Diebels Alt in the US...

Diebels is probably the most popular Altbier in Germany. It is widely available throughout the whole country, which doesn't surprise considering it's part of the AB-InBev group. Did you try some other Altbiers? This is one of the worst. You might be interested in trying some authentic examples of the style like Uerige, Schumacher or Schlüssel Alt. Just do a search in this forum using the terms "Düsseldorf" and "Alt".
Technically, everyone in Germany has access to Diebels and seeing you're in California, you probably have access to many goodies that aren't available here. However, shipping costs of sending a case of Diebels halfway round the world might be an obstacle.

 

I totally agree with @danfue. Of all the Altbiers, from Schlüssel, to Uerige, are all much better. In a pub tour of Düsseldorf, Diebels was the absolute worst with hardly much malt flavor. Personally, I wouldn't spend money on it. Whether it was better or not in the past before it was bought out, it was still the best known Alt across all of Germany and the only one with any reach outside it's home territory before it was bought out. In fact it's easier getting it in the states than in Germany. However, I don't shop at Getränkemarkts often, so I'm not sure if they're available there, but if there were an Alt on sale, it'd probably be Diebels. Also, considering none of us (that I know of) live in/near Düsseldorf area, we wouldn't have access to the "better" Alts unless we ordered them online and paid shipping to us, then shipping to the USA. Shipping alone would cost 70€ or more for a 12 pack or so, which makes me wonder also if it's worth it.

 

Uerige Alt is readily available around here. It's a bit pricey and it's hard to get anywhere near fresh.

 

"Uerige Alt is readily available around here. It's a bit pricey and it's hard to get anywhere near fresh." A BIG +1 to that.

Cheers!