Dortmunder Union Export (5.3% ABV)

This clear, light gold export has a ghost of hops on the nose, and a green, mildly astringent taste with light lager malts to the fore.

It finishes dryly and is vigorously carbonated, yet retains a gentle mouth-feel.

I have a number of German beers lined up to sample of different classes, and am faced with the question of how best to rate them. The scores presented therefore have to signify how characteristic the beer is of its type, but also how the brew ranks against those ales I have sampled over the preceding year.

In this regard, I'd imagine that a mid-80s score is about as high as many of these beers could realistically attain. Excellent though many of them are, in general they do not have the depth of interest that Belgian beers display, and to that end it would seem inappropriate to score them any higher.

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