Lager
Dovetail Brewery
- From:
- Dovetail Brewery
- Illinois, United States
- Style:
- Helles
Ranked #19 - ABV:
- 4.8%
- Score:
- 91
Ranked #8,818 - Avg:
- 4.11 | pDev: 9.98%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 17
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Jan 24, 2026
- Added:
- May 26, 2016
- Wants:
- 6
- Gots:
- 9
SCORE
91
Outstanding
91
Outstanding
A golden, malty, rich, creamy complex lager with aroma of malt and fresh hops. Easy to drink with a lingering pleasant after-taste and foam that stands like a cloud above the rim of the glass; lacing at every sip.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by Gatch from Massachusetts
4.52/5 rDev +10%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
4.52/5 rDev +10%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Half liter pour at the brewery on a Friday so $2 off, not bad (especially at these prices). A good old-fashioned Helles with a classic yeast and seriously smooth finish. Quite fruity with a bit of a funky, sour character. Unique and drinkable, this could easily be a regular lager in the rotation.
Dec 22, 2023
Reviewed by GuyFawkes from Illinois
4.31/5 rDev +4.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.31/5 rDev +4.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Had this on draft 9/29/22 @ the Hopleaf.
Cloudy orange appearance.
Nice white head; nice lace.
Sourdough bread, raw wheat & faint lemon notes in the nose.
Creamy medium mouthfeel.
Raw wheat & cream flavors up front; faint lemon notes on the finish.
Soft, a bit rustic and quite enjoyable. Borderline incredible.
Oct 01, 2022Cloudy orange appearance.
Nice white head; nice lace.
Sourdough bread, raw wheat & faint lemon notes in the nose.
Creamy medium mouthfeel.
Raw wheat & cream flavors up front; faint lemon notes on the finish.
Soft, a bit rustic and quite enjoyable. Borderline incredible.
Reviewed by ovaltine from Indiana
4.19/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.19/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Beautiful golden straw color with a foamy white head and a slightly hazy body. Lots of bready malt and grassy hop aromas, which translate directly to the taste.
The mouthfeel is crisp and makes this an easily quaffable summer crusher. Only available on tap per the bartender at the brewery, if this was canned, I’d always have it in my beer fridge as my “lawnmower” beer.
May 09, 2022The mouthfeel is crisp and makes this an easily quaffable summer crusher. Only available on tap per the bartender at the brewery, if this was canned, I’d always have it in my beer fridge as my “lawnmower” beer.
Reviewed by Bshaw22 from Wisconsin
4.28/5 rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.28/5 rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Had on tap and some bar I stopped at on Randolph before the Lagwagon show at the Bottom Lounge.
Pour was a little hazy for a lager. Nice white head.
Flavor was on point. Crisp and clean and delicious. I nursed this and played some pin ball.
Dec 05, 2021Pour was a little hazy for a lager. Nice white head.
Flavor was on point. Crisp and clean and delicious. I nursed this and played some pin ball.
Reviewed by Todd from Finland
2.13/5 rDev -48.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2
2.13/5 rDev -48.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2
16oz can from @FBarber
Bright golden, touch of haze, and lively carbonation that initially produces a foamy head that quickly fizzes away to nothing. Biscuit and honey in the nose along with hints if diacetyl (buttery). Super fizzy on the palate with a smooth, fairly light body, and bit of chewiness in the back. Smack of lemon, sweet and toasty grains, and more biscuit and honey notes. Overwhelming buttery notes. Some metallic and earthiness. Dry, crackery finish.
I was really hoping to love this lager, but the head retention and diacetyl issues thwarted that from happening.
Aug 02, 2021Bright golden, touch of haze, and lively carbonation that initially produces a foamy head that quickly fizzes away to nothing. Biscuit and honey in the nose along with hints if diacetyl (buttery). Super fizzy on the palate with a smooth, fairly light body, and bit of chewiness in the back. Smack of lemon, sweet and toasty grains, and more biscuit and honey notes. Overwhelming buttery notes. Some metallic and earthiness. Dry, crackery finish.
I was really hoping to love this lager, but the head retention and diacetyl issues thwarted that from happening.
Reviewed by larryi86 from Delaware
3.95/5 rDev -3.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
3.95/5 rDev -3.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Thank you FBarber for this
16 oz can poured into a mug
A- A slightly hazy golden straw with a two finger white head.
S- Biscuits, sweet malts, earthy, touch of wet grass, hints of lemon.
T- Biscuits, wet grass, floral, earthy, some sweet malts.
M- Smooth, light to medium body.
O- A nice Helles, just a little heavy with the floral/grassy flavors for my taste.
Aug 01, 202116 oz can poured into a mug
A- A slightly hazy golden straw with a two finger white head.
S- Biscuits, sweet malts, earthy, touch of wet grass, hints of lemon.
T- Biscuits, wet grass, floral, earthy, some sweet malts.
M- Smooth, light to medium body.
O- A nice Helles, just a little heavy with the floral/grassy flavors for my taste.
