Style: Imperial India Pale Lager
8.7% ABV
70 IBU’s
Brewery’s Note: “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.”
The beer pours a rich, golden yellow with amber tints. It forms a nice head of sudsy white bubbles that leave some lacing on the glass, and mild retention. In body, the beer is lager clean free of particles, with near absolute translucence. The beer smells juicy and tropical with a nice splash of grass. Lemons, citrus, mango, passion fruit, touches of sticky pine, pineapple, and lots of ‘new American hop citrus’ blast the nose nicely. The grassy piney character does a great job in rounding out the nose and giving it a good bitter balance. On the tongue, the beer tastes bitter with a splash of booze, a nice tartness from the citrus, and just a wisp of sweetness. In flavor, the beer tastes of ruby grapefruit juice, lemon rind, slight grass, and a little too much boozy alcohol. The taste demonstrates a nice citrus/pine finish, much like a classic West Coast IPA. In the mouth, the beer is on the thin side of medium in body. Carbonation is on the lighter side, and mouthfeel ends up crisp with a slight oiliness. Overall, this is a nice IPL. It is a touch boozy, even for an Imperial strength beer, but it is the first lager that Founders has put out in quite some time, and for that it is quite impressive. In the future, I would like to see the booze hidden a touch more behind hop or malt character. Not a bad beer.
Beer in my Belly 
Reblogged this on Midwest Beer and Wine and commented:
I am a big IPA fan. I have never tried an IPL, but I need to be on the look out for Dissenter.
Reblogged this on BEER not WAR.
Very interesting. An IPL? I will have to look for this. Big fan of Founders. I have All Day on draft at home.
It wasn’t bad, but I hold Founders to a higher grade an this one didn’t quite deliver what I wanted from Founders. Still a nice beer though.