Great Lakes Nosferatu - Great Lakes Brewing Company

DanThomas

Minnesota

4.7/5  rDev +14.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

A- Deep red with some copper/amber hues. Good head retention.

S- Rich caramel malts, earthy hops, and a faint whiff of alcohol.

T- Toast/dry biscuit type malt flavor; subtle caramel sweetness, but the malt flavor on this one is mostly dry. The "bite" finish isn't just a pun--earthy/piney hops take over towards the end, finishing crisp, bitter, and refreshing. It's amazing how so much flavor can end so cleanly, and the hops and the malts are perfectly balanced. Great Lakes does balance like no one else.

M- Very full-bodied, refreshingly low carbonation. It's like you're chewing this beer, which is fine by me.

D- No alcohol whatsoever on the taste, meaning watch out. I could throw back 4 or 5 of these if I didn't know the alcohol.

Tremendous beer from Great Lakes!

Serving type: bottle

11-18-2010 22:57:30 | More by DanThomas

MABZ

Nebraska

4.68/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This is a damn good beer. Much different than I was expecting, but I couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised. Very good stuff.

The beer pours to a deep, yet clear amber red. Like diluted blood with a thin film of head atop.

The smell is amazing. Like a sweet, fruity red wine with a ton of american hops. Lots of grapefruity citric aroma. The taste is very similar. Very interesting. Lots of fruits, such as grapes, cherries, rasberries, and of course the whole host of citric fruits associated with the hops. Huge spicy herbal bitterness in finish, along with a strong mineral flavor. My roommate suggested it tasted like blood on his first tasting, and I could see the comparison due to the mineral finish with a sharp bitterness. It is very possible that this was the route they were trying to go with for the Nosferatu; and I, for one, think it is a very interesting route to take.

As delicious as I find this brew to be, it is hard to drink more than a few considering that it is 1.) high in alcohol 2.) has a sharp, bitter, mineral finish 3.) the blood comparison probably wouldn't go over well if I was intoxicated.

Serving type: bottle

09-28-2006 08:49:23 | More by MABZ

tavernjef

Minnesota

4.68/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Deep dark clear coppery auburn color. Hmmm...remindes me of the color of that cleansing/prep liquid the surgeons use just before cutting you open. Coincidence? Castle-on-a-hill towering, fluffy, kinda crunchy topping of lightly parched yellow foam sits for eternity. Lots of big moth-holed sheeting lace is plastered like cob webs all over the glass. Some in the shape of bats!?

Aroma is a hop hum dandy of toasted candy caramel, toasted grains, leafy crisp hops and a delicate natured little squeeze of grapefruity pine resin. And dare I say a bit of dampness of thick forest air seems to be lurking underneath. Must be the pine?

Taste is yum, yum, suck the flavor from my tongue. Great hoppy taste with a finely bittered tone and snappy crunch to it. Bright, brittle, leafy, citrusy grapefruitified and resin loaded with light piney parchments. Wow! Quite a fun ride of goodness. The flavors really pop and are bright with a intensity of a vampires' eyes. Just a bit of the toasted stuff makes its way through the fog of hops. As the hops play their part drenchingly deep of uncontested mastery and well-balanced, high toned, flavor sucking, palate quenching goodness!

Body of the beer is crisp, lasting, and bright. Nothing a caped casket dweller would prefer, but damn suiting none-the-less as it fits the profile immaculately! Crunchy, snappy, hoppy, and superbly balanaced in the way a nice IPA would be. Surprising. Super clean finish with a dryish pine, citric, toastified fluffy bite on the palate. No turtle neck or stake needed here as its creamy, slick and oily backing is so drenchingly satisfying.

If this were the nectar I needed to survive by sucking the necks of beautiful women or big brown bottles the world round then let it be so. This stuff's better then blood any day, or night. Mmmaaaawww...HaaaaHaaa...

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2007 02:08:43 | More by tavernjef

number1bum

Pennsylvania

4.68/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

I'm pulling out all the stops for Game 5 of the World Series tonight. I figure if Nosferatu, the crazy German vampire, out of a Mets glass doesn't put a hex on the Phillies, nothing will. Here's hoping.

