Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold - Great Lakes Brewing Company

JerzDevl2000

New Jersey

3.98/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Picked this up at the recently renovated ShopRite Liquors in Little Falls last week, having never had a Dortmunder before. This reminded me a bit of a Munich Helles Lager, but this wasn't as bright and had a bit more bite and biscuity malt to it. It took a bit of getting used to, but this was quite enjoyable and the alcohol wasn't detectable at all, leading this to be a beer that I had to pace myself drinking instead of downing it too quickly!

The pour to this was a dark golden with a frothy head and some lacing the slid down the sides of my pint glass after each sip. However, I wish the aroma was a bit stronger, as it was the only subpar feature of this beer. There was a bit of grass and bread to the nose, which was stronger in the taste. The mouthfeel was quite soapy and with lots of carbonation, led this to finish relatively clean after each sip. Because this beer had the look and feel of brass, it finished richly and the cracker-like malt here felt a bit burnt as it lingered well after the suds went down.

Thankfully, the alcohol was spot-on but I wish this had a bit more hops here or some wheat to fill this out a bit. While this wasn't an empty-feeling taste, this wasn't what I was accustomed too and it was a bit darker than the average lager in a few ways. It's probably me, as there are so few examples of this style on the shelf these days but on its own, this is an enjoyable beer that deserves a wider audience, since it's quite enjoyable and likely to not offend anyone.

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2013 09:01:48 | More by JerzDevl2000

superspak

Michigan

4.23/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 ounce bottle into lager glass, best before 5/8/2013. Pours lightly hazy golden amber color with a 1-2 finger dense white head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Spotty soapy lacing clings down the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of pear, apple, grape, pepper, floral, grass, bread, cracker, honey, and herbal earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance of hop, malt, and moderate ester notes; with good strength. Taste of bread, toast, cracker, pear, apple, pepper, floral, grass, light honey, and herbal earthiness. Lingering notes of light fruits, bread, toast, pepper, floral, honey, and herbal earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Fantastic balance of bready malt and spicy hop flavors; with light-moderate fruity ester notes and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a smooth and crisp mouthfeel that is very nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a slight warming after the finish. Overall this is a highly excellent Dortmunder as expected. Great balance of hop and malt flavor; extremely smooth and crisp to drink. A highly enjoyable offering.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2013 04:26:41 | More by superspak

Bitter_Echo

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pours a clear, crisp, polished bronzy prismatic beauty! A real looker! Fine foamy and prominent lacing throughout with large oceans of clear glass. Smells bready, earthy, hidden, sweet notes. A great, fine smeller, some pine notes too, fine, hidden. Tastes lager all the way...a rich, malty, cleansing, fizzy, foamy, slick drink with a good high note and the finest piney hoppiness that lingers like a mild IPA. Bolder for the style, for sure. You'll drink this fast. I like this one. I'd heft six for sure. A buy again.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2013 01:06:03 | More by Bitter_Echo

TeamMathis

West Virginia

4/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Clear. Yellowish gold.
Smell: Honey.
Taste: Honey biscuits.
Mouthfeel: Spritzy and carbonated.

This is perhaps the best of this style that I've ever had. The smell and taste is nice honey, but the taste presents that familiar biscuit goodness. The spritzy carbonation almost burns the tongue (obviously not burns, but a strong tingle). This is excellent. I would probably get this again.

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2013 03:39:03 | More by TeamMathis

Thaddeus

Michigan

3.61/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Appearance: Bright golden-amber. White head, bout a finger in size.

Aroma & Taste: Round maltiness with roasted straw. Slight hops to it, but barely. Also had slight caramel notes and a nuttiness to it.

The hops mixed well with the malt, added a slight dryness to the beer, but not to much since it still had a refreshing mouthfeel.

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2013 13:44:59 | More by Thaddeus

gr0g

New Jersey

3.44/5  rDev -16.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Golden-amber in color with high clarity. About a finger of foam caps it off, leaving some ragged lacing on the glass. Faint aroma of grain and floral hops. A swirl of the glass is needed to rouse any character. Bready, with floral overtones. Not much here.

Crisp, malt-forward flavor profile. There's a pretty good malt backbone here, but it's not as malty as say, Eliot Ness. Bready, cracker-like notes dominate. Hops add a moderate bitterness, but otherwise don't contribute much.

Great Lakes has done a good job with an admittedly boring style. I've not met a Helles or Dortmunder that really interested me all that much, but if I had to pick one, this would be on my short list.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2013 23:14:04 | More by gr0g

jtierney89

New Jersey

3.65/5  rDev -11.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Gold indeed, bright brassy golden hue with brilliant clarity and a bright white head. Toasty biscuity malt on the nose.

