DAB Low Carb
Dortmunder Actien Brauerei / DAB

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From:
Dortmunder Actien Brauerei / DAB
 
Germany
Style:
Light Lager
ABV:
Not listed
Score:
70
Avg:
2.48 | pDev: 22.98%
Reviews:
15
Ratings:
17
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Feb 02, 2013
Added:
Feb 12, 2004
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
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Rated: 2.25 by matjack85 from Illinois

Feb 02, 2013
 
Rated: 2.5 by cliff1066 from Virginia

Dec 27, 2012
Photo of gmfessen
Reviewed by gmfessen from Michigan

3.22/5  rDev +29.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Poured from the bottle into a pint glass, beer is a very clear, light straw color with a thin bubbly head that quickly dissipates. Lots of bubbles rising from the bottom of the glass. The smell has something different about it, almost a butterscotch like quality... definitely sweet, maybe a bit fruity. The taste is similar to the nose with the buttery notes being less prominent and the slight fruitiness coming to the forefront. A slight skunkiness is perceived. The mouthfeel is extremely light with an average amount of carbonation for a light lager. A drinkable beer, but not a desirable one. Worth a try if light lagers is your thing.
Sep 02, 2007
Photo of stephendr
Reviewed by stephendr from California

1.92/5  rDev -22.6%
look: 1.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2
Clear yellow appearance – thin white head - nose of melon , skunk , rice , grass , and hay – taste of nothing like water that is ditty maybe rice , or corn ??/ - flat dry body – aftertaste slightly sweet, and bitter I guess low carb equals no taste .
Oct 31, 2006
Photo of DaPeculierDane
Reviewed by DaPeculierDane from Wisconsin

2.11/5  rDev -14.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5
A: Pale Straw with a quick to disappear white bubbly froth.

N: Wet grains, sugars, starch.

T: Sweet sugars, grass, barely present hop bitterness. Almost no flavor.

MF: Very light, biting carbonation, dry finish. Very clean.

D: Low, the sugars get to me as does the lack of flavor.
Jun 26, 2006
Photo of Zorro
Reviewed by Zorro from California

2.47/5  rDev -0.4%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2
This is one of those beers I have known about but avoided up until now. I finally got curious enough to try this.

Pours a clear very light yellow colored beer with a fast fading white head.

Smell is mostly grain with some cooked rice scent and a little cooked vegetable. There might be a little grassy hop in here but I am not quite sure.

Taste is a bit of grain flavor and some grassy hop but there just isn't much flavor here. Decent bitterness from the hops in the finish, as a LIGHT beer this isn't so bad but it isn't a full flavored Pilsner either.

Mouthfeel is very light; guess Maltodextrin is a carb.

Drinkability is just eh. I could drink this if I had to, but this just isn't much of a beer; it IS better than Michelob Ultra however.
Nov 05, 2005
Photo of BuckeyeNation
Reviewed by BuckeyeNation from Iowa

1.66/5  rDev -33.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2
Pallid amber capped by two fingers of bleached white foam. The lid has some staying power, so I guess carbs aren't essential for that particular purpose. Other than multiple pits, the head is featureless. At the several minute mark it's down to a wafer-thin disk which it maintains for the duration. There's almost no lace.

The nose is nearly absent. Cutting out calories and carbs is all well and good (actually, it isn't), but did they have to go and cut out most of the aroma too? I feel like I'm being forced to assess a macro lager with cotton balls shoved up my nose. Could the flavor leave something to be desired as well? Say it ain't so.

DAB Low Carb is one of the least flavorful beers that I've had in many a moon. What flavor is present leaves more than a little to be desired. It tastes like stale, watery grain juice sucked out of a cardboard box. Carbs may not be essential for head formation, but they're sure as hell essential for taste. The saving grace, if there is one, is that the flavor is of such low wattage and lasts so briefly that it's hard to be offended.

The finish... there isn't one. The mouthfeel... there isn't one of those either. Seriously though, the mouthfeel is about what I would expect for a low-carb light beer: watery, tissue paper thin, near vaporous, etc. A light, tingly carbonation is the only thing keeping comparisons to beer-flavored water at bay. Beer-flavored soda water? Yup.

No one can accuse Dortmunder Actien Brauerei of jumping on the Atkins Diet bandwagon because this beer has been around since 1978. Somebody must be drinking it since it's been on the shelves for more than a quarter century. There's no accounting for taste, but then maybe it continues to be brewed, sold and consumed because it lacks that very thing.
Aug 19, 2005
Photo of rousee
Reviewed by rousee from Massachusetts

3.87/5  rDev +56%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
Light yellow-gold color with a quick forming head that vanishes in seconds. Smell is malty, bready and biscuity. It is a very light tasting beer- malt and corn dominate, kind of watery but clean. Some very slight metallic quality which is not unpleasant is evident too. Smooth mouthfeel and very drinkable on a hot Summer day.

I know this gets trashed by other BAs because it has a low abv and carb/calories. I say give me this anyday over so many other crappy light lagers that are out there. For the category this is in, I would venture to say that this is one of the best out there.
Jul 20, 2005
Photo of Rio
Reviewed by Rio from Kansas

2.22/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
Bright straw color, very clear with a bit of carbonation, and a bit of head that leaves some clouds across the surface. Clean to the nose, thick grain smell and a bit of a grassy aroma.