Pours a deep, scarlet red with a creamy finger and a half of beige head. Head settles to a thin but full lace and leaves a little spiderweb lacing on the sides.

Smell has an amazingly juicy citrus hop aroma, just bursting out of the glass. It's bold and resiny and also has some caramel malt and pine.

Taste is also bursting with citrus hop flavor and has a substantial bitterness to go along with it. Nice toasty and caramel malt base to play with, and the hops just jump all over the palate. There's some pine going on, too, even though citrus is the dominant flavor. Long lasting hop bitterness stays on the tongue into the finish.

Moutheel is medium bodied, very smooth with a nice creaminess. No sense whatsoever of the 8% in this one.

This is a fantastic beer. Incredibly drinkable, and achieves a balance that many DIPAs fail to. Tons of hops, but very smooth. Mmmm, this hits the spot.

Serving type: bottle

10-28-2008 00:21:51 | More by number1bum

bowersdm

Ohio

4.68/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

12 oz bottle poured into a German pilsner glass

A - ruby red color, small tan head

S - citrus fruit, malt, and floral hops. The hop smell predominates

T - Amazing. A fruity malty flavor with a long, bitter hoppiness and some alcohol

M - a little undercarbonated. I think this was an old bottle. The date on the side wasn't readable.

D - The alcohol wasn't really that noticeable. I don't think I'd drink a bunch of these because of the amount of hops, but man, I wish this was made year round.

This is the first truly hoppy beer I ever had and to it, I owe my new found interest in IPAs. It's definitely a gateway brew in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2009 05:15:53 | More by bowersdm

MirkoCroCough

Croatia (Hrvatska)

4.68/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

12oz bottle into pint glass.

Pours a deep red, copperish color that leaves a nice lacing on the glass.

Nice subdued hop smell. Taste like a proper, well crafted ale. Hop presence and flavor is upfront, but not harsh. Finishes easy, with carmel like sweetness.

Very smooth, with the right amount of carbonation.

At 8.0, this beer is extremely sessionable. Very drinkinable, and becomes even more flavorable as it warms. Nosferatu is the perfect name for this beer as the more you drink, becomes like lifes blood. Very wine like.

Bottom line, this is an amazing beer and perfect for the season. The perfect setting for this beer would be around a fire in a desolate cabin deep in the woods. Excellent beer from an excellent brewery.

Serving type: bottle

09-30-2009 21:54:48 | More by MirkoCroCough

dorianmarley

Ohio

4.68/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Nosferatu has a rich, golden red appearance. It has a thick head.

Smell is bright and floral, with caramel and citrus.

It has a smooth hop flavor with malt, caramel, and citrus. It has very little bitterness, and a toasty finish.

The mouthfeel has great balance; very drinkable despite its high ABV and hops. The carbonation is subtle.

Overall, Nosferatu is awesome. It has a very smooth hop flavor with a lot of bright characters; balanced all the way through

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2011 23:24:59 | More by dorianmarley

WoodBrew

Illinois

4.65/5  rDev +13.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

What is the best way to get rid of the Monday's???? NOSFERATU!!!! Will certainly scare away your blues!!! This beer is a amber/red clear color with very thin white head. The smell has hop and malt characters which transcends into a wonderful tasting ale. I am really starting to like hopped up red ales and lagers! The hop and malt help to balance the higher ABV of this beer. I would be in serious...I mean SERIOUS trouble if I had alot of this in my fridge! This beer is definitely worth a sample....if not a SESSION!!!!

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2011 00:01:24 | More by WoodBrew

kmpitz2

Tennessee

4.63/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

The beer departs the bottle a very nice semi-opaque amber color. The nose is nice and piney with hop, with a hint of caramel mats in the background. The flavor is a nice hop bitter upfront that fades nicely to sweet caramel. The feel on this one is moderate to thick, with a good residual coating of my mouth. Drinkability is very good on this one. I really like the balance. This is a fine beer from a fine brewery.