Clean tasting with a buttery rich character up front, toasted bread character. Faint hop character tries to come through the malt but doesn't incredibly and instead clashes with the malt flavors in an off way. Finishes with a lingering toasty and bitter flavor. Drinkable but not crazy about it. Perhaps if it was a touch hoppier it might work a bit better for me but overall pretty nice toasty lager.

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2013 20:03:31 | More by jtierney89

armiakhe

Michigan

2.83/5  rDev -31.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Overall, when i saw this beer the appearance was very nice with a Gold/Brown Appearance. The aroma was a little grainy and bready with a tad bit of bitterness to it. The mouthfeel was very heavy in my opinion and it tasted very thick and bitter. Overall i thought it was average.

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2013 18:54:18 | More by armiakhe

mecummins

Illinois

4.2/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

A- poured a true, deep golden yellow with a 2 1/2 finger off white head. Billowy foam settles to a thick layer for almost all if the drink

S- light smell with grainy and yeast notes. Sweet but balanced nicely by the earthy hops

T- sweet (but not too much) with yeast notes abundant. A bit of citrus (lemon) brightness and the earthy bitterness from the hops really balances this lager

M- moderate mouthfeel with a crisp, not exactly dry, medium finish

O- very well done, easy to drink lager.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2013 23:33:47 | More by mecummins

Durtdiggler

Illinois

4.13/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Poured from 12oz bottle into Pilsner glass. A more amber hued gold with alot of effervescence and a 2 finger head with alot of retention, lacing covers the glass from top to bottom as you finish. Extremely clear.

Aroma is slightly grainy, bready with some sweetness and typical contentental hops. Hops are very forward. Definitely has that pungent noble hop malt aroma.

Taste is not too grainy and a bit sweeter, which I like. All balanced with hops but real nice sweet bread malt backbone. Not too much Munich malt versus others.

Mouthfeel is medium, very rounded and fulfilling. A sessionable lager but statisgying feel.

I'm not a huge lager fan, more into APAs, IPAs but this is probably the best that I have tasted. Most lagers are too grainy and biscuity with no hops but the hop profile is more pronounced and has a nice sweetness to it as well. The aroma is outstanding for this type. I'll be keeping this on hand for summers.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2013 23:33:02 | More by Durtdiggler

Beerandboards

New Mexico

3.6/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle

A - looks quite nice. golden color, dense white head, leaves large amount of lacing.

S - smells like... a lager. Nothing interesting or wow, nothing bad.

T - again, tastes like a lager should. Clean and crisp, little depth. Creamy in a way. Lagers just dont do it for me.

M - good, medium carbonation. Again, creamy type feel.

O - Lagers just dont do it for me. As lagers go, this one is good, but I just dont like it. I know that ratings are supposed to be based on the style, based on that, this rating should be rated higher. However, I cant depart from the ultimate arbiter of the rating being, would I order this again, and I just wouldnt. A reflection of my personal taste, not any knock on the beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2013 21:38:02 | More by Beerandboards

SportsandJorts

Michigan

3.58/5  rDev -12.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Type: 12 oz bottle
Glass: Pint

Appearance: a yellow/ dull gold color. perfect clarity. a finger or so of almost white head. leaves a touch of lacing behind

Smell: grassy, lager yeast

Taste: yeast, touch of wheat, some sweet malts, light hops, definitely grassy. nice complexity but overly grassy and doesn't balace quite right

Mouthfeel: light, crisp, refreshing.

Overall: This one doesn't do it for me. I expect a lot from Great Lakes and this one let me down a little. but hey not all year rounds can be above a 4. still nice and drinkable but much better offerings from great lakes.

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2013 00:00:41 | More by SportsandJorts

FosterJM

California

3.85/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

1751st Review on BA
Bottle to Bavarian Lodge Tulip
12oz

Best by 3/26/13
Purchased at Binnys Forest Park, IL

App- A deep and rust colored brown with a bit of gold and amber mixed in. A lot of bubbles coming up from the nucleus on the bottom of the glass. A big and puffy 2 finger head that was pure white. A great amount of cling and lace.

Smell- A bit too grainular for me. A bit of corn intermixed with some sweet malts and then balanced out by a bit of earthy bitter hops.

Taste- A nice and crisp lager. Drinks a bit fuller than I thought. A little bit of caramel. Balanced out by some corn and a little bit of bitter hops. A nice well rounded beer with a little bit of a grassy yeast flavor.

Mouth- A bit of a creamy full medium body with a medium carbonation. A bit full and thick. A fuller corn and yeasty grassy flavor on the finish.

