Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold

Brewed by Great Lakes Brewing Company
Style: Dortmunder/Helles
Cleveland, Ohio USA

Bottle "enjoy by" 2/23/08. Clear golden brew with nice white head. I didn’t detect a lot of aroma from this. Body is perhaps on the light side of medium, with crisp carbonation. Bready malts with hops nicely balanced in. The finish isn’t completely dry, and has some graininess to it. A cousin of US macro lagers, but much tastier. I probably would enjoy it even more in summer, but it isn’t merely a lawnmower beer.

April 2006 - Rating this according to style, this is incredible. Didn’t realize I forgot to rate this, but this is one incredible smooth, rich, full tasting beer. #1 in style for a reason...don’t pass by because it is a "standard" brew.

Pours a pale gold, light head. Aroma is malty, a bit nutty, with hints of light citrus. Taste is hoppy with a roasty sweetness to it (if that makes any sense). A bitterness lingers briefly, but the finish is relatively clean and feels crisp on the palate. Not the most complex dort and certainly not the best offering by GLB, but not a bad drink. Locally, this is available on tap in anything above a dive bar and is certainly miles ahead of the typical draught offerings.

Medium golden color, frothy white head. A mostly malty nose with hints of mildly roasted grain and faint citrus. Light bodied and easily drinkable. Finishes short and clean.

(Bottle) Pours a clear golden color with only a small amount of head. The aroma is muted, and includes some grain and toffee. Taste includes a good amount of hops. Sweet notes as well. Although this was quite good for the style, it was lacking in originality.

The ’gold’ dortmunder pours a apricot bronze with a decent head and good lacing but doesn’t hide its alcohol presence well and isnt’ as perfectly balanced as the commercial description would have you believe. Still, a good example of a drinkable style of this central German style.

This is not the most complex beer in the shed, nor the most exciting, but it’s better than a lager, and fuller. Very round flavors of wheat, almost grainy like oatmeal, but with slight honey and sweetness. This beer is genius because you could easily get your big dumb friends hooked on it instead of Bud or Miller, then after a few months say "Hey, try this Blackout Stout. It’s by the people who do the Dortmunder Gold." After a couple of those they’ll be drinking real beer.

Bottle. Please enjoy by: 02/18/08. A pale copper pour with a one finger-thick light-tan head. Caramel, brown sugar and sweet corn in the aroma. Medium-bodied and excellent balance. Nicely crisp and clean-tasting. Sweet caramel and brown sugar flavors upfront. A somewhat dry, roasty, grainy bitterness at the end with a surprising touch of alcohol in both flavor and warmth. Solid stuff.