Great Lakes Winter Ale
Inspired by the long, cold and seemingly endless Canadian winter, our 6.2% alcohol Winter Ale is a true winter warmer. Handcrafted with specialty hops and malts, combined with generous amounts of cinnamon, honey, ginger and orange peel, this unique beer is brimming with flavour.
3.3
153 reviews
Etobicoke, Canada
Community reviews
Solid winter ale. Kind of reminds me of a Belgian ale. Nice after taste of what seems to be cinnamon. I would drink this again.
2014 edition in 750 ml bottle from the LCBO.
Appearance: Pours a clear deep copper brown colour with a finger and a half of white head with decent retention and lacing.
Aroma: Brown sugar, cinamon, nutmeg, rasins, toasted malt.
Flavours: Brown sugar, caramel, maple, rasins.
Mouthfeel: Viscosity a bit on the thinner side with average carbonation.
Overall: A nice beer with lots and lots of sweetness. The aromas are more complex than the flavours. This is not a beer I would have identified as a Winter Warmer. I would have expected more spice and higher alcohol but I really liked this beer for the balance of aromas and flavours they achieved, plus I love the sweetness.
Pour is a nice, light-catching amber, with a finger of tan cap that lingers for a bit but leaves my glass squeaky clean. Nose is everything in the description: at first the spices, more (candied) ginger than cinnamon, and lots of (candied) orange. As it warms the honey starts to dominate. There’s a bit of caramel malt in the background, and the whole effect is sweet and spicy, and bang on for a "winter ale". Taste is mildly sweet, lots of spice, with a herbal, slightly bitter finish. As someone noted below, this is the kind of thing you drink about once a year, but it’s nicely executed.
750ml bottle. Clear copper body, medium yellow-brown head with good retention. Aroma of soap and ginger, caramel, camp flowers, cloves, dried fruits. Taste starts with a modest herbal hops bitterness, followed by a nice amount of malt sweetness, ginger and cinnamon, cloves. Decent.
Reddish amber body supporting a bubbly, quickly dissipating head. Scent of malt is most prevalent in dair. Flavor is tilted in favor of the malts, which are fruity and like molasses in character. Spidery thin whisp of a mouthfeel.
750ml bottle. Cloudy reddish brown colour with average, frothy, half-way lasting, moderately lacing, off-white to beige head. Spicy aroma has typical soapy ginger notes, hints of orange zest and cinnamon. Taste is minimally sweet malty with a touch of roasted nuts, not overly intense spicy notes of cinnamon, orange peel, hints of ginger with reduced soapy touch; cinnamon and ginger produce a slightly dry, if not soapy finish. Not overdone, but sadly with the in most cases unavoidable soapy ginger touch. More orange and cinnamon, please!
Pours semi-clear mahogany brown, with a thin off-white head. Moderate lacing left behind while drunk.
Aromas are of spice, cinnamon, molasses, caramel.
Slightly sticky mouth feel. Tastes of raisin bread, a bit of ginger, honey and Christmas spices.
Overall this is the type of beer you have once a year, maybe during the Christmas Holidays.
Trübes kupferfarbenes Bier mit schöner Schaumkrone. Geruch fruchtig, malzig, reife Früchte. Geschmack nach Gewürzen, Pfeffer, scharf, malzig, Citrus.
65 cl bottle @ Timo A.
Clear mahogany color, small head. A bit doppelbock like aroma with sweet malts, caramel and some nuts. Sweet caramels makes, ripe fruits, and some yeast. Not as refined as scotch ales usually are, I’d categorize this as doppelbock.
4324
650ml bottle @ Timo A., thanks!
Pours dark reddish brown with a white head. Aroma of sweet syrup, bready maltiness, spices, hints of ginger and orange peel. Taste is smooth, malty and spicy with some notes of cinnamon, honey and bready notes. Finish is sweetish, malty and spicy with some caramel, cinnamon and breadiness. Feels like a doppelbock with spices. Decent.
65 cl bottle @ Timo A
Rather spicy aroma with pepper and some licorice aromas. Flavour has lots of peppery spices, clove and some toffee. Feels a bit watery. Foamy palate. Too spicy.
Bottle. Potent cinnamon aroma that makes one cough. Almost clear reddish amber under a thin white sheet. Spicy and bitter cinnamon with barely anything else. Medium body, medium carbonation, spicy bitter finish.
Aroma: A very spicy aroma; cinnamon, clove, ginger. A touch of crystalized fruits, jujube and cranberry. A slight lack of power. I would have liked a bit more strenght. But still it has indeed a complex nose.
Visual: Dark amber, almost brown, clear, with an average thickness head, average density, sticking pretty well to glass.
