One of the downsides to our trip up to Whitefish and the Great Northern Brewing Company was that they only had the Black Star Golden Lager on tap, however, it was free so that isn’t really much of a downside. We managed to snag some assorted bottles before we took off and I recently tried one of their Snow Ghost Winter Lagers, which they describe as “the perfect beer to warm up with after a day of skiing.” Well unfortunately for me, I hadn’t been skiing and it was actually fairly warm outside considering the season. Perhaps that would have enhanced the experience, but from what I had, the Snow Ghost was a middle of the pack winter warmer.

We sat down to enjoy a few of these with some friends the other night, and while they were good, they were not spectacular. We poured the Snow Ghost Winter Lager into pint glasses and discovered they have a reddish brown color, much like cooking sherry. A small head appeared that dissipated very quickly and left almost no lacing. There was a weak aroma, mainly of roasted malt with hints of spicy hops. The body of this beer was perfect: slightly heavy (something I want in winter) but not overly filling. It has a decent flavor of spicy roasted caramel but was a bit tangy on the finish where I hoped it would be smooth.

I’m sure this beer is great down in their taproom after a day of skiing up at Whitefish Mountain. If you are looking for something special however, the Snow Ghost isn’t at the top of that list. I would say it is a good beer for winter time entertaining or having a few at the bar, but I don’t see Snow Ghost Winter Lager becoming a regular in my refrigerator.