Drink- This was good. Im not a lager guy by any means. I enjoyed it. Full, thick and a bit malty. Great Lakes makes some good beers.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2013 04:03:14 | More by FosterJM

TastyAdventure

Kentucky

3.28/5  rDev -20.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.5

Appearance - glowing gold around the edge with close to an extremely light amber in the middle. nice 1 and half finger head that is lacey and sticks beautifully to the glass all the way down.

Smell - nothing too special here. at first I thought it was any old lager, but upon second sniffing found a tasty lemon pasta smell.

Taste - seems like an average lighter lager, just brewed by someone who put a little more love into it. nice balance of hops. no particularly special tastes of malt detected. slight dry finish. Not a beer I would drink for the sheer enjoyment of it. Nor one I would buy a six pack of, regardless of intentions. I'd definitely take one if offered to me though!

Mouthfeel - slightly velvety smooth. very pleasurable.

Overall, an average lager with not much to offer except for the surprisingly velvety smooth mouthfeel

Serving type: bottle

02-15-2013 23:10:56 | More by TastyAdventure

JPlo

Maryland

4.38/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Gold color, hazy, Head is rocky with great lacing, and above avg lasting

Feel: Medium body with creamy carbonation. finish is lasts above avg and wet.
Velvety start and a crisp finish.

Smell/Taste: abundance of flavor. grainy, sweet, biscuity malt. Hops floral and piney. There is a robust balance of flavors.

Overall impression: Very well balanced with very good amount of flavor for it's style. This is not a style I jump at, and overall, this is not a beer that will rank real high on my overall list. BUT, given the style, it is great.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2013 19:12:20 | More by JPlo

beergoot

Colorado

4.01/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Crystal clear orange-amber body with a thin head. Dry bread aroma notes; biscuit. Smooth, medium-body with a warm, biscuit malt character that is nicely complemented with an even bitterness throughout. Clean, dry finish.

A right tasty little number from Great Lakes Brewing Company. Well-balanced and nice complexity of ingredients make this a flavorful without being overpowering. I need to see about getting my relatives in Ohio to periodically ship some to me in the future...

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2013 22:00:57 | More by beergoot

thegodfather1076

Ohio

4.53/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Presentation: Typical GLB label containing a good deal of information on the beer including a small description, ABV info, and and Enjoy By date, cool and original label graphics, states that it is a GABF Gold Medal Winner, and info on the brewery. Neck label has a very nice description of the beer.

Appearance: I chose to pour this 12oz bottle into a 14oz Pokal glass. Dortmunder Gold pours out a clear golden amber with a 2 finger white foam head of a lighter density. Head retention was 4min 7sec and it never fully dissipated but faded into a thick foam coating which resulted in excellent lacing.

Smell/Aroma: Smells of sweet malts, slight wheat, and a slightly grassy earthy tones. Nice, Simple, and spot on aroma.

Flavor/Taste: Very malty flavor with hints of sweetness and the same earthy, wheaty, and grassy tones that are in the aroma. A wonderful grassy herbal hop bitterness hits the palette next followed up by malt sweetness on the back end.

MouthFeel/Drinkability: Medium bodied with an above average amount of carbonation. Smooth, crisp, and refreshing. Very drinkable.

Overall/Comments: Finally reviewing this after having many many times. Excellent in every aspect from. Great flavor, aroma, presentation, and mouth feel. Classified as Dortmunder/Export Lager at 5.8% ABV. Consumed 12-27-12.

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2013 10:45:12 | More by thegodfather1076

sommersb

Tennessee

3.9/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Tasted On: 01-13-2013
Freshness: Best by 03-16-2013
Packaging: 12 oz. brown bottle
Glassware: Shaker pint
Purchased: 6-pack from Chuck's, Bowling Green, KY

Appearance is a clear, bright amber with a nice-sized white head. Lacing is fair, with a good level of head retention. Smells are of grassy hops, pale malts and spices.

Has a sharp taste, with a moderate amount of bittering from the hops. Bready, but dry and not sweet. Mouthfeel is clean, with a light to medium body and high carbonation. Finishes dry and with bitter, grassy hops. A little bit of vegetable aftertaste.

This isn't a style I'm very crazy about, but Great Lakes put out a solid lager nonetheless.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2013 21:40:00 | More by sommersb

FUwolfpacker

South Carolina

4.34/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

12 oz bottle. Best by date of 2/6/13. Poured into a snifter. Brought back to SC by a friend who was in Cleveland over New Year's.

A: Beautiful, clear, gold color. White head, about 1 finger's worth. Good head retention with mild lacing.

S: Fresh baked sweet bread, malty, slight citrus aroma too.

T: Clean, crisp, bready/malty. Slight twang at the end from the hops that creates a nice, dry finish. Full of flavor but still light and drinkable. No doubt this is a lager. One of the better lager's I've had though.

