The Line-up from Great Lakes Brewing Company

I was in the mood for something new and different when I stopped at the beer store to stock up for the weekend. I found what I was looking for in some Ohio brew from Great Lakes Brewing Company.

This Cleveland, Ohio brewery is new to the DC market and I picked up a case and a six-pack at Magruder’s so I could try all five styles. I sampled the:

• Commodore Perry IPA, a strong (7.5% ABV), tasty and well-hopped IPA. Named for a hero from The War of 1812 who battled the enemy on Lake Erie.
• Burning River Pale Ale, an aggressively hopped American Pale Ale that is named after the 1969 burning of the Cuyahoga River.
• Dortmunder Gold Lager, a smooth lager and the flagship beer of Great Lakes Brewing Company. Haughtily named to “reflect the unprecedented accolades and recognition it has earned in major worldwide beer tasting competitions.”
• Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, a roasty, hoppy Porter named after the ship that frequently docked in Cleveland and sunk in Lake Superior on November 10, 1975 with many Northeast Ohioans on board.
• Eliot Ness Amber Lager, a decent, well-balanced Amber Lager named after the organized crime fighter who frequented the Great Lakes brew pub and, according to popular legend, was responsible for bullet holes still evident in the bar today.

All five beers were above average and exceedingly sessionable — I’d recommend the beers from Great Lakes to anyone. In addition to the six packs, they offer a 12-pack sampler that I’m sure I’ll pick-up on a future visit to Magruder’s. I’d love to visit the brew pub in Cleveland and sample some of the seasonal selections and pub exclusives like Holy Moses White Ale and Rye of the Tiger.

Thanks to the Great Lakes Brewing Company web site for the details behind the interesting names of the beers.

Updated May 16: I bought a six pack of Holy Moses White Ale at Magruder’s. A Belgian Wit spiced with orange peel, chamomile and coriander, Holy Moses is named after Moses Cleaveland, a Connecticut native who founded Cleveland in 1796.