Great Lakes Commodore Perry IPA - Great Lakes Brewing Company

mothman

Saskatchewan (Canada)

3.55/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into Weyerbacher tulip.

Pours a very large creamy beige head. About two fingers. Good retention with some nice lacing. Color is a clear golden orange.

Aroma: Some floral hops up front with a very distinguishable citrus smell of orange. Also has some biscuity malts. A little bit soft for the high abv.

Taste: Tons of floral, bittering hops. This one packs a bit of alcohol with it. Very big. Also has that big biscuity malt backbone. Definitely a midwest ipa. Lots of citrus, orange with a mix in of grapefruit. This beer is very big.

Mouthfeel: Bitter and chewy. Medium bodied with a decent amount of carbonation. Ends very dry and hoppy with some alcohol showing.

Overall, I had higher expectations for this ipa. It was too big for a regular ipa and too much alcohol showed. Probably will stick to something else, even though this is in MN now.

Serving type: bottle

06-28-2010 02:25:44 | More by mothman

Dogbrick

Ohio

4.15/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This beer is a clear dark golden-amber color with a medium fluffy off-white head with decent retention. Thin sheets of lacing. Aroma of grassy hops and citrus. Medium body with a smooth mouthfeel. Piney hops at first, with sweet malt and spices in the background. At 7.5%, the beer seems to straddle the line between "Regular" and "Imperial" IPA. The finish is bitter hops at first, with a resiny malt undertone. The aftertaste is long-lasting and dry. As with most of GLBC’s beers, this is well done.

Serving type: bottle

08-11-2006 15:19:36 | More by Dogbrick

tavernjef

Minnesota

4.55/5  rDev +16.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Gorgeously clear body of mellowed golden amber with a mighty grown cap of dull white foam slurps its way to about an inch tall and stands there for a bit before mashing itself down to a heavy skim and lots of sheeted cob webby lacing.

Clean, brisk aroma that's sweet, bready, dryish, and candish of crisp lemon cookies, lemon jam filled biscuits, and caramel candy. Damn nice!

Taste is a big dose of yummylishiousness! Adequate hoppyness thats crisp, semi crunchy, big on floral whole hop cone brightness with a excellently handled sweetened lemony bittering twist above a heavily caramel drizzled biscuit. The balance is lovely. The bite of bitterness and dryness matches amazingly well with its candyish sweet breadyness and biscuity flour touch. The finish is outstandingly nice to behold as it all comes together to make a dryish bittered coin sucked, lemon filled biscuity flower of blooming perfection.

Body is clean, crisp and medium bodied with a well controlled balance of sweet, dry, floral, and bitterness that sweeps in and takes over quickly on the palate.

Far beyond drinkable in my book of yummyness! Wow! Its clean profile and balance is immaculately woven perfectly together for some heavy imbibing! Enjoy some Commodore I say! Yum!

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2010 21:56:11 | More by tavernjef

JohnGalt1

Idaho

3.6/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12 oz extra from a recent trade from jdoncbus ... poured into my New Belgium snifter.. Big thanks.

Aggressive pour left a very pretty 2 finger head.. nice sheets of lace atop a polished darker gold brew.

Low citrus hops and a hefty shot of yeasty fruitiness are the aroma .. subtle background of pale malts.

Good bitter though it may be too much of a good thing.. light pale malts.. and some pronounced "fruity apricot" esters .. lighter than expected citrus hops (given the pronounced bitterness) with a light/medium body and good carbonation levels.

Not bad at all ... but certainly above average .. This brew was well within it's "Best By date" .. I was just expecting more. I've only had this beer one other time and notes say "could be less bitter and a touch more malty" and "give me more hoppy flavor and aroma".

Big thanks John.. I love a good IPA and this more than qualifies... cheers.

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2008 07:24:28 | More by JohnGalt1

OWSLEY069

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a clean yellow to orange-ish color with an off white head. In the aroma, mellow grapefruity hops. In the taste, bitter grapefruit and a bigger malt balance. A citrus hop bite and medium mouthfeel, with a semi dry grapefruit/ citrus hop aftertaste. Nice big hop, quite balanced, almost a big pale ale.

Serving type: bottle

07-28-2010 12:55:56 | More by OWSLEY069

scruffwhor

Illinois

3.78/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Just shy of one finger of sticky white, merengue head. But that scant foam sticks around the whole 12 ounces, leavningsome lacing after each sip. Glass clinging bubbling amidst a very clear, coppery amber. Mojito minty hops with some soft mangos and bread hit the nose.Very sticky mint and citrus hops mix with some powdered malt extract or the toasted kind. The finish is very oily and slick. Bitter graefruit lingers the longest.

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2008 05:36:11 | More by scruffwhor

ZAP

Minnesota

2.93/5  rDev -25.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

A-gold color...frothy white head.

