Great Lakes Orange Peel Ale - Great Lakes Brewery

Wordslinger

Ontario (Canada)

3/5  rDev -13.8%

05-06-2012 08:07:44 | More by Wordslinger

TheBeeraholic

Ontario (Canada)

3.25/5  rDev -6.6%

06-16-2013 13:07:14 | More by TheBeeraholic

nullbort

Ontario (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev +7.8%

05-25-2013 15:21:19 | More by nullbort

DarkForest

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev +14.9%

04-28-2013 22:35:37 | More by DarkForest

hopsolutely

Ontario (Canada)

3.38/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25

As much as I absolutely love most of the beers brewed by Great Lakes, this is not their most flavourful ale and was purchased solely to formally review it.

Pours an attractive orange with minimal white head that disappears quickly. Grain-forward aroma with only a hint of orange (marmalade?), and nearing the end of the 650 mL bottle, it is getting increasingly harder to discern. Its sweet taste lacks a lot of complexity, but malted barley provides a solid foundation. I can't detect orange pith as such, but there is orange flesh, with a mild bitterness in the finish.

An excellent transition beer that may pull the less adventurous towards the world of craft brewing.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2013 22:49:24 | More by hopsolutely

DaPan

Ontario (Canada)

3/5  rDev -13.8%

02-13-2013 04:14:01 | More by DaPan

bigox420

Ontario (Canada)

3/5  rDev -13.8%

10-07-2012 01:28:23 | More by bigox420

OWSLEY069

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev +12.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a hazy orange-ish to yellow color with a white head. In the aroma, orange citrus, kind of sweet to dry. In the taste, dry orange citrus and a small dry hop presence. A small bite and a medium to lighter bodied mouthfeel, with a small dry earthy hop in the aftertaste. Dry orange citrus in the nose and a nice earthy hop flavor, not too shabby.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2012 11:20:30 | More by OWSLEY069

hockeyfighter19

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +7.8%

07-03-2012 23:25:40 | More by hockeyfighter19

KrisDLSmith

Ontario (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev +0.6%

06-28-2012 03:43:16 | More by KrisDLSmith

thehyperduck

Ontario (Canada)

2.78/5  rDev -20.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

650 mL bottle from the LCBO; no production date. I usually get a craving for witbiers around this time of year, but I wasn't able to find any new ones, so this seemed like a decent compromise.

Pours a light amber-orange, completely translucent, topped with slightly more than a finger of sparkling, off-white coloured head. It lasts a few minutes before dissipating into a thin, creamy, even cap on the surface. Attractive, but nothing to write home about. Rather bland aroma, which is a shame because as far as fruit beers go, the smell is one of the few aspects I will usually really enjoy. It is comprised of hints of orange citrus, with an underlying backbone of light, malty honey sweetness.

The taste is ok, but I am not encouraged to give it any more praise than that. I'm seriously having trouble coming up with adjectives to describe the taste because there just isn't anything of substance to talk about. Even the orange notes are surprisingly subdued, which makes me wonder if this is just an expired bottle or something. What little flavour there is can be placed into one of the following three categories: diluted orange citrus; lightly honeyed biscuity malt sweetness; and gentle hop bitterness (which becomes more pronounced at the end of the sip). Medium-bodied, without the heavy soda-pop carbonation I find in most fruit beers. Easy to drink.

Final Grade: 2.78, hovering between C and C-. I honestly feel bad about giving it such a low score - I like Great Lakes and I've never had a bad beer from them before, but their Orange Peel Ale is just profoundly unimpressive in every sense of the word. Stale bottle? Given the weak aroma and taste (and lack of any sort of date or code anywhere on the bottle), this seems like a significant possibility. Given that, I may consider retrying this in the future, but it would have to be on-tap or directly from the brewery. I would recommend serving this relatively well-chilled (i.e. similar to the temperature you'd drink a macro lager at).

The bottom line is simple: if this really IS expired, GLB putting a date on the bottle would have easily prevented me from buying this and posting a bad review of what may very well be an adequate beer... because to be fair, it doesn't taste *bad*... it just tastes bland. If it ISN'T expired... well, then I don't really understand why anyone would want to drink it at any price, let alone 5 bucks a bottle. As it stands, there is no way I would recommend this to anyone for anything, because in my opinion, it is neither a good fruit beer, nor a good amber. Passing this over would be no big loss.

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2012 05:07:41 | More by thehyperduck

batmanbach

Ontario (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev +0.6%

05-07-2012 17:18:05 | More by batmanbach

korguy123

Ontario (Canada)

3.2/5  rDev -8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle into pint glass. No date.

A- Slightly hazy orange pour with a soapy two finger white head. Lacing is sticky sheets around the glass.

S- Slight biscuit, floral and citrus hops and a sweet orange presence. Slightly dry smelling.

T- Sweet biscuits, floral hops and a slightly faint orange presence. Juicier than the aroma. I get orange but it doesn't jump out at me like I thought it would.

M- Light to medium bodied, decent carbonation.

O- Refreshing Summer beer. Not as much orange as I was expecting but not bad for what it is.

