Beer 101 Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter and Beer 102 Left Hand Milk Stout

I am up visiting with family in Rochester, NY for the weekend. With the cooler weather, I thought that it would be a good time to review some beer for the upcoming cooler weather. Keeping in mind that this is a few months early for Florida, it is right on time for NY. My morning walk today was a bit brisk for shorts and a tank top, but during that time, I decided that it was time to come back from my beer blogging “hiatus”. My Real Estate business exploded over the summer, and I simply have not had the time for some of the important things in life. I was able to hire an assistant to help with my ever expanding business. The Beer Blog is back, and to be truthful, I have a lot of catching up to do, as I have tried a lot of great beers the last few months.

Beer 101 Great Lakes Edmund Fizgerald Porter - I had this incredible beer at McGregor’s in Rochester with my brother Tony. I was looking for something dark, and I will fully admit to being captivated by the name. I had never tried a Great Lakes Product, so this was a convergence of several great ideas.

This porter can best be described as awesome. The web page will tell you that it is a roasty, with a bittersweet chocolate cofee taste with a bold hoppy presence. I am not able to go much further than that description. What I can ad is that I enjoyed this incredibly fine brew in a great pub with about 100 beers to choose from. This 5.8% alcohol content brew from their Cleveland, Ohio brewery was one of the best beers I have had in a long time. It was also an added benefit that I was able to enjoy it with my brother Tony, who I do not get to see that often. These are not available in Florida, so if you are traveling, and see it on a beer menu, order it immediately.

Click Here to see their new web page which launches on 9-15-10 

Beer 102 Left Hand Milk Stout – This is a beer that I have passed over many times. It has been readily available at Andy’s for the past year, but I never tried it. Truth be told, I thought that it was a stupid and unmanly strange name, and just chose to avoid it. One fateful day, I broke down and purchase a 6 pack. Boy was I mad when I tried it. It was a great beer and I could have been drinking them for the past year.

I have tried so many beers, for so many reasons, this past year, and somehow missed this one that was right in front of me the whole time. The folks at the Left Hand Brewery got this one right. The packaging they used up until recently was not very appealing, and hence, it was a somewhat reluctant purchase for me. What I discovered was a great tasting stout, and since it was 5.2% alcohol content, I could enjoy a few at a sitting. Now that they have changed the packaging, it will probably attract more buyers, and make it harder for me to find. 

It is a little less chocolately than the Youngs Double Chocolate Stout, and not as coffe-ish as the Dogfish Chicory Stout. A very nice middle ground. This is one of the only beers I have purchased more than once at Andy’s, which is news all by itself. Try one if you get the chance.

Click Here to see their web page

The Edmund Fitzgerald was in the $5 per pint range you would expect when out at a pub. The Milk Stout is $11.99 for a 6 pack.

Advertisement