Locktender Lager
Great Lakes Brewing Co.

 

 

 

Though retired I had to weigh in on this beer. Living in C-town I don't get to GL as much as I'd like so when I see their new stuff in the stores I buy and try...even if the 4-packs are pricey and leave me wanting more. These were in 6-packs and I only had the one sixer. In my opinion this was Dortmunder Gold light. It's no slight, but at the time I remember telling a Christmas Ale lovin' type who thought Dortmunder had too much body to try this...great taste but not as full bodied. Too bad they retired it as I often refered people to this beer to get them started with Great Lakes outside of their BIG three. RIP

Originally reviewed November 11, 2006. 12 Oz Bottle. Tart lemon earth aroma, spritzy with aged hops and grain husks. Percolatingly hazy golden, with a rocky cream of white. Flavor a very plain and longingly sweet sugary malt over a light body of lemon dust. Malt is clean, but very plain and subdued, however tending a few distant esters and some background yeast notes. Bright and refreshing. Not much depth or character, which I find unfortunate in the this example. It’s almost too americanized for me. But, cleaniness appreciated and light euro hop parch provides welcome balance to the finish.

This beer will always hold a special place in my heart (or liver to a BA) in that it was a bottle of this at a beer taste that really opened my eyes (and mouth) to the world of craft beers. It is sad to think it has been removed from circulation, but I was able to grab one last bottle.

Poured a plae, cloudy gold with a 1" head of mixed white foam, its lace lightly clinging. Nose was nice and light, nothing spectacular, with a hint of some of the beer's body. Taste was clean, light, very crisp. It seems that most GLBC offerings often have a mild citrus undercurrent, and this was no differenet with a very light lemony twang. Its body was almost pilsner like on the pallette, and finished smooth and even with that nice lemon twang fading off. This would be a great summer beer, especially on a warm July evening to enjoy with friends. Hopefully it will make a return.

Pours a pale straw color with some haze and a white head. Carbonation bubbles are continuously rising the the surface. Aroma is grassy and slightly fruity, with lots of malt and some yeasty bready notes as well. Taste is smooth pale malts with some bready character. A little fruit is present, blananced by a pleasant bitter grassiness, leading into piney fresh hops. Good complex taste. Smooth creamy mouthfeel with perfect carbonation enhances the overall experience. A very well brewed and balanced lager, near the top for this style.

Always eager to try Great Lakes beers, I picked up a sixer of this golden elixir. Poured a slightly hazy golden with a medium sized frothy white head into my Sam Smith pint glass. Hints of bready malt dominate the nose. This is a very bready beer but it somehow maintains a nice edge despite a lack of hoppy character. Interesting offering with superb drinkability. Not much more to add about this one.

Pale cloudy yellow with a nice white head, decent carbonation, and some lace. Husky grainy malt aroma with a touch of hops. Husky grainy malt flavor and lightly sweet. Medium bodied and smooth with a malty finish.

A nice grainy malt Helles.

Per G.L. website: 20 IBU. 2 row malted barley and Hallertau hops.

Enjoy By: 05/10/04
Tasted: 01/09/05

Golden beer with a fading head. Nice lacing. Smell is husky with lots of veggie scents. Only a little hops come through in the nose. Drinking this cold makes it taste like a macro lager. Let it warm up a bit and you can start to taste the intricacies. The beer has some fruity notes...mainly plum and a bit of citrus. Hops are very subdued. The mouthfeel is smooth, with some real body. Drinkability is great with this ABV. Just don't drink it too cold.

The beer poured crystal clear pale straw with golden hue and a light white head which never rose tall but stayed small and laced the glass.

The aroma was slight DMS (cooked vegetables) and a light hop aroma that was barely there.

The flavor was crisp and bitter with bitterness obscuring any maltiness. The bittering was not overpowering, but maltiness could have shown through more.

The finish was dry with lasting bittering (pleasant). The body was just below medium.

12 ounce bottle. Nice to drink, but a smidge more maltiness would make this one a real treat.

I've had this beer before and thought "average". When I found one mixed in with my other "average" 6 (Moondog Ale) I could have gotten mad that they did a switch on me at my beer store, but it's an oppertunity for BA.

Appearence: Highly average. Just like any generic, cheesy, macro. Poured from the bottle with little head and very little carbonation.

Smell: Like a quality beer. Micro lagers seem to have more of a "honey-wheat" smell and tend to smell more of what the beer is made of rather than what it's "cut with".

Taste: Buttery, very light grains tasting, almost more of a "wheat beer" flavor. That's where it ends. It seems to thin on flavors and swallows like an average lager.

Mouthfeel is slightly better than average because of the "buttery" fell and drinkability, I guess you could drink a lot of these but at 8.00 a six, there are plenty of other beers, even macros, that seem to have a little less for a lot less.

Bright sunshine yellow, not dark enough to be called amber or gold. The head is very nearly pure white, is large and is fairly substantial. It's going nowhere fast, eventually deflates to a thick disk and leaves lace in a 'king's crown' pattern.

