It’s not terribly surprising, given the reputation of Lager in general, that this Two Brothers Dortmunder Style brew is one of the first of this classification to be reviewed on the blog so far. While rightfully vilified American Standard Lagers aren’t likely to grace these pages, many excellent examples of beer styles whose means of production rely on bottom-fermenting yeasts are made here in America, as well as comprising many of the oldest and most respected beers around the world. I myself, in the nascent days of my beer nerd-dom was heard to proclaim in some form or another that I “don’t drink Lager” and “prefer Ales.” Regardless of this naive and typical proclamation, I digress. Back to the brew at hand.
Two Brothers is a brewery from the Chicago area that has made a splash here in New York City with its wide range of excellent renditions of many styles of beer, Ale and Lager alike. While this is far from the first of their beers, which range in style from Belgian Farmhouse Ales to this Dortmunder Style Lager, that I’ve tried, it struck me that Two Brothers has really outdone itself with this, arguably the most humble style it has tackled. Dortmunder style Lagers were amongst the first German Lagers to be consumed en masse in Europe — a German take on the Czech Pilsen beer, the “Export” Lager version of this beer, at a slightly higher ABV than other varieties, caught on and eventually molded all Lagers from that point on. The Two Brothers version is a crisp and refreshing beer, with all kinds of subtle flavors going on — spicy, sweet, citrusy, and more. Mostly though, this is one of the most drinkable and tasty beers that I’ve had in a long time in terms of sheer drinkability. The Dog Days beer is perfect for summer days, where you want your beer to have some real flavor, but you want to drink a lot, and you don’t want to be praying for death the next morning. This has all of those qualities, and it pours a beautiful, perfectly carbonated golden color with a big white head and all the smells you could hope for in a beer. An excellent take on an under-investigated style and another winner for Two Brothers.
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