Brewery: Appalachian Brewing Company, Camp Hill, PA

Brewery Description: “The Dortmunder-Export style of beer was developed in Westfalen, Germany, and is a classic light lager with great character. This style boasts a light golden blonde color and exhibits a moderate hop palate. The finish of our Mountain Lager is rich yet mellow.
Our brewers have developed this beer as a tribute to the Appalachian Mountains where we live and play.”

Brew Style: Dortmunder/Export Lager, 4.5% ABV

Recommended Glassware: Flute, Pilsner, Lager

The Ugly Truth: So I’m finally getting around to reviewing this beer. I’ve been dragging my feet on it since I didn’t like the first two bottles of it I had, so I wasn’t in a rush to drink the third and do the review. This is the second Dortmunder I’ve reviewed, the first being Baltika #7, so I’m not sure if this was really a bad beer or that I just don’t like the style. We’ll assume its a bad beer.

ABC Mountain Lager was just plain forgettable in every aspect for me. The aroma was rather undistinctive, with a low hops aroma, a bit of malty sweetness and overall a bit grainy to me. Good color though, displaying a clear burnished gold with a long lasting white head on it. I found the flavor to be bland. Neither the hops or the malt flavors dominate, which is according to the style, but even those flavors present were anything enjoyable. The mouthfeel was light-medium to medium with a moderate level of carbonation. To me the flavor seemed weak and slick overall. It was smooth, only because no strong flavors presented themselves throughout the taste. There was a touch of sweetness to the finish, that lingered a bit into the aftertaste. Overall, I think this beer lack pronounced flavor and crispness. I’m not a fan of this beer, though other sites have it rated fairly well (a B- on BeerAdvocate). Its possible that it may be the style isn’t to my liking, so again people should go give it a shot if they want to know for themselves.

Verdict: I’m going with a 5 out of 10 bottlecaps, with a 2 bottlecap error either way.