Taste: A lot of spices with clove, cinnamon, orange peel, ginger. A real Christmas beer with a good complexity of flavors. A thin texture and unbalanced mouth feel are the only negative points. All flavors are within spices. Cannot feel a lot of hops. Not exceptional but pretty enjoyable.
Purchased in a 750ml bottle from LCBO. Rather enjoyed it. Nothing to strong but still some good spices, good finish to the beer. Good winter brew to enjoy!
Bière rouge présentant un petit tapis de mousse couleur érable, et dévoilant des notes de gingembre, de cannelle et de caramel en nez. Côté saveurs, elle rappelle indubitablement une bière de Noël, mais avec des épices assez discrètes ; bien carbonatée, plutôt mince, elle est presque désaltérante, bien qu’elle prenne un peu de corps en réchauffant. Une bière d’hiver bien à point, si l’on exclut sa minceur, mais les arômes qu’elle étale sont parfaitement au point.
Couleur ambrée avec un beau col. Nez de caramel et d’épices. En bouche épices,caramel fruits rouge. Une bière dans la moyenne rien de très fantastic!
bottle from lcbo shared with daddy A: orange peel, ginger, caramel, red fruits just a touch of cinnamon. app: reddish brown small white head t/p: med body with bitter finish of average duration.o: average lack some alcohol.aroma is bit that bad but it’s pretty gentle on spices.
Pours a clear amber with a large off-white head. Aroma is cinnamon dominant. Tastes are sweet, spice, and malt. Cinnamon comes through most clearly. Mouthfeel is astringent like you might feel if you actually put some cinnamon in your mouth. Long finish. Would not try again. ---Rated via Beer Buddy
Pours a murky caramel/brown with a one-finger tan head that thins to a film. Aroma was notes of caramel, spice, and dark fruits. Taste is malty with a sweetness, dark fruits, and spice. Medium body and carbonation. Fairly clean but with a full mouthfeel. Overall a a great festive beer. Great flavours for the holiday season.
Ruby red pour with a large white head. spicy aroma, nutmeg, Christmas spices. Cinnamon, ginger, cardammon, some yeast, a bit of fruit. fairly dry. Medium body.
Clear ruby/mahogany pour with a shortish tan head that has some staying power. Much subtler nose than expected - a plus. There’s a dominant cinnamon and ginger note with a hint of citrus rind. Decent but I’d like there to be a more beery character in the aroma. I’m not sure what to make of this stuff on the palate. It’s fairly light in body for the style and the flavour profile is sort of a mess. I get a real ginger hit but it become muddled quickly. The finish seems to have some bitter rind character. Again, this would be better if there was more beer character to it.
Disappointing.
Un gros canvas de malt sucré combiné à un ramassis d’épices et d’assaisonnements qui rendent la dégustation divertissante mais un peu trop chargée.
Bottle from LCBO. Pours clear ruby with a foamy off-white head. Aroma of Christmas spice, with a light fruity sweetness. Taste is full of spice, bready, with a dry finish. Not bad.
Sweet malt, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom aromas. Spices predominate the aroma but are still a bit subdued. Hazy dark brown with quickly dissipating head. Spices really overpower the flavor on this one. Upfront cinnamon really dominates, with a ginger and sweet honey aftertaste. Pretty intense cinnamon aftertaste. Jarring spicy flavors, not that well integrated. Thin bodied and average carbonation. Don’t like this one.
Pours deep orange with a fluffy one finger cap. Aroma is intriguing. Taste is a vague mix of label mentioned spice. Not as jarring as some of the ratings below mine would suggest. Not a big fan of ginger in beer. Not convinced it works in this context.
Amber color with an impressive frothy white head. Cinnamon, ginger aroma. Ginger flavour with spices and oranges. Wish I had tried this earlier. Thin texture, bitter finish. Little dish washer fluid finish. Comes through once warmed up a little.
750 ml bottle. Pours a clear amber with a large off-white head. Aroma is cinnamon dominant. Tastes are sweet, spice, and malt. Cinnamon comes through most clearly. Mouthfeel is astringent like you might feel if you actually put some cinnamon in your mouth. Long finish. Would not try again.
---Rated via Beer Buddy
Bottle from the brewery. Pours a hazy brown with a bunch of thick off-white head. Smell is spicy with some cinnamon, ginger, orange, and a bit of sweet caramel. Palate is on the lighter side of medium bodied with average carbonation. Taste is slightly sweet, then slightly bitter with a bit of ginger flavour, nothing else really comes through. Drinkable but kind of boring.
Bouteille de 600ml, robe ambrée, arôme d’épice, goût de cannelle et clou de girofle.
Smells like cinnamon, ginger and clove. Pours clear dark brown with creamy gead and good lacing. A little astringency on aftertaste. Some sweetness as well. Malt in aroma. Bottle.