S-Pineapples, and sweet sugary malt....

T-Sweet and sugary malt leads but there is a good bitterness of pink grapefruit and pine. A little of the pineapple too. Just doesn't come together right for me. Almost cloying. Odd flavor balance

M-This is full bodied for an ipa....a little rough around the edges with some hop harshness combined with an odd sweet sugary maltiness.

D-I'm not a big fan of this one. Kind of a mess of an IPA that just does not taste very good to me.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2010 04:14:12 | More by ZAP

jrallen34

Illinois

4.28/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I drank this from the bottle into a Rochefort chalice.

It pours a light clear orange with a huge white head that rises 2 fingers, good retention. Good lacing.

The aroma is light, but dominated by the citrus flavor of grapefruit with a touch of ginger and hops.

The taste starts off sweet, mostly taste some grapefruit. It finished with a week bitter hops taste.

The mouthfeel is nice and light, this is drinkable despite its bitterness.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2009 02:46:49 | More by jrallen34

dirtylou

Washington

3.9/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz bottle, labeled at 7.5% abv by the way, great lakes 6packs are $5.99 at woodmans, which is a phenomenal deal...enjoyed at a bbq with locally slaughtered cow and locally grown crops

appearance: clear golden amber, big white foamy head...decent body, clear body, little carbonation present

smell: sweet candied fruit...apricot, grapefruit citrus, sweet floral hoppiness, pear, alcohol not detected on the nose

taste: sweet and fruity...apricot, pear, green apple, white grape, grapefruit-citrus hops, caramel toasted malt...I like this hybrid ipa

mouthfeel: smooth, abv well disguised, medium body, lightly syrupy

drinkability: good

Serving type: bottle

08-17-2006 00:11:22 | More by dirtylou

cokes

Wisconsin

4.43/5  rDev +13.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Clear deep shiny brass topped with scads of dirty linen froth formed via the streaming, tiny tornadoes of carbonation. This is a beautiful beer.
The nose exudes toasted grain and grapefruit and a few gin-like booze vapors. While narrow in scope, it is not a quiet-smelling IPA, nor it is the loudest of the groups.
My first impressions of this tend towards the British side, with its toasted English muffin maltiness that gradually sweetens towards toffee. A light smear of apple butter dots the middle. Then, it seems to teeter towards Imperial English IPA, with its shearingly bitter florals and grapefruit piths and notable gin-fueled alcohol. As it goes on, the grapefruit commandeers it, and thus the American tag seems appropriate. But still, it seems like a cross-Atlantic hybrid in a way, and, while not necessarily the best of both worlds, at least it showcases the strength of both in a way that compliments the other. This is really delicious stuff, but also powerfully bitter and dryish, and just simply powerful. It's somewhat of a mood beer, but one that I'm in more often than not.
It's build is a taut and muscular medium with a steady, low-level bead. It drinks like liquid fleece, warming and soft.

It's like an epicenter of all things IPA, American, British, Single, Double, Whatever.

I've had this before, and remember it being much less than what I'm tasting currently. Thus I've been slow to get back to it, and now that seems like time horribly wasted.
This will be a staple, henceforth.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2008 07:08:57 | More by cokes

kylehay2004

Florida

3.6/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

No head really on a cloudy amber orange body. Aroma of nondescript citrus and earthy hops with toasted malts. This one is really piney and grassy and some very tart orange. It takes some time to get used to. Also has a toasted malt base. Floral notes as well. Moderate to high carbonation and medium body. I like this beer it's just hard to drink for the first few sips. The pine is resilient though and you never get completely used to it. I also feel its a little over carbonated.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2012 03:19:21 | More by kylehay2004

TurdFurgison

Ohio

4.38/5  rDev +12%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from 12oz bottle into a Stone Ruination glass. Crystal clear and yellow with a sticky think white head. The aroma is nicely balanced hoppiness, with some strong malt background. Very nice and not one-dimensional. Same with the flavor, which was hoppy but not bitter, and malty but not too sweet, just a really smooth beer that's easy to drink. The oily texture coats your tongue so the flavor lingers. This is really good, and I don't think I ever saw it before this week? Must be a new bottled beer from Great Lakes, I hope it becomes a regular.

Serving type: bottle

08-02-2006 01:19:52 | More by TurdFurgison

DefenCorps

Oregon

3.9/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz bottle received from moose3285 via trade. Thanks! Scott was also kind enough to toss me a bottle, which is how I'm adjusting my notes

A: A beautiful honey gold with a white head that recedes. No real lacing. Still nice, though

S: Sharp pine hops with a pleasant malt backbone with notes of honey and caramel.

T: A pine grenade of sorts with a dry body. The malt is a little thin but to my liking. The finish is dry and excellently so, with a bitter twang

M: Pleasantly carbonated and the bitterness and dryness are to my liking

D: Bring it on!