Serving type: bottle

10-27-2004 01:45:46 | More by kmpitz2

atsprings

North Carolina

4.63/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Props to brandoman63 on the trade, been wanting to try this one for over almost 2 years! Pours a nice crisp amber with a decent head that lasts as a thin layer that lasts as a thin layer and leaves decent lacing on the glass. Aroma is burnt caramel, brown sugar and a hint of molasses. The taste is a wonderful balance of brown sugar, caramel malts and pine hops that quickly give way to a sweet brown sugar finish, but then mysteriously return at the back of the tongue a few seconds later. The beer is medium bodied with a nice crisp bite that is not aggressive at all. This is certainly an enjoyable beer that truly lived up to my expectations.

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2008 01:54:34 | More by atsprings

Deuane

Pennsylvania

4.63/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

On tap at the brewpub and at Melt in Lakewood, OH.

A-Dark, reddish tinged, coppery brown body with a medium off-white that reduced to a thin cap and left decent lace.

S-A nose blast full of delightful, juicy, massive grapefruit citrus. This is a sheer pleasure to sniff. Much more aromatic than I remember than in years past. Oh yea, a bit of backing sweet malt comes through in the end.

T-Delicious, almost chewy, grapefruit hop goodness. Well supported by a solid foundation of sweet, but not overly so, caramel malt. This is without all about the hops!

M-Medium-heavy and resinous. Super smooth bordering on syrupy.

D-A healthy dose of Simcoe and other citrus inducing hops I am sure....bring it on! This years version, 2008, is without question the finest I have had the pleasure of imbibing. Drink it up and drink it fresh, those hops aren't going to last!

Serving type: on-tap

10-24-2008 07:55:21 | More by Deuane

JamesS

Indiana

4.63/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Pours a nice mid-copper color with some good initial head and a bit of nice lacing. Excellent scent, heavy and thick; malty; wonderful powdered cocoa aroma. Great taste, thick and malty with a nice hint of chocolate and a nice bit of floral hops. Goes down smooth, with a bit of thickness and just a bit of alcohol in it. Great beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-09-2009 01:51:53 | More by JamesS

meathookjones

Virginia

4.6/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Interesting label on this beer with a picture good old Nosferatu looking in desperate need of some beer. This poured out with a rich copper body with about three fingers worth of off white head slowly forming. The head stayed are for a bit as it laced the glass in rings of foam. Aroma was a mix of earthy hop and equal part sweet caramel malt with a touch of alcohol in the background to complete it. Very tasty smelling beer overall that had a good strong aroma. Taste starts off with a malty sweetness with a touch of molasses and a bit of earthiness to it. This finishes with a bitter after taste that has a lingering warmth to it. Mouthfeel is just about full with a syrupy sticky feel to it. Drinkability is damn good as this has enough hops that they add to the taste and keep this from being overly sweet. One I would definitely make a regular if it was around here. Thanks again to garthwaite for another awesome beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2004 19:52:43 | More by meathookjones

alexgash

Connecticut

4.6/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Thanks to kmpitz2 for this one! Very cool label on the bottle.
Rich, medium-dark copper body with a dense, light creamy-tan head that slathers rabidly against the sides of the glass.
Sweetish caramel and toffee malts fill up the nose; backed by a solid piney, spicy hop presence.
Sweetened toffee and butterscotch malt flavors kick off the palate. Chewy and delicious. Hints brown-sugar crusted fruit appear and biscuit settle in, until a substantial wave of pine needles and spicy hops take over and carry into the finish. Finish is warming and bitter, with lingering sticky sweetness. Full-bodied and chewy, but not too thick. I'm a big fan of this style and this example doesn't let me down in the least. Another great Great Lakes beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-15-2004 00:38:29 | More by alexgash

gimmehead

Illinois

4.6/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Pours a hazy reddish copper with a frothy two finger head that coats the glass. Big floral and citric hop aroma over a subtantial malt base. A little biscuity with some marshmallow sweetness and a little alcohol kick. Taste is mostly malt dominant, caramel sweetness, with a good smattering of citric hops thrown in. Subtle fruity esters and a soft breadiness, with some alcohol in the finish. My bottle sat on the shelf awhile so the hops may have been a little subdued compared to a fresh batch. Mouthcoating full body. Hugely drinkable for such an agressive beer. I'll go out of my way to get a fresh sample.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2005 00:36:24 | More by gimmehead

mwalters

Illinois

4.6/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bought a case to have through October. Poured in to a snifter, nice copper red color. The smell was hoppy with a citrus malt tone. I had an aroma that was quite different but very tempting. The beer was not cloudy at all but deep in color. Just the right amount of carbonation, and you taste that this is a higher alchohol beer. Nice bitter tone. Highly reccomended. I also had it from the tap which was very good.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2006 05:56:16 | More by mwalters

BeerTruth

Connecticut

4.6/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Thanks to unclejedi for this monster. Enjoyed this one while watching a Halloween themed flick. Slither, a movie that many have overlooked.

