Dortmunder is still famous as a brewing center, but its namesake beer is something of a rarity these days. The great beer writer Michael Jackson described the style as halfway between the austere crispness of a German pils and the lush maltiness of a Munich helles—in other words, a perfectly balanced all-malt beer. Starting with a base of U.S. 2-row pilsner malt, we add just enough lightly-kilned Vienna and Munich malts to add a slight caramel character. Hops are New World versions of European classics, smooth and clean, but with some real personality as well.