Great Lakes Imperial Dortmunder - 20th Anniversary Beer

Brewed by Great Lakes Brewing Company
Style: European Strong Lager
Cleveland, Ohio USA

Bottle poured into my Pilsner glass. It produced a good two fingers worth of white fluffy head on top of a golden brown body. A nice biscuit and malt aromas’ fill up my nose with a very light hop presence as well. Great flavor on this brew are fantastic plus the fact that it is nice and light in the mouth with good carbonation. Flavors of sweet malts with enough bitter hops to keep it from being overly sweet. I could drink a 4 pack of this easily but not all at once. Great drinking brew, I really didn’t notice the alcohol in the flavor but it did catch up to me in the end

12oz bottle courtesy of some visiting friends - thanks, Erin and Sarah! Crisp golden pour, with an obviously lively body producing a substantive head. Aroma is faintly grassy, but overpowered a bit by some fairly odd combination of biscuit malts and movie popcorn butter. Hmm. The taste is, thankfully, more on the malty side with some slight bittering notes in the finish. Better than some I’ve had but it’s just not a style that resonates much with me.

12 oz. bottle courtesy of Summer Secret Santa. Pours a clear gold with a moderate-large linen white head that lasted through the first third of the glass and left very light lace. Light aroma of malt with some caramel sweetness. Very nice, rich, malt flavor with some caramel as well. Some mild bitterness at the finish. A pleasant biscuit flavor emerges in the aftertaste. Mouthfeel is nearly full with some silky caramel and a bit of tingle from the hops. Enjoyable!

Bottle thanks to miketd, thanks Mike! Poured an attractive clear yellow-copper color with a thick off-white head that retained well and left some nice lacing. Sweet bready aroma with hints of honey and some light hops peeking through. Lightly spicy entry continues into a bready, doughy flavor with some light undertones of honey and a hint of caramel leading into a lighting spicy, floral hoppiness that finishes moderately dry. Nice mouthfeel. I was actually pretty impressed with this beer, nice effort from GL.

Appearance: Pours a clear, lovely amber body with a small, frothy, white head. Smell: Candyish, toffee-like maltiness, slightly bready, along with a spicy hop scent. Taste: Rich malts tasting of toffee and honey and having a sugary candyish sweetness. A bit bready, even a bit grainy. Hint of alcohol. Spicy Noble-type hops with a restrained bitterness. The whole thing tries to dry out, but it still finishes somewhat sweet and syrupy. Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Medium carbonation. Sadly, it’s a tad cloying. Drinkability: Lacks the refreshing qualities and overall enjoyment of it’s non-imperial kin. Worth a try, I suppose, but I’d take a Dortmunder Gold over this any day of the week.

Bottle: The aroma is a little weak. There is some light graininess, honey, and grass. It pours a transparent copper with a small off-white head that quickly fades to a film. The flavor starts moderately sweet with honey. Moderate cereal grain backbone. The finish has moderate grassy bitterness with a touch of citrus barely sneaking in there. Alcohol is slightly noticeable. Medium bodied with a slightly syrupy mouthfeel and some lively and somewhat tingly carbonation. For me, the aroma is what hurts the final score. I enjoyed this much more than I anticipated.

12oz bottle from my secret santa. Pours a slightly cloudy, but mostly clear, golden orange with a tiny bit of lace. Nose is better than expected. Not too sweet. Some pale malts, a bit of wheat. Flavor is where this one goes downhill. Somewhat hoppy, fruity and sweet but not in a good way. A good dosing of alcohol in there as well and I’m drinking it pretty damn cold. Not as bad as many of the imperial pilseners I’ve had that fit into this style, but still not really my thing. Slightly cloying with some straw and sugary syrup in the finish accompanied by some mild bitterness. I actually am enjoying this more than I thought and it is not that different than I expected it to be so I can’t complain too much. I’d probably drink this again, but there are so many beers out there this one might get lost in the fray.

12oz Bottle. Soft wheaty-malt nose, with a touch of salt and almonds. Quiet. Pours a crystal clear golden orange, with a good soapy lace in white. Flavor is rich and fruity. Good body, light strawberry and plum sugars, a bit of alcohol and lots of softness. Good carbonation carries a little extra flavor. Otherwise, I’m not sure trading away quaffability and refreshing drinkability was worth the slight increase in flavor. Otherwise, interesting. Finish on a mint leaf amongst the fruity profile. Thanks Sean!