Great Lakes Nosferatu
Often referred to as Burning River Pale Ale’s big brother, this stock ale is remarkably balanced for such a highly hopped beer. A rich deep blood red color makes this beer scary enough to be served every Halloween and a few other times of the year.
3.7
961 reviews
Cleveland, United States
Community reviews
12floz bottle BBD: 11.11.2018, (I had a few days before and after, it was fine) $12 four-pack, pint glass. After the pour the head does.not tend to stick around long.to cover the dark amber body, which effuses a candies caramel aroma. For a beer of some heft, it strikes a good balance between hop bitterness and malty sweetness. Wood, caramel, and dried fruit are all part of this full-bodied ale's menagerie of flavors. It serves right there with Stone's Arrogant Bastard as standards for the American strong ale style.
Bottles CBC 9-24-18
The smoothest Imperial red on the planet. Caramel notes and a fair amount of hops. One of the best Imperial Reds I have had.
Great Lakes simply brews great beer! Fresh on tap, this poured a solid and impressive deep amber-red with plentiful lacing topped with creamy thick white foam. Rich aroma of burnt caramel, sweet licorice, fruity hops, almost has a blood orange-citrusy zing to it, very complex and appetizing. Decadent and chewy caramel maltiness is predominant in the flavor, although there’s a bracing earthy and herbal hop bitterness that cleans the palate from the caramel. Finishes with a noble hop herbal bitterness. Medium-full bodied, this is a filling imperial red ale that seems like it would overwhelm any food you could pair with it. Savor a full pint of this by itself and take in all the intense flavor. Best imperial red ale I can recall trying.
Gorgeous blood red pour. Aroma is a bit scant. Pretty well balanced for a brew with a higher ABV. Not as hoppy as I'd imagined it would be. Thinner mouthfeel. Probably will have again. Draft @ Cafe Lulu, Milwaukee.
Nose is so good the thin flavor is s sad surprise. Aftertaste is thin licorice. Disappointing.
Bottle. Copper amber color. Floral hops, caramal malt, toffee, bubblegum. Medium body. Good hop and malt balance. Creamy texture. Bitter finish. But smooth and enjoyable.
Nose is nutty grain. Flavor is hoppy red fruitiness fermentation Esther's present. Thin fade head. Meh
Lovely, rich amber body with a lush, creamy caramel head. Easy hop nose wafts gently across a soft caramel malt body. On the palate this one follows through with easy hops and a caramel backbone. Tannins intermingle with the mineral character to contribute and interesting complexity.
Balanced and full, with a nice caramel malty nutty flavor that has enough hops and bitterness to complement it. Not heavy, but still strong.
Bottle at GABF. Pours a dark copper with small beige head that lasts. The aroma is toasted malt and dark fruit. Medium body, rye, pine, raisin, nice bitter finish, good.
On tap at the Buffalo Brew Pub. Very hoppy strong ale, but still balanced well.
(Bottle) Hazy red body with a medium, foamy beige head, thick lace. Sweet, malty aroma; some alcohol; ripe fruit. Medium body, creamy mouthfeel. Flavor is sweet, slightly peppery-spicy; moderate alcohol; caramel, slight pine.
Pours amber and translucent with a tanhead with an aroma of sweet hopped malt. Tastes of malt and booze with a nice hop finish with mild bitterness. It's rich, slightly sweet malt. It's mostly full bodied with moderate carbonation. It's very well balanced and very good.
Strong malt backbone but at the same time a bitter taste. Leaves an interesting aftertaste that was not always simple.
Reviewed - A Brew With You, Ep. 57
Deep amber, reddish pour with thick foam. Rich, hoppy aroma with a strong caramel malt backbone. The taste is more balanced, but the finish is definately bitter. The 8.0% ABV probably contributes to this. Certainly rich and a well-blended variation of a pale ale. One of Great Lakes’ stronger offerings.
12 oz bottle pours amber with a off white head. Aroma of toffee, earthy, pine and caramel. Taste is coffee, toffee, grains and some alcohol
Strange aroma. Basement? Spicy. Maybe pie spices? This is hard to pin down. Lots of fizz. Has rye? Quite good.
On tap at Guthrie’s Tavern, Chicago. A nice copper hue with a hoppy nose but not as strong as some ASA’s. There is nice hop/malt balance that makes this quite smooth for an 8%er. Hoppy Halloween!
Bottle from Liquor Barn. Orange amber clear full bodied beer with modest carbonation. Pine and citrus taste, long bitter finish.
Boardman, OH - on tap at Primanti Brothers. Dark copper pour, sticky bone-colored head, nice lace. Aroma of toffee and topsoil. Solid flavor, toffee, coffee beans, vanilla, some topsoil notes in the back end. Nicely textured mouthfeel.
This brew has a luscious aroma and it pours thick. Rich amber red in color. Carbonation level is enough to present a nice head and low enough to not take away from the drink enjoyment with interference. Overall this brew didn’t offer me what I had expected. All the way up to the moment I got it into my mouth I was ready for incredible. I’m afraid my taste was off so I hope to be re-rating this one and improving at the least, my overall score. 10/21/16 had another bottle and it did taste better to me. Still not the best especially for an Imperial Red Ale but better than I initially found it to be.
Pours a dark amber with tan head. A caramel and malt aroma. A strong taste of caramel, chocolate, roasted malt, and light fruits. A lingering malt aftertaste.
12 oz. bb 11/10/2016. Clear copper-amber with a sticky thin covering of foam. Nose of earthy molasses, tea leaf, potato and a hint of dry cocoa. Tastes of the same mix, but with some added earthiness and some wooden-grassy hop. Medium body has mostly smooth medium-plus carbonation and an earthy-dry slant.
Draught at Churchkey, Washington DC. Pours a hazy ruby amber, with a large off-white head, which lasts well and leaves very good lacing. The aroma has pine, sweet citrus and spiced fruit. Strong pine and citrus hops up front give way to toffee and spiced fruit in the mid-palate. Citrus hops finish it. Tasty and decently balanced.
Has a good pine hop aroma. Taste is a well balanced pine hops and malt. Pretty decent beer.
Draft at First Draft in Chicago. Aroma is cherries, apples, sherry. Big palate, full bodied. Lots of fruit, cherries, malt, raisins, booze. Nicely hopped. Bitter finish with strong yeasty notes. Good.
6 oz pour on draft at Snallygaster 2016. Hazy orange with off-white head. Aromas of stone fruit, citrus, floral. Tastes of tropical fruit, stone fruit, floral. Medium-light body with a dry finish.
Tap at Brown Iron Brewhouse. Pours deep orange, off white head. Aroma is caramel, cherry. Flavor is sweet cherries, caramel, some lemon rind and orange. Malt forward.
Bottle. Toasty, fruity caramel malt and light herbal hops aroma. Hazy amber with a large beige head. Toasty caramel malt and strong herbal hops bitterness. Body on the lighter side of full, moderate carbonation. Not really my thing, but well made.