Black Star Double Hopped Golden Lager

Great Northern Brewing Co.
Whitefish, MT

Available: MT, WA, OR, CA, NV

A “double hopped” (dry hopped) unique American lager based on traditional European pilsners with hops added in the kettle and then again before finishing for aromatic quality.

ABV: 4.6
ABW: 3.5
Color: 7
Bitterness: 15
Original gravity: 1043

I want to like this beer―lagers get short-changed in the craft milieu―but reality conspires against it. A “double hopped” beer with 15 IBUs? A “family tradition since 1856” when the 1994 brewery just re-opened after an eight-year hiatus? Those could be overlooked, but not this: a sweet and grassy but faint nose, followed by a blandly malty mouth where any bitterness comes from fizz, and a finish that wants to be cloying but doesn’t have the guts. The deep gold color is the best part. Disappointing.
- Lew Bryson

One might expect a “double hopped” lager to smell, well, hoppy, but this deep gold beer does not, instead yielding sweet apple and caramel notes backed up with a faint whiff of tannins and dry leaf. In the body, too, the hoppiness is surprisingly reserved, with a floral sweetness up front, more red apple notes in the body and a dryish and quick finish. A pleasant enough quaff, but quite understated in both aroma and taste, especially considering the “double hopped” claim.
- Stephen Beaumont

Lew Bryson
Lew Bryson writes about beer and whiskey from his home in southeast Pennsylvania. He has a family and two dogs. That's all you need to know.

Stephen Beaumont
Once described as “beerdom's Brillat-Savarin,” Stephen Beaumont is the author of five books and countless articles on beer, spirits, food, travel, and how it all goes together.

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