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Beer Tasting: DAB Dortmunder Export Lager
Oct. 19th, 2024 10:18 pmRecently I picked up a beer I wasn't expecting. When I went beer-shopping last week I had a number of items on my list. One of them was Sudwerk Amber Ale, which I wrote about yesterday. Finally the store had it after being sold out on numerous visits! But this time there were other items on my list they didn't have in stock. As I was scanning the shelves I spotted DAB (Dortmunder Actien Brauerei) German lager. It was in a package similar to another DAB variety I like but it was even cheaper: $6 for a 4-pack of 500mL cans. That made it practically the cheapest beer in the whole store! I figured I'd try it.
Ordinarily the designation "the cheapest beer in the store" would scare me off. Except this is a German beer. Germany has strict laws regulating brewing. There are definitely German beers I don't particularly care for, but none of them are objectively bad. I mean, not unless you let them get skunked or something. Fresh from the tap or can they're going to be at least okay. Thus I was willing to take a flyer on this beer, even as is it's in a style (German lager) I don't particularly care for. I figured for $1.50 per half-liter can it was worth a try. 😅
Imagine there's a beer that does nothing wrong. The color's not weird. It's neither too dark nor too light. Nothing's offensive or off-putting in the aroma. Nothing's surprising in the flavors. It's not too strong, it's not too light. There's no surprising flavor element to it. No fruit flavor, no spice, no sweetness. It tastes just like... generic beer.
Now, that's not a very interesting beer, is it? I mean, while there's nothing wrong with it, there's also nothing that recommends it, no notable characteristic that differentiates it from the rest. In matters of taste, a thing has to do more than do nothing wrong to be appealing.
So that's what DAB lager is: probably the most boring beer I've had. If it were a color it'd be beige. Or maybe off-white.
Ordinarily the designation "the cheapest beer in the store" would scare me off. Except this is a German beer. Germany has strict laws regulating brewing. There are definitely German beers I don't particularly care for, but none of them are objectively bad. I mean, not unless you let them get skunked or something. Fresh from the tap or can they're going to be at least okay. Thus I was willing to take a flyer on this beer, even as is it's in a style (German lager) I don't particularly care for. I figured for $1.50 per half-liter can it was worth a try. 😅A Little DAB'll Do Ya?
DAB lager is very much a beer that's... a beer. It pours in a light gold color, just like a classic lager beer. It has a light, beer-scented aroma. And it has a light, beer-y flavor. It's just a smidge bready, a smidge sour, a smidge sweet, and very... beer-y.Imagine there's a beer that does nothing wrong. The color's not weird. It's neither too dark nor too light. Nothing's offensive or off-putting in the aroma. Nothing's surprising in the flavors. It's not too strong, it's not too light. There's no surprising flavor element to it. No fruit flavor, no spice, no sweetness. It tastes just like... generic beer.
Now, that's not a very interesting beer, is it? I mean, while there's nothing wrong with it, there's also nothing that recommends it, no notable characteristic that differentiates it from the rest. In matters of taste, a thing has to do more than do nothing wrong to be appealing.
So that's what DAB lager is: probably the most boring beer I've had. If it were a color it'd be beige. Or maybe off-white.
