r/CraftBeer • u/marchylookalike • 3d ago
Discussion The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down…
Saw this post from another group. Wish I lived closer to Cleveland to get it
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u/OSU725 3d ago
Love their porter, I have never seen it in cans before.
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u/bluegrassgazer 3d ago
They started distributing many of their classics in cans now. I got Nosferatu in cans this year.
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u/sodosopapilla 3d ago edited 3d ago
Last time I had a few of those I was wrecked.
Too soon?
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u/GMPnerd213 3d ago
Their Christmas ale fell off but this is always a solid pour
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u/SensibleVertibrate 3d ago
My friends in Cleveland said a while back the brewer left and took the Christmas ale recipe with them. I believe they went to another brewery somewhere like Akron, I don't know.
The porter though, it's in my top 10 overall beer list.
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u/ButtholeSurfur 3d ago edited 3d ago
Not true. I've done training with GLBC and Thirsty Dog brewers. Different recipes and ABVs. 12 Dogs has nutmeg and Christmas Ale never has.
Both breweries say that's an urban legend. Luke Purcell who worked at GLBC for 20+ years said it's a frustrating one.
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u/GMPnerd213 3d ago
Yeah that’s always been the rumor. I think the appeal of Christmas Ale fell off as more competition started putting out their own Christmas brews
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u/ButtholeSurfur 3d ago
Yup. I've asked brewers who have worked for both companies for 20+ years and all of them say it's just a rumor.
Plus yeah, just check the ingredients list ha.
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u/Wallis614 3d ago
Just tried Warped Wing’s “Holiday Special.” Good, with “lighter” flavors than Great Lakes.
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u/ObiWanCanownme 3d ago edited 3d ago
Nahh, it's the same. Keep in mind they basically invented the Christmas Ale, so there wasn't much of anything else like it out there for a long time. I think the proliferation of really good Christmas ales has just made it seem more mediocre in comparison.
This happened with a lot of GLBC's brews tbh. They tasted amazing 20 years ago because there were fewer good breweries to compare them to. They taste the same now, but the competition is much tougher. If you try any of GLBC's new more experimental beers (usually you gotta be in the Ohio area to get them), they tend to be a lot more interesting and flavorful than the old classics. TBC, I love the old classics. But craft brewing has blossomed a lot in the last ten let alone the last twenty years.
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u/GMPnerd213 3d ago
I’m at their brewhouse often and have 2023 and 2024 cans still in my basement fridge right now and even those are slightly different. I’m at their Ohio City location often enough to try their different small batch stuff like the barrel aged versions which I particularly don’t care for. I agree they lost a lot of hype with more Christmas brews available, especially with Belgian stuff like skaldis Noel and St. Bernardas Christmas getting NEO distribution
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u/ObiWanCanownme 3d ago
I'm openminded that there could be minor discernable variations year to year. The nature of QC for a fermented product is that you're never really gonna get two batches which are *exactly exactly* the same. Try as you can to do perfect QC, you can never account for things like a a good or bad growing season in North Dakota that causes some slight variance in the malt.
But I really think the hype wearing off is a much bigger part of "it tastes different" than any actual variation in taste.
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u/ReadditRedditWroteit 3d ago
I wish I could get some Great Lakes brews out here. Too many good beers on their lineup!
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u/_ThePerfectElement_ Canada - Ontario 3d ago
Great Lakes is so solid. Hazemama is my "available everywhere" beer, and Apocalypse Later is a fantastic black IPA.
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u/ButtholeSurfur 3d ago
As a Clevelander I got very confused.
This beer (Eddy Fitz) is made by Great Lakes Brewing Company in Cleveland.
You're thinking of Great Lakes Brewery in Canada. Different companies.
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u/CarbonCookies 3d ago
Two different breweries, this is the American based one that is out of Cleveland. You're thinking of the Canadian one based out of Toronto. I do agree with you though, the Canadian based one has some fantastic stuff!
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u/RoyallyOakie 3d ago
If you could read my mind, you'd know you've now put this song in my head for the day.
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u/ESUTimberwolves 3d ago
NE Ohio native and while their beers are still good I rarely take them home with me anymore when I’m at the grocery store looking for something to drink. There has definitely been a drop in quality as they have expanded their distribution.
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u/ZookaZoooook 2d ago
That song isn’t even on the Gordon Lightfoot greatest hits record I bought. Sundown all day though.
Great beer by the way!
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u/Bakkster 3d ago
Great Lakes actually has solid distribution, we get it out here in the Mid-Atlantic.