Two Brothers Dog Days Dortmunder Style Lager

Brewed by Two Brothers Brewing Company
Style: Dortmunder/Helles
Warrenville, Illinois USA

12 oz bottle (best by 11/24/2004): clear honey with a constant flow of bubbles into a wonderfully persistent off white head. Sour hay aroma with an interesting sour, honey-dew quality that mixes pretty well with the underlying hops. Bittersweet hop flavour that turns a bit malty through the finish. Long, sour red apple aftertaste. This would be a refreshing treat on a hot, humid day.

Golden pour with huge rocky head. Way over-carbonated. Toasty, grainy malt aroma. Flavor is well balanced with a grassy bitterness. Nothing special.

Golden hue with huge foamy head and very good lace. The aroma hints of grassy and noble hops, toasted caramel malts, light apple, and dusty yeast esters. The taste starts with a bittersweet combonation, good use of hops and malts to create a crisp and refreshing palate. Some heavier bitter qualities (mostly grapefruit rind) and yeast nature appear on the finish. The mouthfeel is lively, clean and crisp, just like it should be. If looking for a nice summertime beer in Chicago area, this and Goose Island’s Dortmunder should be on the top of your list.

Head is big and foamy, color is clear golden. Aroma is next to nothing: dry, vegetal,herbal, a touch floral, and fresh. The palate is quite dull, lacks any kind of nuance, or any sort of spark. I’ll be the first to label me a non-lager lover, but this just has nearly nil to speak for itself, and while I can imagine it’s handiness as the proverbial "lawnmower beer", that’s not quite enough. Blah. Just blah...

Lot 1963 Large creamy slightly offwhite head, clear yellow body. Very nice, fresh, pleasant aroma that was a little too light. Had some bread, citrusy hops (grapefruit and lemon), and I think some pineapple (sort of fake candy pineapple) and banana. Flavor is kind of the same with a light sweet ruby red grapefruit and a more bitter finish. Some kind of malt is in there as well. Very good flavor. Hops aren't like an IPA, but are very good, and the malt made it a winner.

Bottled 8/26/2003 (Lot 1963).

Clear golden color with a slight red tint. Creamy white head that clings to the side of the glass. Plenty of bubble action. Light bready aroma with some equally light floral/citrusy hops. Very pleasant. Light yet firm mouthfeel. I know there's malt in the flavor, I just can't pick it out. There's just sort of a gap where there would otherwise have been more hops (OK, there's a dollop of caramel). Speaking of hops, that's definitely the focal point of this brew. Pine and dandelion. This is a well-executed beer with generous hopping. I don't totally enjoy the hop's flavor, but I give them credit for putting a generous amount in.

It's not exactly the dog days at the time of this rating, but I didn't think 3 months or so of additional rest would do this beer a lot of good. Flowery, fruity aroma, with notes of perfume, lemony citrus, herbal hop and honey. Lightly hazy straw yellow color, a moderate amount of effervescence to feed the head. Fruity, leafy hop flavor, citric and juicy, with a small amount of countering sweetish maltiness. Finish is cleanly refreshing and is the focal point for the fair amount of bitterness present. Light-medium bodied, drying substantially. Far more interesting and subtle than anticipated. Allow to warm to approx. 50 deg. F for optimum results.

Bingo. Perfect. The description here says "winter seasonal" are you sure it's not summer seasonal? If so, this held up well. It has exactly that Q-factor I find in Kraftbrau: something related to the lemony, grassy hop flavor that drives me crazy. Elegent hop aroma--restrained, but perfect in its own small universe. A great mix of hops and malt in the mouth--though tending more toward the former. Finishes rather bitter. This Dortmunder is a bit lighter on malt and heavier on hops than I'm used to, but I totally dig it. Brewed especially for me. Reader, you will not like this nearly as much as I do. Capt. Cougar, that trading genius, picked this out for me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.