Where did my taste go? It's suddenly MIA. It's like drinking water, followed by a weak hop bite. Thin and watery.

Based on the color and smell, I actually had some higher hopes for this 'low carb' beer. Unfortunately, the taste (or lack thereof) shot those hopes down. Not worth it.
Nov 14, 2004
Photo of WesWes
Reviewed by WesWes from New York

2.62/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
The beer pours an almost clear color with a bit of yellow. The head was a thick, but quickly gone; spotty lacing. The aroma is average. It has a light refreshing scent with little in the way of malt aroma. The taste is horrible. It is literally like drinking carbonated water. There is almost no malt or hop presence. The mouthfeel sucks. It is an extremely light beer with good carbonation. This is a sorry excuse for a beer. It has no flavor. It's one and done for me.
Jun 03, 2004
Photo of Beastdog75
Reviewed by Beastdog75 from New Jersey

1.53/5  rDev -38.3%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5
It is kind of a sad state of affairs when the Germans, one of the most respected brewing cultures in the world, jump onto the fad that is the Atkins diet. I enjoyed DAB's original lager very much, so this brew is a stark contrast to that beer.

DAB Low Carb pours a bright yellow/straw color with a decent foam head that dissipates within 1 minute. The smell is of light grains and some soapiness. Not too appetizing. The mouthfeel is of course thin and fizzy. Flavorwise, there is very little here. The light graininess and soapiness are here along with some very light, indistinct fruitiness. Absolutely no hop presence whatsoever, and just some mild graininess in the aftertaste to boot. This beer finishes off with no alcoholic warmth (really, could you expect any from this style?).

I actually had some trouble quaffing this one down. Although the low-carb beers are amongst the "bottom feeders" of the beer world, this one is exceptionally flavorless and competes with the worst of the "style" (Michelob Ultra). Stick with the normal DAB products, as they are actually pretty good.
May 28, 2004
Photo of Gusler
Reviewed by Gusler from Arizona

2.5/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
The beer after dispensing from the 12 ounce brown bottle sits in the glass a translucent light gold color, the head large and white in color with a semi-creamy texture, the lace a very thin sheet. Nose is somewhat sweet, fresh and crisp, start is also slightly sweet, thin malt profile, top is cadaverous. Finish is stern in its acidity, the hops apropos to the style, well goes to show you a person on a diet will try anything once?
May 20, 2004
Photo of putnam
Reviewed by putnam from Michigan

3.26/5  rDev +31.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Egg white stiff tall head that lasts for more than an entire visit to the lav.
Aromas of cracked grain-stained rain. Pretty, but more reminiscent of a tea or water infusion than beer. The flavors are natural, pure, ripe and grainy - only there seems to be a hard, shaved metal edge that makes it very dry. No sweetness of any kind, even from alcohol. .
May 05, 2004
Photo of TinusTime
Reviewed by TinusTime from Virginia

3/5  rDev +21%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Pours a clear light golden colour with a decent pure white head.. Smell is crisp and clean with a touch of sweetness.. The taste starts off with some malty sweetness and then finishes crisp and dry. Granted the taste is not huge, but this beer definately has more flavour than its American low carb bretheren. I would drink this over any of the lights- Bud, Miller, Ultra etc. Now that said its not gonna be a staple in the pantry, but if i had to drink light this would be it.
Apr 19, 2004
Photo of granger10
Reviewed by granger10 from Wisconsin

2.37/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 1.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3
This beer pours a pale golden color that looks very watery. Head is weak, maybe showing a lack of carbonation? Smell is almost not there but maybe a little toastiness. Taste is very watery and forgetable. There is some astringent grainy flavor and maybe a little earthyness as well. Not much else. This is slightly, but only slightly better than most American macro lights. Pass.
Mar 24, 2004
Photo of Jason
Reviewed by Jason from Massachusetts

2.34/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5
Presentation: 12 oz brown bottle with no freshness date.

Appearance: Quickly dissipating foam with some stickage here and there. Bright pale straw hue.

Smell: Odd starchy grain, a bit grassy and overall clean on the nose.

Taste & Mouthfeel: Mildly astringent with a sharpness on the tongue. Obvious light body with a starchy dextrin that just does not want to leave the tip of the tongue. Some strained hop flavor and bitterness, finishes dry.

Notes: Just goes to show you the lighter the beer gets as far as carbs the less of a beer it is, hell I have had more flavorful NA beers than this.
Mar 22, 2004
Photo of ngandhi
Reviewed by ngandhi from Illinois

2.28/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5
DAB Low Carb is a toasty Dortmund lager which, unlike its American counterparts, manages to stay true to style. The toastiness washes out into light grain and distilled water, but much better than expected. A touch sulfurous on the nose. An odd mix of Hansa and Miller Lite. Lacks the two things I look for in light lagers: smoothness and forgetta . . . er . . . DRINKability.

Relax, relax.
ng
Feb 12, 2004
DAB Low Carb from Dortmunder Actien Brauerei / DAB
Beer rating: 70 out of 100 with 17 ratings