12 oz. bottle poured into a nonic.

Pours a clear deep chesnut with a full two finger off-white head that slowly dies down to a nice layer. Stickiness is a web of goodness, very attractive beer to look at. Smell is of earthy hop deliciousness with a sublte caramel malt background. A slight hint of evergreen nectar tingles the nose as well. Taste is a wonderful blend of malt and hop. Up front is a leaf-like autumn hop profile with some toasted barley and sweet caramel. Aftertaste is nutty wood flavor that has a tingle of grapefruit. Slick medium bobied mouthfeel with mild carbonation. Wow, this is my new Fall seasonal beer for sure. Pumpkin Ales?...no thanks. Marzens?...I'll pass. Oktoberfests'?...um, nope. Nosferatu?...More please!!! I gotta get more of this stuff before the snow starts falling.

Serving type: bottle

10-20-2007 03:57:49 | More by BeerTruth

NitroGen

Arizona

4.6/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Received from DaveLikesAle who pulled this one from his cellar in another lopsided trade.
Thank you Dave!

P:12 oz. bottle 2007 batch

A: Pours into a Sam Adams glass a crystal clear reddish amber with a ½ inch of intense light brown foam that slowly lowers to a scantcover and ring with lots of carbonation rising from the bottom. Minimal lacing while drinking.

S: Crisp dry earthy grains, piney hops, sweet toffee and malt balls with a backdrop of alcohol. 8.0% ABV.

T: Deep and full bodied sweetness of a myriad of roasted grains explodes in the mouth then quickly overtaken with extremely dry and earthy hops without any discernable citrus 'type' ...just really dry.

M: The high amount of carbonation really helps to fill the entire mouth with the flavors. Really enjoyable to taste as I find it to be a taste 'shifter' that continually changes from start to finish. Although it is 8% ABV it is really well hidden as the alcohol is in the background of each taste but does not come close to being overpowering or inhibiting in the taste.

D: Extremely enjoyable one to drink very slowly, as it deserves to be savored and appreciated as it warms in the glass.
I would recommend highly to anyone who wants a great tasting experience of a really well crafted beer.

Thank you again Dave!

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2008 20:50:11 | More by NitroGen

challenja

Virginia

4.6/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured On Tap at Big Hunt Dupont Circle

A: A dark amber orange with a thin lace of white cream head that sticks to the glass like melted marshmallow cum.

S: Sweet Amber with Raisin fig caramel with a candied Raspberry Puree. Awesome!

T: Nice Simoce hops, sweet caramel, bready heavy yeast with a nice candied caramel backbone. Very tasty!

M. There is a nice thickness to this ASA, with a slight creamy feel and an amazing hop backbite that lingers well beyond a normal ASA should. The back of my throat was really enjoying the lingering yeast body.

O: This is a real winner of a beer. I am a huge Imperial IPA fan but this was a really nice change of pace that will soon be repeated by buying these bad boys again.

Serving type: on-tap

11-08-2011 01:02:54 | More by challenja

aaronh

Pennsylvania

4.58/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Dark copper body, slightly hazy, topped by a cream colored head. Aroma is of strong pine, citrus and florals, mixed with a pleasant malt sweetness. The flavor is instantaneously, simultaneously sweet and bitter, with malt sweetness up front being crowded by a piney resinous bite. More citrus flavors are revealed in the mid, along with a decent caramel note. Nice strong bitterness on the finish cleans the malt away fairly well. Mouthfeel is thick and almost syrupy, but not to the point that it makes drinking the beer laborious. On the contrary, drinking this beer is so easy that a couple will disappear quickly. The combination of intense sweetness and hard-hitting hop bitterness is a true joy. Brian and the crew at GLBC should make this more often.

