Barrel House Duveneck Dortmunder

Brewed by Barrel House Brewing Company
Style: Dortmunder/Helles
Cincinnati, Ohio USA

Bottle sampled on 2/26/07: Pours a transparent golden bronze with a spotty-lacing white head. Aroma of slightly toasty sweet pale malt has some nice German hoppy notes. Body starts fairly full with some earthy pale malty sweetness and a touch of light fruity notes toward a drier toasty finish. A decent Dortmunder.

Pour is a pale yellow with a whtie head. Aroma is nice and bready with some grain and hops. Flavor is about the same lots of breadyness with some hop backbone. The only problem is that nothing stands out to put this over the top.

650 ml bottle

This was another relative bargain at $2.49 a bomber. If it was at all cellerable I would pick up another bottle. It is done well enough to make me want to try all four of the available styles (the other three being the hefeweizen, pale ale and red ale). At that price they do not have to be much more than average for me to feel like I got my money’s worth.

Aroma / Appearance - The bronze colored body had a one finger head that lasted for a while before subsiding in the glass. Smoky apples, thick honey, butterscotch and chocolate dipped orange peels create a thick nose. I can never get a handle on dortmunders - while I appreciate the style sometimes I’m not sure which are good qualities and which are not. This one struck me as somewhere in between.

Flavor / Palate - Malty apple cider, pine cones and generic cherry pie filling (the sort that comes in 10 pound cans) greet the palate on the first sip. Butterscotch, cheap Hershey’s chocolate and pear juice come next before everything fades quickly on the throat. The chewy body reminds me of a toned down barleywine. I’m not sure I personally would pick this up again but if I find it offered to me I certainly would not turn one down.

Sample at Indy tasting Hotshotz - Aroma of skunky sweet malts. Pours clear yellow with no head or lacing. Flavor as a hint of hops on top of the sweet malt. Palate is clean. An OK brew.

Funky, bitter aroma with spices and apple. Complex aroma--but not really great at the same time. Golden brown body. Full palate for the style. Heavy malt flavors kick things off and support hints of spices--especially pepper. Interesting brew for sure that I want to revisit soon.

Got lots of bitter malt in the aroma.Pours a light copper with a medium white head.Flavor was some light malt not a whole lot more going on.Mouthfeel was thin with a bitter finish.

22oz bomber. Vigorous pour. Huge off-white clinging head. Bready grainy nose. Medium bodied and dulled. Smooth flavor. Not the most exciting style, but the example is spot on. Nice bready, doughy malt flavor. Touch yeasty and citrus with a note of cocoa. Crisp biscuit malts and a floral note squeezed in there. Everything seems mild or muted. But flowing and rounded. Well crafted.

Smell a bit yeasty. The head doesn’t last long. A very smooth beer, with plenty of drinkability.