In case you haven’t noticed, this is the time of year I like to brew my pale lagers. I got into the habit before I had real refrigerant-fueled temperature control and had to rely on the cold-spot-in-the-basement-near-the-sump-pit routine. I noticed that I was able to get away with a little more in terms of warmth when I was making the amber and darker lagers and there was some caramel or roast to hide behind, so we brewed those as we approached spring. But for the pale lagers, I really needed the coldest temps I could manage to ensure they didn’t show a whiff of esters. Well, I eventually secured a chest freezer to act as a fermentation chamber, but by then I was sort of used to thinking “pale lager” when the February and March snowstorms hit and I had the time to dive into them. And when we think of “pale lager,” we should really think of the Cadillac of pale lagers: the Dortmunder export.
Style
When I described this beer to someone once, I said that it was like a strong German Pilsner. Their response was, “Then how is it different from a Maibock?” It stuck in my memory because it was a pretty astute observation, and the answer is that although they share some attributes (a strong-ish but not strong lager, pale, a bit more hops than their darker cousins), the difference is in the balance of the attributes. Maibock is rounder and maltier than the export, despite their similarity in grist. In a Maibock, the hops are there to ensure the beer doesn’t get too sweet—in the export, they’re there as a flavor all their own as well.
The Dortmunder export is just as pale as…well, okay, maybe not quite as pale as a German Pils, but it’s close. It shouldn’t get anywhere near the “orange” range, and I’m not even especially comfortable with it in the “gold” range, either. Don’t give this beer any excuse to darken. It should be light and crisp with a bit of alcohol warmth, a great bready malt flavor, and moderate levels of noble hops spice and flowers. Of those, I’m going to suggest that you focus on ensuring there’s plenty of alcohol—without it, the beer will seem like any other pale lager. The trick is to make sure there’s a flinty quality that accentuates the bittering—without it, the sweetness from the alcohol and the richness of the malt will become too much, and now you’re back in Maibock territory. Like many beers, this one’s a bit of a balancing act, but also like most beers, there’s an approach to increase your odds of getting that right balance!