Serving type: on-tap

12-31-2003 02:14:01 | More by aaronh

cokes

Wisconsin

4.58/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Blurry rubied brass. The head is quick and beige.
Nose full of spruce and other things green...grass, stems..whatever. Backed with a floured dinner roll maltiness.
First off, the malt spine is interesting. It's big enough to carry this beer, and probably to parade it as something much smaller than it actually is. Very full in its yeasty, bready, sourdough leanings. All full of flour and fresh seeming (despite being well past its ridiculous "best by" dating). Tiny squeals of dry toffee provide the only form of sweetness. This is about as unsweet as a big of this girth gets.
Hops are huge as well, bringing all sorts of conifer, resin, and, pollen. Nods of honey arise now. It lingers with bitter herb and fleeting gin and tonic suggestions.
Balanced in a bit of a different manner than most American Strong Ales. This boasts a breadiness most akin to a standard Pale Ale, but amplified to handle the hop load. It's bold without being forced. If there was ever a "double pale ale", this is it. But these fuckers can be put back like they were meant as a session brew.
Full bodied, but tight with its bubbles, and drinkable far beyond its packaged 4 bottles.
Looking out for my sobriety, Great Lakes? Thanks, but lets see this in 6ers next time.

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2004 07:33:29 | More by cokes

Baileyuk

Michigan

4.58/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Wow what a beer. Appeaance is top notch with a light brown color with a sloghtly reddish tint. Head was great that retained somewhat throughout. Lacing was one of the best I have ever seen.

Smell had a sweet smell of fruit. Again one of the best smelling beers outside of an ipa's.

Taste has an upfront taste of peach. After a few sips this fades to offer a great balance of hops and malts. Again excellent.

Well carbonated beer makes it easier to drink than you would normally find with this abv. Not a session beer but mainly because you would be on the floor. I really wanted another though.

Serving type: on-tap

09-30-2008 16:29:40 | More by Baileyuk

sarahspat

Illinois

4.58/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

There is a ton of fast-rising tan foam, about an inch and a half at the end of the pour. My pint glass is filled to the brim. Dissipates relatively quickly leaving considerable amounts of lacing behind. The color is a dark amber red; not cloudy.

The aroma is rich; very strong sweet caramel, toffee and cocoa attributes. Smells delicious!

The taste is very hoppy and bitter up front, with deep floral and fruit (candied pear with a bit of fresh blackberries and grapefruit) notes, mmm! This might be one of the best examples of floral hops flavor that I have ever tasted in a beer. However, delicious caramel, toffee and nutty malt flavors are not to be outdone. One thing's for sure, there is no lack of flavor in this beer; very complex flavor. The predominant flavors for me are floral and caramel, and they complement each other very well. Nosferatu should be bitter enough to satisfy any hophead. Nice creamy, chewy mouthfeel with good carbonation. The drinkability is better than most beers with this ABV. No sign of alcohol in the flavor.

This is one tasty, tasty brew. I drank one of these about a year ago without knowing what it was beforehand and I was very impressed then. It remains one of my all time favorite beers and definitely my favorite from Great Lakes, which is a fantastic brewery in general, if you ask me. I love this beer and can't wait for my next!

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2009 01:54:51 | More by sarahspat

schoolboy

Ohio

4.58/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Every year at this time this special seasonal treat comes around. As the name implies, there is plenty of bite here. Also a stale blood color!

This is the boldest Great Lakes ale I've had. Biting hops go along with the perfect aroma (and help create it) and the perfect color, and perfect smell. You get the idea. This is a craft brew in every aspect.

I love the comment on the label about vampires being green - they live without lights, conserving energy (the Great Lakes folks are real tree-huggers).

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2009 01:27:28 | More by schoolboy

BrewMaven

New York

4.58/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Picked these up at a Syacuse, NY supermarket.

Pours a deep clear bronze and is topped by a thin cap of caramel colored foam.

Smell is of sweet, ripe dark fruits. Pretty strong and appealing aroma that surprised me with my usually weak sniffer.

Taste is similar to the smell with sweetness, some spice and a little hoppiness coming in toward the semi-dry finish. Fairly full bodied and mild carbonation.

I really enjoyed being bitten by Nosferatu!!

Serving type: bottle

11-08-2009 23:57:49 | More by BrewMaven