#Halloween Beer Post: Great Lakes Nosferatu Imperial Red Ale

Greetings, Citizens!  It is that time of year again when the veil that separates our world from the great beyond is at its most thin, and spectres and ghouls walk the earth, and craft beer is enjoyed with Asian cuisine.  What?  Well, at least the last part is true.  I first saw  Great Lakes Nosferatu Imperial Red Ale at a Wegman's weeks ago, and I knew I wanted to try it, so the weekend before Halloween seemed to be the perfect time.

I have to admit that for some time I have not been all too pleased with red ales.  I think it may have something to do with the bad taste of Killian's Irish Red, but needless to say I was pleasantly surprised by this ale, but in retrospect, I suppose I shouldn't have been.  If you have read any of our other Great Lakes reviews on The Ferment Nation, you know that they get rave reviews here.  This imperial red ale has a nice floral hoppy nose, and it has some kick to it at 8.0% abv.  It was crisp and tasty, and I would like to see it in a six pack.  I wanted to try this beer so bad, that I don't even remember how much the four pack cost me, but I liked it a lot. 

And this imperial red ale goes nicely with food, too.  It was a dark and stormy Saturday, but good beer and food brightens up any day.  Citizen Elizabeth* and I enjoyed some Szechuan style Terrifying Tofu and Hellfire Hot and Sour soup, and Nosferatu, the beer with bite, held up to the spicy and tasty food quite nicely with a solid hoppy flavor with some body to it.  Citizen Elizabeth liked its "nice warmth, and its not overly but tasty hoppiness, and that great red color.  What a great beer to review on Halloween!" I think what I like best is that for a lesser brewing company, producing a "Nosferatu" red ale would be a gimmick to drum up sales, but this, like every other Great Lakes beer I have had, is a really solid, tasty beer.

If you have had this beer, tell us what you think -- leave a comment or e-mail me directly at vp@fermentnation.com.  In the meantime, check out our other Great Lakes reviews.

Have fun, be safe, and I will leave you with a gem of modern animated non sequitur humor from Spongebob Squarepants. Enjoy.


Happy Halloween!

*Be on the look-out for a full brewpub review by Citizen Elizabeth to be posted soon.

Ithaca CascaZilla

It's actually fine right out of the bottle and reminds me a little bit like Hop Devil from Victory. Pour it into a glass, thought, and the aromas and flavors open up a bit. Malt and hops combine nicely and there is even a teensy bit of vanilla-oaky mellowness to this brew. Tying to put it together with brews you may know, picture Founders Red's Rye plus Victory Yakima Twilight and a touch of Hop Devil.

Red Ales are hard to pin down. Many are boring, but done right, the palate rejoices. Some other nice Red Ales include Seamus Irish Red from Sly Fox (well-balanced and drinkable) and Oskar Blues' Gordon (off the hizzy and will beat you about the face and head if you're not paying attention). The Great White Buffalo of Red Ales was Humble Patience from Magic Hat great white buffalo... great white buffalo... but has since been discontinued, much to the chagrin of beer drinkers all over the east coast. Ithaca CascaZilla falls somewhere in between and has a malty zing that's countered by a hoppy zoing. Flavorful and original as it is, it's not off-putting or frightfully bitter. Stretching the bounds of Red Ale, CascaZilla is one monster of a brew. 7% abv, by the way. Not a monstrous alcohol content, but I wouldn't have too many if you happen to be out drinking in Tokyo. I'm just sayin'...

Red Ale lovers must have this beer. Hop Heads will dig it too. Heavier and maltier than its floral sibling, Flower Power, CascaZilla has a lot to offer beer lovers of every persuasion.

Representation: 1.0 / Accessibility: .97 / Style: .99 / Personal Preference: 1.0 / Total Score: 3.96 Flags

Click for hi-res image.