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.
Established in 1987, Great Lakes Brewery is Toronto’s oldest craft brewery. We produce the finest ales and lagers made with all natural premium ingredients. Our award winning beers are handcrafted in small batches using an historic open-fire copper kettle. 2008 Gold Medal, Canadian Brewing Awards (Honey/Maple Lager or Ale). 750 ml, 6.2% alc./vol.
Wobbly Pop Culture 
Day 4 of Taste-Mas has us sampling an award Winning Beer (2008), which I assume is still the same recipe used today. Again, like the other 3 days this is an easy drinking beer, or am I an easy beer drinker? I seem to like them all and this is no exception. Great carbonation, little to no head (could be the pour, could be the glass, could be the 24, 6 pack, I don’t know…) creamy white foam on top of another caramel coloured beer. This beer, however, is a little cloudy, which isn’t a bad thing. It could be from the the handcrafting. The tasting notes are a little fuzzy for me, I cheated and looked at the label. I could not taste the honey, cinnamon, ginger or orange peel. I could taste the specialty hops and quite a bit of them at first, but while I soldiered through the 750 ml it got mellower and mellower and by the end all the flavours seemed to come together for a beer that I would buy again.
This is yet another very great example of what our local brewers have to offer!! The Winter Ale was a very flavorful brew that actually paired well with chicken nuggets and plum sauce….
I found The beer to be exactly as described. The honey, cinnamon and ginger intertwined to create a fantastic winter brew! Whether it was the hops or the orange peel – I found a little sharpness in the end of each sip. Not enough to spoil the brew, but enough to notice. Those of you that like extra hoppy beers will not even flinch at it.
Overall a very satisfying offering from GLB!
This is my favourite so far. Very smooth, and the flavours blend together so well they become one with nothing in particular standing out. I can see why it has won awards.
Again this came in in rather large bottle at 750ml – still a novelty for me who is used to the more generic beers like Stella, Heinekn and Bud Light.
Similar to Chooch, I paired the Winter Ale with fried chicken and it was a great match.
The beer poured a dark amber with a bit of a head. I found that it was slightly more carbonated than the beers from the previous days but still see it with average to below average carbonation.
I found the aroma to not be too obtrusive, relatively straightforward. Not as distinct than yesterday’s Granville Lions Winter Ale.
Found the taste to be similar to the aroma – nice subdued flavor, medium to low body, a bit of an aftertase. An enjoyable winter ale!
Quite a drinkable beer. I pick up on the ginger, but its not overpowering. It doesn’t taste orangey to me, even though there is apparently orange peel in the recipe. But I could imagine this beer going well with an orange slice (I would try it if I had one in the fridge, but alas…). All in all, this is a well balanced beer. I would drink it again.
Best beer of the year…well for tastemas so far. Enjoyed the taste from start to finish. I was concerned about the orange and the other spices but it all blended well together. I paired it with a depressing Leaf home game so this beer was definitely the highlight of the night!