M: Light-medium body but definitely not watered down like some lagers I've tried. Good, crisp carbonation.

D: Incredibly drinkable. Would be enjoyed by both macro and micro beer drinkers. Could easily put down a few of these with no trouble. Not a huge lager fan, but I could drink this one any time with ease. Definitely try if you get a chance.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2013 05:11:57 | More by FUwolfpacker

CynthiaNutHatch

3.6/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

A- Sufficiently Dark Gold, Pale head about 1 finger.

S- Light hoppy smell with vague sense of sweetness, maybe honey

T- Some hops, bread flavor with some type of subtle sweet malt. Crisp at first then subtly fades into a pleasant aftertaste.

M-Medium carbonation/body.

Overall- Very well balanced, hoppy overtones with very subtle sweetness that allows for a wellbodied dortmunder. I would reccomend this beer for anyone who is trying to experience the classical Great Lakes style with the very traditional German Dortmunder style beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2012 05:07:37 | More by CynthiaNutHatch

TheMultiYeast

Pennsylvania

3.78/5  rDev -8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Nearly clear golden yellow with a finger of creamy white head and lots of lacing.

Sweet, malty biscuit aroma, some floral hop notes

Really clean flavors goin on. Light hop notes, mild bitterness all balanced by sturdy malts.

Easy to drink and incredibly clean..great to session.

More good stuff from Great Lakes.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2012 02:25:55 | More by TheMultiYeast

socon67

New York

4.68/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

A - Golden pour with a high white foam that looks soapy and clings to the glass more than it laces. Small bubbles of carbonation move about.

S - Smells of fresh grain bread, honey, and pale malts.

T - Crisp taste that has notes of wheat, honey, and noble hops. For a relatively light style this has an incredible amount of flavor. I'd put this against any of its Eurpean counterparts. Finishes with a subtle amount of bitterness.

M - Easy drinking, and has a sandpaper grit on the tongue. Light bodied, but plenty of flavor.

O - I really enjoy how Great Lakes can make solid representations of basic styles. I would take this over plenty of comparable German imports. Just need to make another trip upstate to get this.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2012 18:37:26 | More by socon67

ColdWaffles

Pennsylvania

4.18/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a standard pint.

Appearance: Dark golden color with a steady off white head. Slight lacing on the glass. Looks the part.

Smell: Didn't pick up almost anything. I'll chalk this up to my nose, but I haven't had any problems today. A second sniff or 10 yielded a slightly 'sweet' pickup and some malts.

Taste: This is a good lager, an d that's not really my thing. Excellent malt/hops balance, slightly hoppy on the way down, but overall incredibly balanced. Very pleasant.

Mouthfeel: Relatively light, with appropriate carbonation levels.

I could see myself drinking this regularly, and I might end up doing that. This is a really good go-to lager.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2012 02:24:43 | More by ColdWaffles

mfnmbvp

Illinois

2.9/5  rDev -29.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12 oz. bottle, bottle says to "enjoy by 01/21/2013"

A - Extremely thin orange looking color. Very see-through. Pale, fluffy, draft-looking head on top, chilling for a minute.

S - Malts and wheat. Not too much else happening with this beer. It is a lager, so I was expecting it to be somewhat blah, though.

T - Straight up wheat, malts, and plain old great lakes water. Maybe a little bit of a honey after taste somewhere.

M - The tiny bit of carbonation gives the tongue a nice tingle after the last sip has gone down. No real flavor was there in the first place to linger on for a bit, though.

Overall, not impressed. Probably the lamest beer I've had from Great Lakes so far, who usually knows how to brew a tasty beer. Being a lager, I knew I wouldn't be a big fan in the first place, so I stayed away, but we got a sampler pack so I had to try it. Well-made, but not a favorite at all.

Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold ----3/5

Serving type: bottle

12-12-2012 01:56:16 | More by mfnmbvp

CloudStrife

New York

4.15/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

12oz bottle poured into a tulip. Freshest by 02/09/13.

A: Pours a clear perfect golden with a 2 finger dense white head. Not much visible carbonation, may be the glass. Leaves some impressive lacing.

S: Has a pale malt aroma with a slight touch of piney hop. Solid breadiness. Real pleasant lagery smell, must be the yeast?

T: Light malty taste that is very smooth and balanced. Has some hop bite to it but ends with a nice bready taste that leaves you wanting more.

M: Light on the palate, ample carbonation. Real sessionable. Leaves a fairly clean finish.

Overall although not a beer I would normally turn to, this is always one I have thought is amazing. Would highly recommend it to anyone getting started in craft beer as well as the older generation.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2012 00:24:03 | More by CloudStrife