Edit: Based of bottle from Scott, fresh until tomorrow, 14th Sept

The nose is mostly citrus with orange peel and grapefruit bitterness. Mildly chalky, docking half a point. The palate is an explosion of citrus hops, with a great balance between flavor and bitterness, not something I've found in too many east coast IPAs. Candied orange up front with a moderate bitterness, Mild malt presence is noted with a caramel character with a simple candy sweetness. Drying on the finish, with a reserved bitterness. Good carbonation, pleasing finish. M-L in body. Solid stuff.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2008 06:11:45 | More by DefenCorps

BeerFMAndy

Wisconsin

3.95/5  rDev +1%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle poured into a Nonic. 7.5% ABV, Serve at 45 Degrees F, Best By 09-14-09.

A - Brilliantly clear golden yellow with a fair amount of carbonation rising up. Two-finger white, fluffy, cloud-like head with great retention and some seriously thick lacing. One of the lightest colored IPAs I've ever seen. The layer of foam lasted til the last sip!

S - The aroma is faint which is too bad. I get light touches of citrus on a sweet malt backbone that's a tid-bit biscuity. Almost no real hop presence for an IPA. Pine started to develop more as it warmed. The hoppy aromas began coming out but really could be stronger for the style.

T - What the Commodore lacks in a full hoppy aroma, it certainly makes up for in the flavor. Very fruity flavor overall, the hops give off a grapefruit and melon flavor with a citrusy finish that merges with pine. A malty backbone really rounds out the flavor with a good balance of sweet malts. Almost a caramel touch to it.

M - The sweetness carries throughout the entire beer while the citrus flavor comes and goes like waves in the tide. This makes it smooth with a bitter finish that's lightly dry and acidic from the citrus. Medium-full bodied from the malty backbone with a light carbonation bite at the end.

D - The 7.5% abv is totally hidden in this beer making it definitely pack quite a kick. It's aroma started to develop more as it warmed with could use a little work but the flavor and mouthfeel are great. Very drinkable IPA that will also knock your socks off.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2009 01:28:40 | More by BeerFMAndy

smakawhat

Maryland

4.25/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from the bottle into a Nonick pint glass.

Pours a wonderful brilliant gold, giving a large massive off white head. Head is about four fingers in size with some soapy shampoo like bubbles. Body is a gorgeous gold and crystal clear with some small carbonation going slowly up in places. Head has great staying power. Decent lacing as well upon the glass too.

A simple clean faint hop smell, and some small grain like malt. Gets almost a little grassy. Very clean smelling, real nice. AFter some time there's almost some sweet honey/lemon feel to it also.

Sweet bread upon taste at first almost like a danish, with a good mild hop bitter finish that replaces and then dominates. Beer gets hop assertive after a few sips. Quite hoppy it seems for this style, but it's a good feeling. Hop bitterness transforms a little into some faint citrus oils but there's also a hidden spice of perhaps cumin or maybe even fenugreek. It's real hard to pinpoint, feels like a typical brown/green curried spice you could use, perhaps it even just simple clove.

Real tasty beer another great lakes winner and just good all around.

Serving type: bottle

02-23-2011 23:37:30 | More by smakawhat

bluejacket74

Ohio

4.03/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The Commodore Perry IPA. Without Commodore Perry, we wouldn't have the Perry Monument at Put-In-Bay/South Bass Island. There's nothing like going to the top of the monument after drinking a few beers on a nice summer day. Well, back to the beer itself....

The bottle says it's best enjoyed before 09/26/2006, but a couple weeks shouldn't make too much of a difference here. Served in a pint glass, the beer pours a copper/orange color, with a thick off-white head. The head lasted a long time, with excellent lacing. The aroma is citrusy, with a bit of grassy hops too. The taste is mainly grapefruit and pine, with a slightly sweet middle and a floral bitter hoppy finish. The mouthfeel is medium, and also a bit slick. Drinkability is pretty good too, the alcohol isn't too noticable in this beer. This is a pretty good beer, but then I don't think I've ever had a bad beer from Great Lakes.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2006 01:02:29 | More by bluejacket74

LilBeerDoctor

New York

3.85/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle thanks to moejuck. Pours a clear light orange with a thick white head. Aroma of sweet malt (some wheat maybe?), light tropical fruits, and light hops that become more garlicky as the beer warms. Flavor is more hoppy with grassy and citrus hops. Nice and hoppy, although the dominating hops make the flavor not as complex as some of the top IPAs. Still, a solid IPA.

