Dovetail Brewery (2022)

You do that, I guess.

But in case you missed it, I've had similar experiences as you with Dovetail.

And you're still sounding surly -- or drunk.

Good night, safe travels.

 

Lol thanks for tagging me in this.

 

Anyway, I will not speak to individual tastes; but I’m confident our beer is not bad beer — if you’re looking for a Munich or Bamberg beer, go to Munich or Bamberg. We’ve never claimed to be that, we’re a brewery in Chicago.

 

Mmm...breakfast popcorn.

 

Am I being too harsh, or just honest.

The border thing, well they say that in Wisconsin too.

Bierstadt Lagerhaus lived up to it's reputation when I visited. It was fantastic. Honest evaluation there.

 

It sounds like you went to Dovetail and had one beer and didn’t like it ?? Seems like you are making a lot of fuss over not liking one beer.
I personally think Dovetail is great, I have liked most but not everything I’ve tired from them. Maybe Dovetail isn’t for you— not everyone has to like everything. I think they will be fine without your business.

 

I'd say Dovetail gets rave reviews because 95% of other area beer lists put you to sleep with the haze and fruit syrup monotony. Not that the Dovetail list is that exciting to watch either. I think they make some solid lagers for sure, but the prices are a little too much for me. Dropping 11 dollars+ on a pint of Marzen seems pretty crazy to me. Their sours don't impress me at all either. I like that they use real fruit, but either way, they taste like the first wave of overdone American sours, limited finesse, maximum pricetag.

 

As a German beer-style lover for a long time, I was very excited when Dovetail started brewing. And I haven't kept my love/hate (well, hate is probably too strong) perception of their beers hidden here on BA.

I'm not fan of some of their pricing, and I've run into bad packaging with their cans, but I can't deny how smooth and delicious their Helles on tap was at one semi-local tavern one evening -- I didn't even look at the other beers available after that first Becher.

Was it spot-on for a Bavarian Helles? Maybe not, but closer than most other Ami renditions of the style I've tried. And just what *is* "spot-on?" Line up the Helles from the Munich big 6 and they aren't identical. Widen that to larger and smaller breweries around Bavaria and you'll definitely taste variations as well as similarities.

No one from BA was sitting next to me, drinking from the same source I was (unfortunately), so we can't compare impressions, but based on my knowledge and love of this style I can honestly say I enjoyed each pour I had that evening.

 

But, but... the "Lager" *is* a "Helles!"

And isn't one of them seasonal?

 

I wish I knew just which one was on tap the night I was enjoying it -- but I'm guessing it was the "Lager" because I think they keg more of that.

 

FWIW, they call the Lager an unfiltered "Franconian pale lager" which doesn't fit neatly into a BA style. It's definitely different from their Helles. I think it was originally listed here as a Kellerbier, which isn't entirely accurate either.

Festbier costs more because it's lagered for 6 months and takes up tank space. It's also one of the better ones available locally, for my money. $8-9 draft pints are common around the city these days, it is what it is. Cans are cheaper per ounce.

Curious which uh, "sours" didn't impress you? Surely a blanket statement like that is justified. They're the only brewery in the city making lambic-style spontaneous beers using traditional methods. Coolship, turbid mashing, and barrel-aging them from 1-3 years (Vignette).

Out of 30+ of their spon beers, all have been varied and unique based on the barrels and blend, the fruited ones are all very distinct. The only one i'd pass on is the 2020 Kriek. None of the other ones approach that level of sourness, even the previous Kriek blends.

Considering their niche focus, they're not going to please everyone. More beer for us plebs to slurp down, I guess. Give them credit for forging their own path, which is increasingly rare these days.

 

@emerge077
https://dovetailbrewery.com/beers/lager/



This is the beer I'm talking about in posts above -- no mention of Franconia. Got a source for that info?

 

Their taproom menu, and this FB post mentions it.

This article is also a good primer, and cites inspiration from Upper Franconia, mentioning their “Kellerbier-esque Lager”. I always thought of it as an intentional style-bender, kind of similar to how Landbier doesn’t really describe a specific style.

 

Why does everyone on the internet think asking simple questions is an argument? Ever think, maybe, we just want to be more informed?

 

Unfortunately, Facebook has decided to block everyone who isn't a member (and yeah, I've cleared cache and cookies multiple times -- no go)

Thanks -- I'll check it out.

Or maybe it didn't quite hit what they were looking for and decided to call it something else? Works all the time in home-brewing.

 

Cool article -- most I've heard them mention Franconia. Especially like the Zoigl influence.