Edmund Fitzgerald Porter

Product Reviewed: The Edmund Fitzgerald Porter
Brewed by: Great Lakes Brewing Company Cleveland, Ohio
Reviewed By: David Brockington
Original Posted to Usenet: May 5, 1994

Initial Impressions:

The beer arrived in a standard 12-ounce brown longneck. The "best by" date was duly noted prior to the tasting. What was also noted was the beer's claim to the GABF Gold Medal for Porter in both 1991 and 1993. Because of this, expectations were ratcheded up a notch.

The pour produced a nice, smooth tan head which left a small degree of lacework on the glass as it slowly receeded. The color was a beautiful deep, deep, deep amber/brown. I cannot over-emphasize the "deep" qualification, but it was not at all "black". Upon inspection, the beer revealed a moderate degree of haziness. The bottle already states that this beer is unpastuerized, and I would think that it may be unfiltered as well due to the haze. If filtration was used, a course filter was employed.

Nose:

An explanatory section on the label claims that the beer is best if consumed at 52F, so I got out my digital thermometer and patiently waited until the beer had warmed a bit. During the interregnum, I took the opportunity to take in the boquet. In a word: Malt. The maltiness in the nose of this beer is something that I so far only aspire to as a brewer. It was fantastic. Fighting with the wonderful maltiness was a hint of both roastiness and some hops. The nose was absolutely heavenly.

Flavor:

The body was nice -- not too heavy, but with enough punch to let one know that this is a beer to be appreciated. The glass starts out with a coffee flavor predominating, which evolves into a combination of the maltiness found in the nose with hop flavor, and finishes dry with the bittering hops. I found it well balanced between the malt and the hops, with the bittering hops dominating the finish. I would assume that both Chocolate and Black Patent malts were employed, and would guess that no roasted barley was used (anyone out there know?). The dark malts also last through the finish, although the bittering hop does dominate that aspect. In fact, my only complain with this beer (and believe me, it is a minor complaint) is that the bittering hop should be toned down *slightly* and more base malt allowed to come through in the flavor profile.

Final Analysis:

I absolutely loved this beer. This is what a modern-day porter should aspire to be, at least in North America. If one can get this beer in their home market, I highly recommend buying a case. If only I could find this beer on tap somewhere in Seattle...

****1/2 out of *****

Next Up:

Wild Goose Amber Beer
Wild Goose Snow Goose Winter Ale
Mass Bay Harpoon Stout

David Brockington, Seattle, USA
bronyaur@u.washington.edu