In the spirit of the weekend, I decided to begin a weekly entry which spotlights a locally produced beer. Craft beer has been infiltrating the American beer culture and palate. As a result, the craft beer market is showing strong growth, even with a drop in overall beer sales last year. Furthermore, Cleveland has numerous microbreweries which produce a wonderful array of beers. Today, I will start with the flagship of Cleveland beers and a staple of the Cleveland beer diet, Great Lakes Brewing Company’s Dortmunder Gold.
The alternate seal for the City of Cleveland
Brewery: Great Lakes Brewing Company, Ohio City
Beer: Dortmunder Gold
Rating: ★★★★
The Dortmunder style originated from industrial regions in Germany (Dortmunder, Germany to be exact). The lager pulls off a delicate balance of hoppy and maltiness that doesn’t overwhelm most casual beer drinkers, which is probably why it is so popular. It has a sweet smell and a subtle floral aroma. The very smooth feel and the sweet flavor of the quality malt sightly reminds me of English ales, and the light dry bite in the finish leaves you craving another drink. It is a great break from the everyday American lagers and watered down “lights”.
Pick up a 6-pack for about $8.99. It’s a great buy for great quality. In fact, I drank a few while writing this blog… I wish I could do this every day!
BobGuy's Cleveland 
I had a good (Melbourne) local last night; Arctic Fox; I tried the English Pale but preferred their Lager. Quite good! -Unfortunately though, to score a Cleveland micro-brew would almost be impossible in Victoria!
Haha… maybe some day they will export. You’re missing out. I checked out the Arctic Fox website. Looks good and they’ve got some cool pic of building their custom brew tanks.
Dortmunder Gold
It’s not made in Ireland, I know,
But give this good lager a go,
You’ll be filled with wonder,
When tasting Dortmunder,
Thanks be to Great Lakes Brewing Co.
Couldn’t have said it better myself. haha
-Bob