Founders Backstage Series #10: Dissenter Imperial IPL

Founders Backstage Series #10: Dissenter Imperial IPL

It’s been a dozen years since we’ve brewed a lager—and, true to form, we’re going big with Dissenter India Pale Lager, our argument in favor of the potential for complex lagers. Brewed with a wide variety of tropical, citrus-forward hops, Dissenter clocks in at 8.7% ABV and 70 IBUs. Our ales are fermented at warm temperatures, but this lager is fermented cold, using a different kind of yeast. The longer brewing process used for lagers gives Dissenter an exceptionally clean finish, allowing you to appreciate the clear beauty of the hops as you would a well thought out, eloquent dissenting opinion. We’ll let this one speak for itself.
3.7
368 reviews
Grand Rapids, United States

Community reviews

3.6 Very nice with some hops that bite. Rich hazy yellow. Goes very well with spicy food as it calms the palate from the spices. Bottle
4.1 Tap at Coopers. Cool crisp noble hops. Sweetness. Coop and crisp vegetal hop tones. Excellent lager tones. Really authentic feel amped up with better ingredients. A pretty spot on example of the style. Great mouthfeel. Nails it, easy drinking for the ABV.
3.5 Bomber shared by Bvery...thanks! Clear golden. Some hops, bready, citrus aroma. Taste follows, some tangerine. Decent brew.
3.6 Bomber. Slightly hazy golden pour with a white head. Tangerine, grain, sweet malt. A little bready. Tasty.
3.9 Bottle, shared with Parksy and the table at Radio Maria. Bright orange, a bit hazy, lasting white head. Sweet citrus (tangerine), light pine, light spice, long bitter finish. Delicious.
4.3 Clear, golden color . Medium -sized , white head with good lacing. Fantastic aroma of pine , citrus , apricot and a bunch of other fruits . Taste is malty and unbelievable juicy. Without alcohol notes at all. Probably, the best imperial lager i've ever tried.
3.4 12 oz pour from refrigerated bomber into stemmed tulip. Moderate head, nice lacing. Opaque, light orange, hazy. Lots of citrus up front. Nose is citrus and candy. Taste is citrus fruit. Fairly layered. I actually like this quite a bit, but somehow the aggregate ended up fairly low.
3.6 Apricot gold, small white head. Apricot, peach, citrus, flavor is caramel, citrus, peach, booze.
3.7 Bottle. Moderate malt aroma of roasted, heavy pine and grapefruit peel for the hops, light soap for the yeast, with notes of coriander and alcohol. Head is small, frothy, white with fair lacing and good legs, and is mostly diminishing. Color is slightly hazy medium amber. Flavor starts moderately sweet and lightly acidic, then finishes moderately sweet and heavily bitter. Palate is medium to full, syrupy with a soft to lively carbonation and a lightly to moderately alcoholic finish. A sweet and syrupy, slow drinking Strong Pale Lager.
3.9 Pours a slightly hazy gold color with a good lively head. Aroma is pine, resin, very floral bitter hops, fruits, orange, lemon, then caramel and toffee. Taste is caramel, toffee, butter richness, hoppy, floral, bitter, then sweeter fruit, like orange juice. Overall very impressive for a lager brewed by an ale centered brewery.
3.8 Cloudy hay colored. Light white head. Aroma of melon, light tobacco, citrus. A bit like a fruity cigarillo. Quite bitter, decently sweet, caramel. Medium body, quite oily. Alcohol is present, not overpowering. Acidic, fairly low amount of carbonation. Very good.
4.1 2/20 Bottle - Nice solid golden clean pour with a clean white head. Smelled of orange, lemon, and fruity hops. Tasted somewhat bitter, hoppy which I enjoyed it a lot. Higher carbonation than expected, it good drinking. The beer felt stronger/ more intense afterward than I expected based on the ABV, but clean taste and smooth going down. This is another very good offering by Founders, and I look forward to more pours of this and other offerings down the road
3.7 Resin, floral, herbs cleanly wrapped up in a hop forward complex lager. What’s not to like.
3.9 Clear light golden pour with an off-white head. Aroma is fruity hops. and malt. Taste is so crisp. Fruity hops, solid malt base. A pleasant drinking experience and another wonderful beer from Founders. Great lacing.
3.3 Really strong citrus aroma, taste is pretty blah, was hoping for more out of this one...
3.1 A clear golden orange 1 finger head but fades fast. Very english smelling nose. sweet nose as well. Very bitter, insanely bitter. almost sticks to my teeth . Hard to finish the glass. Nice mouthfeel. medium body hoppy finish. too intense for me.
3.8 Clear Golden pour with small off-white head. crystal malts. slight Spicy nose. Medium body. Spicy slightly bitter boozy finish. Very Nice.
