Sam’s in Downers Grove, Illinois. Although not listed as such here, the commercial description calls it a Saison. (It also says it was formerly Hale Ale, a Saison, and it’s not aliased. At least there’s a consistency here.) It pours a golden body that rapidly reduces to a ring. No lace. Foremost in the nose is the chamomile, followed by a honey malt sweetness, and then more spices. It tastes of soft fruit with a citrus touch, chamomile, and other herbs. The finish is moderately dry and spicy. Not bad.

Bottle. Supposedly a saison. Pours a lighter gold. Citrusy lightly spiced aroma. Taste has some saison yeastiness upfront, but not enough IMO. Lots of lemony taste. Extremely drinkable & quite tasty but not a true saison.