DAB Dark Beer

Brewed by Dortmunder Actien Brauerei (Oetker Group)
Style: Dunkel
Dortmund, Germany

Serve in Dimpled mug, Lager glass, Stein

A mildly sweet dunkel. Perhaps I’m tainted from having drunk other (better) dunkels at the source, but this was just OK. Some toffee. Some roastiness. Eh.

From a 12 oz. long neck brown bottle with a short blurb about the dunkel lager and a coded lot/packaged number on the bottom of back label. Made a good appearance, poured a clear red/caramel hued brown with a foamy, bubbly topped beige head that settled into a thin bubbly lacing, good carbonation. Had a toasted caramel malt nose with a spicy hoppiness in the background. A mildly crisp, smooth light bodied mouth feel, above average drinkability. Taste was a sweet toasted malty, caramel with a light graininess, a spicy, slightly herbal favored mellow bitterness towards the end and a crisp, sweet toasted caramel finish. A tasty, affordable Munich Dunkel Lager from DAB, a good everyday lager.

This beer is styled after a classic Dortmunder, but is brewed with dark malts, making it as clean and balanced as a classic dortmunder, but with just a touch more malt character and a hint of toasty malt. DAB Dark pours to a bright, chestnut brown color with a nice white head that slowly fades, and a good bit of carbonation. The nose on this beer is fresh and clean with some light herbal hop aromas balanced with just a hint of toasty malt aroma. The palate on this beer is very round and clean with a firm, yet understated malt palate of crisp malt and flavors of dark toast. DAB Dark finishes with more crisp and toasty malt up front, then ends with a clean, slight herbal hop bitterness that balances this beer to perfection. Balance of malt and hop character is what dortmunder is all about, and DAB Dark is the type of beer that shows you can step over to the dark side, offer a bit more malt flavor, yet still remain very balanced and drinkable. This beer is a natural with German fare, and could be match with dishes such as sauerbraten, goulash, bratwurst, or would even match well with a nice grilled steak.

12 oz bottle pours brown with a creamy tan head that stays well and laces. Aroma is chocolate, caramel, molassess and some earthy peat notes. Flavor is more of caramel and a little of the chocolate pokes through. Molasses is also there with a bit of licorice. Palate is smooth, somewhat watery but I expect that in a dunkel. Quite drinkable but nothing really to say this is better than average.

Watery and thin version of a dunkel. I like the wood smoke notes and the chocolate/licorice flavors but everything seems too timid and thin. Some light nut flavor. Nicely carbonated.

UPDATED: SEP 27, 2006 Sweet malt and cardboard odor. Color is chocolate brown. The flavor is bitter, the malts are toasted to the point of tasting burnt and there is licorice taste as well. Sweet aftertaste that is dominated by bitterness. Average at best.
Earlier Rating: 7/18/2005 Total Score: 2.1
The aroma is laced with cereal and floral hops but also has a strange paper odor. Color is chocolate brown. The flavor is dominated by the hops which are bitter but not biting, the malts are toasted and there are caramel and licorice tastes in here too. Drinkable, but nothing spectacular.

I’m always amazed when a beer with only 8 ratings turns up in northeast Florida. And it really shouldn’t be listed as “an ale” since its so easily identified as a dunkel. Very similar to Becks Dark, or Einbecker Dark. Lightly malty and a little hoppy in aroma, and a typical dunkel/dark beer appearance. Flavor is good, light sweet malt start and dry metallic hop finish, exactly as you would expect in an average decent dunkel. Nothing spectacular here, but I like dunkels, and I liked this one.

Honey sweet aroma. Dark copper brown color. No head. Watery with a very metallic finish. Ohh that really tastes bad. A little honey sweetness in the finish, but the fore taste is like licking metal underwater.