4.3 The world needs more India Pale Lagers. Or maybe it just needs more beers like Dissenter. Maybe I just need more Dissenter. Enough of that. Dissenter pours golden orange. There’s not much head, but you don’t need a lot of foam to take in the resinous hop aromas and bread-like malt. The taste could keep me happy all day long. Hops are citrusy and piney. The bread flavors help to smooth things over, but this Lager is undeniably hop-forward. Despite the bitterness, this brew is crisp and refreshing. Plenty of attitude but it tips back easily.
2.7 Bottle. A- Bready, doughy, caramel, citrus, hoppy, piney, resinous. A- Orange color, cloudy liquid, white head. T- Bready, caramel. citrus, bitter, pine. P- Full body, average texture, average carbonation, bitter finish. O- Boy this was a bitter one. At least a lot more than I expected it to be. Lots of caramel, bread, citrus, and pine. Almost reminded me of their Devil Dancer with age. Not bad at all but not particularly my thing.
3.7 This pours a pale golden transparent color. A fuzzy white head. Light hop bitterness nose. A small wheaty lager flavor. A nice mellow hop flavor. Not bad. Quite drinkable.
3.5 Nice aroma of citrus hops, with a hint of sweet breads in the background. Golden color with a lace white head. Sweet, bready malt up front. A little too sweet. Quickly followed by an alcohol burn, mixed with citrusy hops, and a strong bitterness. Blends together quite well on the finish. Slick mouthfeel but not off-putting. Somewhat peppery bitterness comes through as it warms up, but hard to find the "pilsner" flavor overall. Not bad though.
3.3 Pours a hazy, deep yellow color with a very nice, 1/4 inch dense white foamy head. Aroma has a very strong citrus nose at first with a pronounced orange nose, light lemon zest hints with some light pine in the finish. The malt of this beer sits behind the scenes and adds a light grainy presence late in the nose. Flavor starts off with a strong cascade hops orange note which is quickly followed up by light lager and grainy flavor at the end. Body is modest with a low amount of carbonation and a good deal of residual sweetness to hold the hoppy flavor and strong alcohol presence. Overall a good brew but nothing outstanding. I feel the high alcohol presence and large hops presence watered down the beer a bit.
4.1 Tasted from bottle. Pours a clear golden yellow with thick white head and tons of lacing. Big time hop aroma with citrus notes of lemon peel and some floral notes. Taste is unlike any other lager I've had. Absolutely no alcohol taste so this will really creep up on ya. Easily could pass as an Imperial IPA. Moderate to heavy bitterness with a nice malt backbone. Lot of citrus flavors with some grass and grainy flavors. Just an incredible beer.
3.7 Bottle Poured a pale lager look with more gold colors and a nice bubbly white head. Completely unexpected aroma of fresh citrus hops. Sweet, hoppy flavor that almost reaches syrupy. Lingering bitter flavor with a hint of lager yeast. Really nice.
3.6 750 mL bottle from New Beer Distributors in New York, served in a stem glass. Pours clear straw-amber with a medium off-white head that fades to a thin cover and leaves a small amount of fine lace. The nose has big noble hops, along with lager malts, apple, plum and soft herbs. The flavour is mildly malty sweet with pale malts, honey, slight fruit and a noble hop bitterness that increases over time. A touch of resin comes through as well. The finish is long and hoppy with a slight spice. On the palate, it is medium in body with a smooth, milky texture and average carbonation. Overall, a decent imperial pils. The hops could be a bit more prominent up front. 2014-12-06
3.8 Bottle. Pours out a deeper golden color with a small white head. Aroma is of some nice fruity/citrusy hops, bready malts, light sweet/sticky cereal notes. Taste is complex, light fruity hops, some pine, fruitiness, mild alcohol notes, sticky sweet cereal grains, and a nice hop finish. Solid.
3.7 30 Dec 2014, bottle. yellow, clear, steady bubbles. nose is lemon citrus. thin/med body and moderately fizzy. pine and grapefruit hops, moderate alcohol, granola malt and slightly sweet. pretty good for an imperial lager.
2.8 This was probably a bit old as it smelled like a musty orange. Cloudy orange color. Very assertive bitterness which lingers into the finish. The orange flavor lasts. Not a bad beer though I wish I had a fresher example.
3.7 Local Wine Dog bottle. Classic pale lager look with gold colors and a nice bubbly white head. Completely unexpected aroma of fresh citrus hops. Sweet, hoppy flavor that almost reaches syrupy. Lingering bitter flavor with a hint of lager yeast. Really nice.
3.1 Bottle sample at the Beer Market Jaffa. Thanks DSG. Pours yellow with a small head, aroma of marmalade, caramel, orange, flavor of marmalade, caramel, bitter, medium bodied.