Reviewed by MNJR from Illinois
4.53/5 rDev +10.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.53/5 rDev +10.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Dovetail makes two different brews, "Helles Lager" and "Lager." Not sure what is being reviewed here as the picture is of the Lager but the description says Helles Lager. They have both, and this review is of the "Lager."
Beautifully done with perfect flavors of sweet grain, lemon and the faintest hint of bitterness. This is possibly the best standard no-frills lager I have ever had. Superb, delicate and extremely satisfying. It pours with a raucous foam, so take it slow when pouring or you might get it a bit flat in the glass. If you are a fan of the most delicious subtleties that can be created in this style of beer you will find your dreams realized. A lager by which others can be judged.
Mar 06, 2021Beautifully done with perfect flavors of sweet grain, lemon and the faintest hint of bitterness. This is possibly the best standard no-frills lager I have ever had. Superb, delicate and extremely satisfying. It pours with a raucous foam, so take it slow when pouring or you might get it a bit flat in the glass. If you are a fan of the most delicious subtleties that can be created in this style of beer you will find your dreams realized. A lager by which others can be judged.
Reviewed by jrc1093 from Connecticut
4.41/5 rDev +7.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
4.41/5 rDev +7.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Canned on 12/11/20; consumed on 2/25/21
Pours a clear, golden honey-hued body ride with a casual effervescence and capped with multiple fingers of tight, fluffy, white foam; good head retention leaves a rocky, half-finger of cap, a moderate, frothy collar, and dense splotches of webby lacing spread along the walls of the glass.
Aroma offers a continued exposition of pale malt from the start, bringing white bread and water cracker upfront as slightly more hearty biscuit develops with bread dough cut with a touch of lemon zest over the middle; a slight bit of peppercorn and distant grass mark the back end of the bouquet as wet granite and crusty bread closes.
Taste opens with subtle notes of white bread as light grass and straw contrast for a tinge of wild herbs before cracker and biscuit evolve over the mid-palate, where a touch of wildflower honey grazes the backdrop; a lemondrop tone into the back end is bolstered by a fresh bread dough finish.
Mouthfeel features a light body, taut and delicately crisp, contrasted with the pillowy ease of a carbonation just north of moderate; a delicate grit with a distant twang offers a vivacious counterbalance over the mid-palate and into the back end, where a heft tightens the finish to resume a crisp ease past the swallow.
Executed with stunningly beautiful simplicity paradoxically to the point of reflection, this is a peaking example of the sessionable Helles lager; the subtle brightness of hops maintained against the confident air of an overarching malt profile for an end result that is casually expressive and entirely unencumbered.
Feb 26, 2021Pours a clear, golden honey-hued body ride with a casual effervescence and capped with multiple fingers of tight, fluffy, white foam; good head retention leaves a rocky, half-finger of cap, a moderate, frothy collar, and dense splotches of webby lacing spread along the walls of the glass.
Aroma offers a continued exposition of pale malt from the start, bringing white bread and water cracker upfront as slightly more hearty biscuit develops with bread dough cut with a touch of lemon zest over the middle; a slight bit of peppercorn and distant grass mark the back end of the bouquet as wet granite and crusty bread closes.
Taste opens with subtle notes of white bread as light grass and straw contrast for a tinge of wild herbs before cracker and biscuit evolve over the mid-palate, where a touch of wildflower honey grazes the backdrop; a lemondrop tone into the back end is bolstered by a fresh bread dough finish.
Mouthfeel features a light body, taut and delicately crisp, contrasted with the pillowy ease of a carbonation just north of moderate; a delicate grit with a distant twang offers a vivacious counterbalance over the mid-palate and into the back end, where a heft tightens the finish to resume a crisp ease past the swallow.
Executed with stunningly beautiful simplicity paradoxically to the point of reflection, this is a peaking example of the sessionable Helles lager; the subtle brightness of hops maintained against the confident air of an overarching malt profile for an end result that is casually expressive and entirely unencumbered.
Reviewed by BBThunderbolt from Kiribati
3.25/5 rDev -20.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
3.25/5 rDev -20.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Thanks to FBarber for this one, from a ninja box in NBS BIF #12. 16oz can (date unreadable) poured into 14oz teku. Poured a lightly cloudy dark yellow color with an inch of white head that had good retention and lacing.
The aroma had a basic "beeryness" presence, with earthy grains and floral hops being the main aspects.
Similar on the tongue, basic beer at first, then the grains and hops start to shine across the middle and back.
The body smooth, even, medium, and had a semi-dry finish.
drinkability was good, an easy quaffer for sure.
Overall, a solid and enjoyable brew. Worth a shot if you see it.
Oct 26, 2020The aroma had a basic "beeryness" presence, with earthy grains and floral hops being the main aspects.
Similar on the tongue, basic beer at first, then the grains and hops start to shine across the middle and back.
The body smooth, even, medium, and had a semi-dry finish.
drinkability was good, an easy quaffer for sure.
Overall, a solid and enjoyable brew. Worth a shot if you see it.
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