Judge’s Review: 88 Rating – Gold Dot by Heater Allen Brewing Co.

Munich Helles | Year-Round | USA

By John C. Tull

Judges Rating: 88.00
Aroma: 23.00
Appearance: 5.00
Flavor: 34.00
Mouthfeel: 9.00
Overall Impression: 17.00

Gold Dot has an appropriate malty aroma of soft grain notes with clean and mild lager yeast breadiness. Supporting notes of traditional noble hops lend some earthiness and mild floral character to the nose. The color is light straw and very clear. A light head of white bubbles manages to cling the edges of the glass.
The flavor mimics the aroma, though the hop herbal and floral characters are now more apparent than the subtle malt flavor. The bitterness in the finish lingers a bit beyond the restrained sweetness of the malt. The mouth has an impression of fullness from the malt, though is medium-low in terms of viscosity on the palate (and the glass).
Overall this is a very good lager, though the hop flavor and bitterness are a little too forward for a traditional Munich Helles as the hops tend to dominate the malt rather than the other way around. That said, it is a really enjoyable lager that plays slightly towards the accentuation of hops in comparison to the tradition of this style. Although the score doesn’t perfectly line up with stylistic expectations, I find this to be a wonderful beer that is very quaffable. Seek it out for its enjoyment over stylistic perfection.