Great Lakes 20th Anniversary Imperial Dortmunder

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

This beer was tried and reviewed in November 2008. The beer poured a golden copper colour, almost clear, with a creamy tan head. Aroma was cereal malt, floral hops, and some sweetness. The flavour is sweet, malty, with a hoppy finish. A very good beer.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Thanks to bluesandbarbq for a bottle of this most interesting beer. The idea of an 'imperial dortmunder' may sound oxymoronic but this is truly a credible interpretation. A beautiful deep-golden pour with a crisp white head that leave good lacing. A powerful nose of fresh grain and sweet malt with a bold, full sweet mouthfeel. Flavor is largely rich, sweet malt but with a background of nuts, grass, and floral/bitter hops. Taste is much like that of a maibock with dortmunder character; enhanced by the expert craftmmanship and creativity of this great brewer. MUSIC: 'Pride and Joy' by Stevie Ray Vaughan; "My babys lovin cause the sun to shine"

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Bottle: Poured a clear deep golden color lager with a large foamy head with average retention and some lacing. Aroma consists of sweet malt with some notes of dry Noble hops. Taste is also dominated by some sweet malt notes with a dry lightly bitter European dominated hops finish. Body is quite full for the style with good carbonation and no apparent alcohol. Not bad overall but I still think the regular version is more interesting then the imperial version.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6

October 2008 Bottle Date; Sampled August 2008
A vigorous pour produces a lot of foam in my 25cl tulip glass. Four fingers of light tan colored froth sits on top of a brilliantly clear red stained, light amber colored beer that shows a bright copper hue when held up to the light. The aroma smells of spicy, lightly herbal hops, distinct candied lemon peel, clean sweet malt, some grassy grain towards the end and a certain rich, underlying maltiness that is hard to pinpoint, but certainly a player. This is quite aromatic, expressive even and enjoyable to smell.

Sweet, though complex, malt greets me at the front of my first sip. The sweetness (a bit like an herbal honey note) continues throughout the flavor profile and in fact sticks to and with the palate in a long finish. Hops contribute a light herbal quality as well as a light bitterness that is mostly dominated by the sweet malt character. Thick and chewy without quite being cloying (though it gets awfully close at times), this definitely has enough of a viscous body to stick to the mouth. Clean, pale malt notes of crackers, concentrated sweet grain, a touch of grassiness, touches of toffee and sweet, whole-grain bread notes all play a prominent role here.

Nothing really wrong with the flavor of this beer, but it is just a bit too much and seems to be too far from the Dortmunder style of beer. I just don’t get a Dortmunder essence any more; too much of everything has turned this into something else. I am not sure what separates this from a Helles Doppelbock, though it is even on the sweet side for some of those. Certainly there is nothing wrong with the flavors here, it would have fared a bit better if labeled as a hells bock, but I am a bit disappointed in the end.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

20th Anniversary brew from Great Lakes. Noble idea as a tribute to their flagship beer the regular Dortmunder Gold. A genuinely unique concept and a solid offering that I did enjoy. Reddish-copper in color with a 1" fluffy off-white head. Sturdy carbonation and heavy lacing, this looks great. Fresh grains and a big cereal aroma with sweet, sugary rolls. Bread and grassy hops are present in the background. Medium bodied and fairly sweet on the palate. Finishes a touch tacky and the alcohol is slightly noticed. Overall it drinks well, but I feel it should be smoother. Plenty of flavor in this one, primarily of thick sweetened malts. Complimenting tastes of nuts, fresh baked rolls, caramel, and noble hops. As the beer warmed I was able to further detect brown sugar and plain cereal flavors. Strong Lager, Maibock, or Imperial Dortmunder...however you classify this it remains a nice and powerful lager with plenty of depth.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Pours a clear amber with a medium creamy head leaving some lacing. Good carbonation. Aromas of slightly toasted malts and a good hopness. Taste is very smooth and balanced with the toasted, biscuit-like malts up front and a good slight hops finish.