Toronto Beer Blog

Great Lakes Brewery

Too Much News

November 20, 2014

Wow, stop blogging for a few weeks to actually do something to earn income, and you find yourself with a not small backlog of news, samples, and events. Let's get to this: I Call It Uncanny A few beers are now available …

Canuck Pale Ale — Great Lakes Brewery

July 23, 2014 · 1 comments

I think this is a Toronto Beer Blog first: I'm re-reviewing a beer. And it's much needed. The beer in this case, Canuck Pale Ale from Great Lakes, deserves it. For one thing, my old review is, well, not awesome. I have …

Reading The Sign

May 30, 2014

Man, writing attention grabbing openings for these is getting harder! I'm raising funds to have my head shaved in support of St. Baldrick's next Wednesday. You can read all the details here. If you're already in the …

Thrust, an IPA — Great Lakes Brewery

March 12, 2014 · 1 comments

There are many excellent brewers in Toronto, but most would agree Mike Lackey at Great Lakes has a dab hand with the hops. Uncanny, you might say. He's more than capable when it comes to barrels and sours and weird …

Great Lakes Etobichoker vs Indie Alehouse Instigator IPA

November 15, 2013 · 1 comments

Okay, I'm the first to admit it: today's match-up is a totally uneven bout. Indie Alehouse's awesome Instigator IPA is a rock-solid American-style IPA, and a constant crowd-pleaser at the brewpub. Etobichoker is a new …

Great Lakes Lake Effect vs Bellwoods Cat Lady

November 12, 2013 · 2 comments

So here starts the head-to-head battles between beers. Before I address the two contenders, let me make something clear: The four breweries involved are absolutely top brewers in Toronto. None of these matches are likely …

The Gang Fight

November 11, 2013

Nothing beats an old fashioned rumble. The good news is, nobody is calling the cops. For the rest of this week, I'll be blasting through eight beer reviews in a new format. A street fighter format, but with less …

Miami Weiss — Great Lakes Brewery, 2013

September 3, 2013 · 5 comments

The nature of the growth of the brewing scene, means that new styles are created, and variations on styles become their own. This is why we now have pales ales, and American pale ales. Brewers play with things, blend …

Lawnmower Arm Saison — Great Lakes Brewery

July 20, 2013 · 2 comments

I think I had Lawnmower Arm Saison before. I'm not really sure, but it sounded familiar. But when I was at the Great Lakes Brewery in Etobicoke this week, and I saw it, as a barrel-aged, on sour cherries, incarnation, I …

Saison de la Canneberg — Great Lakes Brewery x Cassel Brewing

July 20, 2013

I love this. Here is what I know about this beer: Nothing. I haven't even texted Lackey for any insight. I'm pretty sure Saison de la Canneberg translates to "Cranberry Saison", but that's all I've got. I know Great …

Orange Peel Ale — Great Lakes Brewery

July 10, 2013 · 0 comments

One of my earliest craft-beer memories from my journey into better beer, was seeing a tap handle that was an orange. I don't know why I was so enamoured by it, but I was. It was, of course, the tap handle for Great Lakes …

Crazy Canuck Pale Ale — Great Lakes Brewery

June 14, 2013

Well here's (I think) a TorontoBeerBlog.com first: I'm re-reviewing a beer. Actually it's really not that big a deal, particularly when the beer in question is Crazy Canuck Pale Ale, and the people who make it is Great …

Maverick and Gose — Amsterdam Brewing Co and Great Lakes Brewery

May 14, 2013 · 2 comments

You might recall a few weeks back I wrote about how Maverick and Gose was about to become the first all-Ontario collaboration to hit the LCBO. Well, after the usual LCBO bureaucratic hiccup, it is rolling out! If you …

Maverick and Gose

April 24, 2013 · 0 comments

It's official: the LCBO will see it's first collaborative-brew from Ontario brewers (having had Brooklyn/Schneider's Hopfenweisse), with the release of Amsterdam/Great Lakes Maverick and Gose. What's extra crazy, is it's …

25th Anniversary Bourbon Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout — Great Lakes Brewery

February 14, 2013 · 3 comments

I like celebrating my birthday for like, at least a week. Between dinners with family, drinks with friends, drinking crazy and rare bottles of beer, and indulging myself, I find I need at least 5 days, though 9 is …

Snowy Friday

February 8, 2013

Yes, it's true, here in Toronto, it's snowing like we're in Canada or something. Shut the place down! The good news is, we still have beer. And in case you don't — despite predictions to the contrary — the world is not …

Podcast, Thursday November 8th 2012 — Great Lakes Brewery

November 8, 2012

Here is my interview with Peter Bulut, Troy Burch and Mike Lackey from Great Lakes. We talk about Great Lakes history, their 25th anniversary, their 25th anniversary Imperial Black IPA, Project X tonight (November 8th …

No Pants With Miranda — Great Lakes Brewery

August 22, 2012

After reviewing Great Lakes Brewery's excellent 25th Anniversary Belgian Saison, which included lots of references to their No Chance With Miranda Saison, I thought it was the right time to dig into my pile of beers …

25th Anniversary Belgian Saison — Great Lakes Brewery

August 16, 2012 · 0 comments

Many of you will already know that Great Lakes Brewery is celebrating their 25th anniversary this year. If you didn't, Great Lakes Brewery is celebrating their 25th anniversary this year. Now we all know. With that in …

Green Tea Ale — Great Lakes Brewery

July 3, 2012

Sometimes you have to revisit things; you don't always "get it" on the first time around, you know? And sometimes, things change, and deserve another go. I'm not sure which of those factors might play into today's review …