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2012 22:49:47 | More by korguy123

traumaqueen

3.25/5  rDev -6.6%

04-03-2012 05:03:54 | More by traumaqueen

jsnoek

Ontario (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev +0.6%

03-21-2012 03:00:17 | More by jsnoek

RedAleMan

Ontario (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev +7.8%

03-18-2012 18:00:25 | More by RedAleMan

kelvarnsen

Ontario (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev +7.8%

11-30-2011 16:35:47 | More by kelvarnsen

SebD

Ontario (Canada)

3.45/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: It has a nice cloudy colour to it. It has a nice white head that dies down fast and has minimal lacing.

Smell: The aromas give out hints of orange with some bready malts and light hops.

Taste: Like the aromas, it has a dominant orange taste with some bready malts and a bit of hops adding a slight bitterness.

Mouthfeel: It has a medium carbonation with an ok balance and feel.

Drinkability: It's a very smooth drinkable beer accompanied with decent flavours and aromas.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2011 22:13:27 | More by SebD

drinkininthewood

Ontario (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +22.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

A bottle from my wife, part of a bunch of brews she picked up for my birthday.

650 ml bottle no freshness date.

A- golden/amber color with nice head of foam that diminished a few minutes later to a thin layer.

S- orange rinds, touch of honey, malty, aromas of orange blossom flowers.

T- Like bitting into an orange, peel and all. Touch of floral hops present, as well as some nice malt.

M- medium bodied, carbonation work wells for this beer even if its a tad spritzy.

D- Very flavorull and refreshing.

Overall I've been looking to try this brew for awhile (years) and finally got around to it. Its a great beer, very flavorfull, sessionable ( if you like oranges ) and probably my new favorite beer from Great Lakes. Its good to switch things up once in awhile.

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2011 04:32:36 | More by drinkininthewood

slitherySOB

Ontario (Canada)

4.03/5  rDev +15.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

The one thing that amazed me about this ale was the head. This was white and thick. It didn't look like the head you'd expect from a beer. It looked like the foam from an overpriced cappucino. Wow. About three fingers thick above the glass, and another two fingers below the rim. A dark orange/amber colour, with plenty of lace sticking to the glass as it empties. I was expecting a more, hoppy, aroma. Definite floral hops and citrus/oranges, though nothing that really screams out orange peels. Bit of a dark honey smell as well. Taste is surprisingly refreshing. It's a bit light without it being weak, sweetness mainly from honey and some malts, great hop sourness, with a floral and citrus aftertaste. Mouthfeel is a bit medium/light, which for the type of beer this is, is just fine. It's a refreshing summer beer, nothing terribly fancy. Overall, decent session/lawnmower beer. I'd buy it again.

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2011 03:21:51 | More by slitherySOB

SgtStout

Ontario (Canada)

3.08/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Pours a light orange-amber, one finger of light head with not much retention.

The smell is predominantly orange, some of the honey comes through. Some light malt and floral hops.

Taste is predominantly orange, very tart, somewhat sweet. Not much malt, pleasant bitterness on the back of the tongue. Average mouthfeel.

A nice summer beer for hot days working in the yard.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2011 15:15:40 | More by SgtStout

uno99

Ontario (Canada)

3.55/5  rDev +2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottle from the brewery, served at 55 degrees.

A: Straw body with egg shell white head. decent retention and laces well in my Stella Artois glass.

S: Really nice balance here. All the players can be heard equally here. Orange is present on the "fringes" of the nose. Quite well hopped but not a bomb, malt is clean and bready.

T: Orange is a little more apparent in the taste, and becomes more so as you work your way through the (650ML?) bottle. Things stay fairly balanced however and the brewer has thankfully resisted the urge to over spice this brew.

M: Light-Medium bodied. A little oily. Carbonation is spot on and doesn't feel too artificial.

O: Very refreshing, but lacking character. This beer would do well at a BBQ or as a reward for pulling the lawnmower out.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2011 01:53:58 | More by uno99

peensteen

Ontario (Canada)

3.38/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pale deep golden colour, 1.5 fingers of white sticky head, nice lacing on the glass. Smell is malty, fresh cut orange, light hops, citrus, very floral, but very much dominated by orange. Taste is huge orange, citrus all the way through, good bitterness, lightly hoppy, malt is way back there, dry orange finish. Aggressive carbonation, crisp, light to medium body, carbonation far too heavy. Decent brew, very different, not really my thing but I can see the appeal for some people.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2011 16:25:56 | More by peensteen

Mit

Ontario (Canada)

3.83/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a clear golden colour with a decent lasting head. Lacing on the glass is also nice.

Orange peel....slight malt odour...very clean smelling.

Def orange peel tastes...spicey crisp...very refreshing...nice hoppy flavours. Really balanced.

Solid mouth feel...not too thick or too light....just right.

Overall it's very solid...and decent priced...I will be buying it again.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2011 03:33:26 | More by Mit

mrnobody

Ontario (Canada)

3.33/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

650 ml bottle poured into a snifter.

A: Pours a clear bright orange with a little bit of foam.

S: Faint orange smell is predominant (orange pop?).

T: Tastes of orange on the front-end followed by a little hop bitterness; pretty tasty.

M: Light-medium body with fairly lively carbonation.

D: Drinkability is good but having this once per year is sufficient.

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2011 03:29:31 | More by mrnobody