Serving type: bottle

07-14-2009 16:54:14 | More by LilBeerDoctor

StonedTrippin

Colorado

4.1/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

what a beer! this is the best work of great lakes i think. the pour is orange and clear, caramely and lucrative, lacey white head. dank nose, lots of fruity hops and some odd dried fruit aroma as well, maybe cherries or something more exotic, some english malt in there somewhere too, but this is a hop bomb, bordering on a fresh hop brew with high alpha and resin content. the flavor is consistent with the smell, where is all this fruit coming from, and how the hell is this beer pushing 8% abv? its so delicate and nuances it cant be that strong can it? almost acidicly bitter in the finish, but there again is that semisweet dries fruit complex that keeps lingering. enough carbonation and only a medium body i could drink this until the saturation point without much trouble. i think easliy the best great lakes offering ive had the pleasure of tipping back. a real treat, and something different finally in the american ipa world.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2012 04:32:00 | More by StonedTrippin

AgentZero

Illinois

3.58/5  rDev -8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - Yellow beer with a big white head and a lot of lace. Pretty nice looking.

S - Smells very sweet, with floral and grassy hops and some tropical fruit. Seems pretty malt forward.

T - Didn't care for this a ton, but after seeing English in front of the IPA it makes a bit more sense. Malt forward, quite sweet with tropical fruit notes and a sugary backbone. Floral hops are the more dominant type with a little bit of grass and some pineapple notes. A lot of "english" in there, for lack of a better term. Tastes a little bigger than 7.5%.

M - Sugary, medium bodied, nicely carbonated.

O - Not a bad beer, but a little too sweet for my liking. Got through it easily enough though.

Serving type: on-tap

03-31-2011 14:10:35 | More by AgentZero

Brent

Kentucky

4/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A solid IPA leaning slightly toward the English style in terms of malt presence, but more than enough hops depth to remain in the American branch. A bit of toffee in the malt, quickly overshadowed by a blunt hops bittering. Finish is smooth and even. The abv is well integrated in the flavor profile.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2007 13:16:56 | More by Brent

blackie

Virginia

3.55/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

appearance: 1" off white head with light retention. The beer is amber in color with some sparse floaters.

smell: The aroma is of bready, somewhat caramel, grain and dulled, piney hops. Not bad at all.

mouthfeel: The carbonation is on the higher side of the medium range, and the body medium.

taste: Flavors of bready grain husks, moderately sweet. The moderate english type hop flavor is nice, and the bitterness level is around medium. A little soapy.

drinkability: decent drinkability but an ok beer

bottle dated as best by sometime in September, sampled at a cookout during my Madison visit

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2006 18:10:35 | More by blackie

alexgash

Connecticut

3.8/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Golden copper body, clean, with a puffy, marshmallowy, orange-white head. Sharp grapefruit hops over light biscuity malt. Juicy citrus (grapefruit) and resiny hops sting the tongue. Slightly buttery, rich toffee malt (butter brickle). Sweetish turns to fruity, bitter, and dry. Medium body. Dry finish. A nice IPA.

Serving type: bottle

10-24-2006 20:43:03 | More by alexgash

tdm168

North Carolina

3.98/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a bright yellow with a big mountain of soft, white head that has great retention. The nose has a sweet, bready, malty aroma with some faint hops in the background. The flavor has a big malty backbone that is bready and a little sweet, almost birthday cake like. The hop character is mildly citrusy, but big and bitter, and it dominates the finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and smooth with just the right amount of carbonation.

This is a nice IPA. I like the big malty backbone. The hops are solid and are a nice match to the malts. This is well balanced, smooth, and very drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

02-24-2012 23:44:00 | More by tdm168

JoeyBeerBelly

New York

3.95/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I got this brew from raznug, Thanks Darrell!

12oz bottle served in a standard (Great Lakes) pint glass.

L - clear golden color with a white head that left some good lacing.

S - strong citrus hop aroma, it smells like a grapefruit.

T - citrus hop taste from start to finish is not for the timid.

F - light/medium bodied with a slick feel.

D - pucker up and enjoy this beer in moderation.

Serving type: bottle

11-02-2008 23:15:19 | More by JoeyBeerBelly

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Ah Great Lakes. Haven't let me down yet. Finally grabbed me a single dated "6/21/11" Got's to be fresh!

A - A bright clear amber in color with a lovely inch of bubbly thick head. Lacing is nice and sticky!

S - Sticky pine cone hops with a bit of pale malt or grain which caught me by surprise but it smells pretty good with a level of balance.

T - Definitely hop forward on the borderline of prickly but the malt counters this with a level of bready gram cracker like sweetness. Finishes kind of dry and almost gives a "soapy" feel of hops on the tongue that sticks to the back of the throat.

M - Wow they one upped the typical 6-7 percent clocking in at 7.5 it's very smooth and drinkable with a solid medium body.

Overall it was worth the wait to find a fresh bottle of this but I feel it probably would drink rather well even beyond the best by date. Still it may be best to find the freshest you can and I would appreciate finding this in a variety case or a six pack (fresh) for around 10 bucks. Solid IPA

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2011 01:49:35 | More by DrDemento456