Great Lakes Locktender Lager

Formerly brewed at Great Lakes Brewing Company
Style: Dortmunder/Helles
Cleveland, Ohio USA

Serve in Lager glass

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Clear golden with a puffy white head. Weak musty hop and dry malt aroma. Standard dry, bland lager body. Little flavor, but smooth. A little disappointed by Great Lakes on this beer.

This is the first GLBC beer with which I have not been very impressed. This is good for a standard Lager I suppose, but not really for a Helles. Dortmunder Gold really blows this one away. Pours a darker good color with a medium thin head. Quick lacing and the head did not last very long. Aroma is somewhat sweet malt, with a little hops as well. Rather light with a decent malt profile, along with a light hops presence. The finish is light hops. The beer is definitely easy to drink but it is not challenging in any way.

The last time I tasted this much apple in a beer was drinking that bock im stein thing long ago. That was a good beer, largely becuase of that appley flavor. In this beer, it doesn't seem like such a good thing. With their excellent Dortmunder Gold, in fact, this one seems superfluous. Has both mealy apple sweetness and cidery notes.

Clear golden. Foamy white head. A refreshing lager if a bit plain. Quite hoppy with a slight pleasant fruity sweetness in the background. I like this well enough but I'm gonna stick with the Dortmunder.

More interesting than the average lager, this version pours to a golden hue, with a minimal white head and light malty aroma. Drinks almost like a wheat beer, and shares many characteristics with the Wolnzacher Hell I recently rated, although it is neither as complex or as smooth (this probably due to the GL Helles having more carbonation). I prefer Dortmunder Gold, but Locktender beats most boring lagers.

A very light lager. Mild aroma but it is very smooth. Perfect easy drinking beer. Not a strong flavor but good...This is not my favorite from them but average.

UPDATED: AUG 18, 2004 A delicious Helles - superbly malted, with incredible crisp hopping, hay juice + "skunk" - I love this! Big big tettnager and huge pale malt deliciousness. Exactly as a great Helles should be.

Straw yellow and quickly fading head, no lacing, thin-bodied. Mild aroma with fruity hints. Soapy taste ruined this beer for me, disappointing from such a well respected microbrewery. Try the Dortmunder Gold.

Very light golden colour, even for a lager it was too light. The aroma was made up of a slight hoppyness and some good smelling fruit. While this aroma was pleasant, it was also very mild. The taste was twice as mild as the aroma. I don't believe I tasted much other than a very basic hop and malt flavouring. I loved Great Lakes' other beers, but this was a pretty big disapointment, even for a Lager! Try the Burning River if you are looking for some good flavours.

Where's the flavor? This beer is rather boring compared to GL Dortmunder Gold. This beer needs more malty flavor. Disappointing, considering the other offerings by Great Lakes.