The aroma isn't bad, but neither does it do much for me. Even though there's a sweet, slightly lemony vibe, the noble hoppiness that comprises the vast majority of the nose isn't really to my liking. The flavor follows the nose pretty closely with the always impressive Great Lakes mouthfeel bringing things up a notch (although not enough to garner a higher score).

I haven't had a lager with a mouthfeel this firm, smooth, luscious and perfectly carbonated since Prima Pils. Locktender isn't as good as Prima though because of its hop of choice (Hallertau). Crackery malt base overlaid with floral, grassy hops. Each mouthful starts out favoring sweet and ends up favoring crisp and dry.

Locktender Lager looks good in the glass, it's reasonably complex for the style, the body is top-notch and it's easy to drink. Even so--and I'm perfectly aware that my lack of love for noble hops is skewing my opinion--I just can't get too excited about it. Apparently, I'm not the only one.

I see that Locktender Lager is the lowest rated of all the GL beers. Unfortunately, I'd have to agree with that (collective) assessment. That doesn't mean that it isn't worth your hard-earned money though. Even the worst Great Lakes beer is better than the vast majority of what the competition has to offer.

Guest tap at Barley's Smokehouse. Pours a darker golden brown color with a medium thin head. Quick lacing and the head did not last very long. Aroma is somewhat sweet malt, with a little hops as well. Rather light with a decent malt profile, along with a light hops presence. The finish is light hops. As with the bottled version, the beer is easy to drink and decent for a Lager. I just wouldn't go out of my way to get it as GLBC has much more to offer in most of their other beers.

This one is a clear yellow gold with a nice bright white head. There is some good lacing. Lightly hoppy nose, slight straw malt. The flavor is dry straw and a nice peppery hop bite in the end. It’s not hoppy, but there’s enough hops to keep it from blandness.

It came out of the bottle a deep straw yellow and little to no head.

The smell was of malt and hops and a bit of sweetness.

The taste was malt/sweet and hops, in that order.

It definatly felt better in the mouth than any macro.

I could pour a few of these down just about anytime.

Appearance: Pours a crystal clear golden yellow, with a frothy off-white head.

Smell: Delicate floral hops, and a hint of lemon.

Taste: Faintly citrus at first, giving way to the flowery hop flavor and a hint of malt, before finishing ever so briefly with some bitterness and a cracker-like flavor.

Mouthfeel: Not as combative as most lagers. Medium-bodied, with small bead carbonation. Very nice.

Drinkability: Very smooth and thirst-quenching. A good lawnmower beer. Easy to drink.

Pours a crystla clear golden color with a white head that leaves traces of lace as the beer is drained
Aroma is pale, crystal malts with some wheat and a floral and citrus hop notes, very crisp and clean notes.
Flavor is fairly sweet, but light carameland somewhat tart citrusy notes, citrus orange and lemon detected.
Mouthfeel seems good for style and after light sweetness and some fruity tart hits there is a pleasnt light bittering to finish.
Drinkability is good, another solid offering from GLBC, very refreshing.

Clear hay-yellow in hue, there is a fair amount of animation racing towards the finger of bright white head. The head retention is very good; it took a long while before it faded to a loose cap. The subsequent lacing was like tattered wallpaper. The aromas are sweet, from the malt and not adjuncts, which is a nice change of pace from mass-produced lagers. Plus there is some hoppy earthiness too; I’d say this has a German influence. The bouquet is simplistic but inviting. I found the palate to be very refreshing; the flavors consist of notes of dull citrus, hay, sweet earthiness, and a distant bite of bitterness. The finish is quick, some toasty maltiness in the aftertaste and a hint of hops too. This is a very good lager. It is cleansing. The low abv makes it agreeable to session with, at a BBQ or something. My bottle is seven months past its “best by” date, I think GLBC needs to re-work how they decide freshness because this offering is still in great shape. I am very impressed with this beer, either it is a great Pale Lager or a very good Helles. Either way I’d be happy if I drank this again. Medium/medium-full in body, good crisp, biting carbonation, as a whole the mouthfeel is very appropriate, it’s dead-on for the style. While this beer doesn’t challenge the tastebuds much it has a straight-ahead deliciousness that is hard to refute. I bet this would make a wonderful crossover beer for the macro drinker. It is well worth trying. Thank you PhantomVodoo!

A very good beer. Perhaps America's best pale lager.

Locktender gets good appearance scores because it's the epitomy of a pale lager. Straw yellow with a brillant white head. We should all be so lucky as to have our teeth glow as pure white as this beer's head.

The smell is of European/noble Hallertau hops. The malts scents and flavors are very delicate, but yet discernable. The taste is light, refreshing, and distinctly non-macro domestic. So this is what a pale lager tastes like without adjuncts!

Take your tastebuds on a cheap trip to Munich while enjoying this highly drinkable offering from Great Lakes Brewing.