D IS FOR DAB

D is for DAB

STATS

Here’s the first Alphabet Challenge Revisited post of 2014. Today we up to D; DAB – short for Dortmund Actien Brauerei (Dortmund Joint Stock Brewery). The brewery is nearing it’s 150th birthday and has been producing a Dortmunder similar to this for most of it’s history.

So last time I said: “The German’s have outdone themselves once again! This is a spectacular lager. It has very little aroma but a crisp almost biting flavour. This beer is slowly making it and Dan Murphy’s are starting to stock it, if you see it get it! Especially at $14 a six pack.” I also reviewed it here on Beer O’Clock Australia in September 2011 for the European Beer Challenge, hopefully this one is a bit better than my last effort…

This thin pilsner glass shows off DAB much better than the willybecher (German pint glass) that I used in my last review. The colour is deep golden and has a relatively small head of thick white foam. There are plenty of small carbonation bubbles rising to the aforementioned head, which help give it excellent retention and provides nice lacing. It’s a stereotypical looking Dortmunder.

DAB Original has a nose that most people would associate with a Pilsner (which is basically what a Dortmunder is…). The overall aroma is quite light, but light biscuity malt and grain are detectable, and there is a good amount of grassy hops present. Is there the tiniest hint of skunk on the back end? I’ve never noticed it before so maybe this is getting close to the end of it’s life…

Harking back to what I said in the original Alphabet Challenge, this is hardly a spectacular lager, but it certainly is crisp. There’s plenty of malt initially which is slowly replaced by grassy and lightly citrussy hop flavours. It’s well balanced for the style and has enough carbonation for the beer to feel spritzy without being over carbonated. The finish is lovely and dry which really improves the drinkability in my opinion.

In the three years since I drank this initially for the original Alphabet Challenge, not only has my palate evolved but so has the price; I think Dan’s had this at $20 a 6-pack! So it’s still a good drinking beer but it is in no way a world beater. Thankfully it’s regularly available and it’s still a beer that I pick up semi-regularly to drink with lager drinkers. It’s one of those beers that all beer drinkers should try at least once.