Great Lakes Lake Erie Monster Double IPA

Brewed by Great Lakes Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Cleveland, Ohio USA

This Imperial IPA, is the emperor of IPAs if you ask me. The color is a cloudy golden yellow, with a long lasting head. The body is thick and covers the palate very well. The aroma and flavor is very very strong and very full of hops, fruit, and some citrus. And the alcohol really hits you, but you can’t tell from the amazing flavor. WOW!

Bottle pours orange/copper with a small head. The beer is cloudy with visible particles. The aroma is of strong hops with a hint of malt sweetness. The taste is smooth and very hoppy with citrus notes and a touch of sweetness at the start. The finish is dry and beautifully long, hop bitterness lingering. Perhaps the finest beer I have had. Too bad it has sold out! Please make this a regular GLBC!

I had this at the Great Lakes Tasting in Fairfield, OH at Jungle Jims International Market. I want to compare this to the Burning River, but its double that. Piney, and citrusy, with a candi like sweetness. Amazing hoppy aroma, just screaming at you to tell you what the flavor coming up will be like. No failing, it is very hoppy, lingering long after you’ve swallowed. Strong malts, and almost silky smooth.I Would love to have this again, unfortunately, it is not bottled, and only available at the brewery. Highly recommended.

Bought from the GLBC gift shop... by the end of this review, I’ll see if I should be cursing their 6 per person per day limit. Starts with an aroma of pine and grapefruit, with a little tannin note to it. Pours a slightly hazy reddish amber, with almost no head, leaving decent lacing down the side of the glass. It has the lovely oily palate of hops, with a flavor that begins on sweet notes, that quickly turn to citrus and bitterness, with a nice long finish. The alcohol is a bit noticeable in the back of the throat, but overall a great DIPA, and one that I’m glad I bought. And as for the 6 per person per day rule, if it let me get this, it’s good... if it kept some of my coworkers from getting it, I can still live with it.

#100! On tap at the brewery pours a hazy orange color. Smells like a subtle pine tree blowing in the wind in spring time releasing its oils. Has a nice white head that pillows away like clouds. Has some lacing on the glass. Tastes like grapefruit, pine, caramel, and some other sublte complex citrus flavors. Has no alcohol smell or taste and can sneak up on you at 9%. Has a very sweet caramel malt taste as you drink it. I’m pleased to make this #100.

Spicy, grapefruit, floral, nice honey sweetness with appropriate bitter aftertaste for this 22oz Bomber Bottle - DIPA.

Cask version at Barley’s 3rd Annual Mini RAF (04/16/05): Pours a murky orange color with a thin off-white head. Thin lacing too. Nice hoppy and citrusy aroma. Medium-bodied and very smooth with a subtle but persistent hops flavor. This reminded me very much of the DFH 90 Minute on tap, which is definitely a good thing. There are also some citrus and pine flavors. The finish is slick and rather bitter. All in all this was a great way to kick off the event, an Imperial IPA as good as I knew GLBC could do it.

22oz bottle picked up from the brewery by sliffy and puddintane for me! - Thanks guys! - Pours bright amber but cloudy with a big offwhite head that stays well and laces the sides of the glass. Aromas of big pine and graperuit, but this is definitely my kind of IIPA because there is caramel detectable in the nose behind those great hops. Flavor is grapefruit and pine upfront but there are some nice caramel and even toffee notes behind that. Big and hoppy throughout. Full bodied with amazing balance. Great to see this one make it into the bottle finally and even better to see GLBC bottle something unfiltered for a change!!