Great Lakes Turns 25

1988 was a good year for craft beer in America.  Phil Eckhardt’s The Essentials of Beer Style was published, one of the first tomes to document what have since become the recognized styles of beer across the world.  A number of the elder statesmen of craft beer were founded (though at the time, the term microbrewery had not yet fallen out of vogue), including three from the West Coast –  Oregon’s Deschutes & Rogue, & California’s North Coast - & two from the Midwest – Chicago’s Goose Island & Cleveland’s Great Lakes.  It’s encouraging to see these mainstays still going strong, & I bet some of them never expected to be where they are now – especially Goose Island.  In the spirit of commemoration, Deschutes has spearheaded a series of collaborations dubbed Class of ’88, teaming up with different combos from this group & releasing some pretty interesting brews. 

We’re proud to say that one of the alum from this class is right in our backyard.  Great Lakes has been a stalwart in the area, with a relatively limited distribution up until the last few years.  They’ve focused on putting out solid, quality brews & knocking out a really great regular line-up – their Dortmunder Gold & Edmund Fitzgerald Porter remain on a lot of drinker’s short lists.  I admire the fact that they tend to keep their repertoire pretty tight, without overwhelming the market with new brew upon new brew.  What they do let out of the gates is great – check out their latest, Rye of the Tiger & Alchemy Hour for evidence of this.  Their seasonals are consistently favorites, among them Nosferatu, Oktoberfest, Christmas Ale, & Blackout Stout.  And their Barrel-Aged Blackout Stout is a consistent draw for the most diehard & beer-geeky among us, who flock to the brewery each year when it drops. 

On top of creating a great product, Great Lakes is committed to sustainability in what they refer to as their Triple Bottom Line, espousing sustainable economic, social, & environmental practices.  They engage in bioregionalism as much as possible, their building site is a historical preservation, & they make a point of being a good community citizen.  For more on this philosophy, visit www.greatlakesbrewing.com or check out Christopher Mark O’Brien’s book Fermenting Revolution, which talks extensively about the good Great Lakes is doing.

If this sounds like a love letter to Great Lakes, sue us!  We’re happy to be celebrating their Silver Anniversary at The House from May 29^th to June 1^st.  Join us as we welcome the regional Great Lakes rep, Connie, who’ll be meeting, greeting, & pouring on Wednesday, the 29^th, when we’ll be tapping the brewpub-only Ohio City Oatmeal Stout & giving away Great Lakes glasses; Thursday, we’ll be tapping another limited release: Rally Drum Red; Friday, we summon the Lake Erie Monster Double IPA; & on Saturday, in addition to Commodore Perry IPA & Dortmunder Gold, we’ll dig into their collaboration with Deschutes, an Imperial Smoked Porter in celebration of the Class of ’88.  And what would a party be without giveaways each day?  So come join The House in honoring Great Lakes Brewing Company, one of craft beer’s best.