A triumphant return to a sad fall for what used to be a favorite beer. When it was brewed for export by Spaten Brewing, Dinkelacker CD Pils was, basically, my house-brand. Couldn't beat the price or the great German Pils character. Since InBev, and subsequently AB-InBev, took over Spaten they stopped all brewing and export for Dinkelacker and the Pils hasn't been seen (fresh) in the U.S. for 5 years or so. It's now back direct from the Stuttgart brewery and through another importer. I was lucky enough to get this in trade from Einhorn while I tried hunting it down locally. As you know, he's sampled it too and wasn't enthralled -- and other reports have left me leery that my hopes would be dashed... as they have been. This is definitely not the beer Spaten was brewing for export years back. Gone is the bready, melanoidin malt character that used to be so delicious. No more noble hop character in the nose or flavor. No smooth, soft mouthfeel that was so thirst quenching before. The beer is very thin, coarsely grainy in character and harshly bitter with hops that seem to only have bitterness and no flavor. It's a shame that this beer has fallen to such low standards, especially since there's few like its old persona and value available these days. I guess Trumer will become the new house brand.
Sorry to hear it, @steveh , but not terribly surprised by the review. Do you think it has a chance to catch on with the BMC crowd?
As I have stated before, I was never a fan of this beer when I drank it (either in the U.S. or Germany...with the latter being admittedly not from the source). That said, I can believe it has undergone a decline -- as so many of the beers owned by the big conglomerates have in recent decades/years.
BMC drinkers don't stray far from BMC -- and definitely steer clear of imports. I wonder if you weren't getting fresh -- or perhaps it was earlier on in your palate development? Because the Spaten-brewed Pils had the malt quality you just don't get that often. Add the noble hops and it was just the right step above a Helles to be a good Pils. About the only other one that came close* for me was fresh EKU Pils. *And yes, you have to take into fact that there aren't a lot of good Pilsner imports from smaller breweries in my area.
Could be (on both counts). Still, your recent review rings a lot of bells for me regarding my feelings on the DA Pils I tried years ago, especially the coarse graininess and sharp bitterness. Ultimately, I need to revisit myself in order to express even an informed personal opinion.
Dinkelacker used to be served around here at the various German Festivals (15-20 years ago). It was a decent alternative to the AB products also being served. I haven't seen it in a long time.
A BIG +1 to: “It was a decent alternative to the AB products…” It has been a long time since I have had Dinkelacker but my recollection is consistent with yours: a step up from a BMC beer. Cheers!
In Gemany, or over here? Because the Spaten-brewed Dinkelacker (probably not available in Germany) had none of that graininess or off bitterness (see the 5 year-old review I kept as a part of my new review). The maltiness was so full of melanoidin and the hoppiness was true noble hops -- a far cry from the sickly sweet, thin character that BMC carries.
In large part it was here in the U.S. Though I did try some while traveling in Germany. And while it was better -- and even above average for the area -- I still found it pretty unremarkable. But, like I said, that was long ago and far away....
Sorry to have dashed your hopes.... I was let down more so from the 1) lack of crispness 2) lack of decent bitter level 3) lack of aroma. From a brewing standpoint I think it has become victim to either cost-cutting with hops, or simply dumbed-down to appease the masses... or both.
Yeah, I have to wonder what's going on at the brewery these days. As I pointed out, there was a 12 pack of this beer in my fridge all the time for many years. If it wasn't good, it wouldn't have been such a regular purchase. Can't blame you, you didn't brew it! See I found it bitter, but not in a flavorful way as with good hops. It was bitter for the sake of it... not unlike some other beers out there today, but I think the Dinkelacker choice is more a mistake than pumped up IBUs for the trend. Perhaps hop extract? Bad hop extract?
“I was let down more so from the 1) lack of crispness 2) lack of decent bitter level 3) lack of aroma.” I read three “lacks” there. People like to state that BMC beers are “bad” beers but to me the biggest flaw of BMC beers is the same aspect of “lack”. In other words it seems to me that BMC beers are flavorless (lack flavor) as opposed to tasting bad. It would appear that Dinkelacker is similar in that it is a lacking beer; an unremarkable beer. I would guess that the reason this beer tastes the way it does is “simply dumbed-down to appease the masses”. The same reason the BMC beers (and Carling in the UK and Jupiler in Belgium) taste the way they do. Cheers!
I think it's not only foolish, but dangerous, to try and conflate BMC with other mass-market beers around the world. Sure you can always find a handful of apposite examples, but the cultures are so different from top to bottom that making these direct comparisons makes little to no sense -- especially if the goal is trying to develop a deep understanding of a country's beer culture. EDIT: I say "dangerous" because it can lead to overly simplistic, heavy-handed "solutions" such as: instant improvement; just add more hops! In short, Michael Jackson described his "lowest" rating thusly: *typical of its country and style. That seems to make infinitely more sense to me...but apparently I'm in the minority among BAs here.
What a concept. Oh, so you've been drinking Firestone's Pilsner? So the scoring doesn't necessarily always correlate to quality? Kinder and gentler.
“ …to try and conflate BMC with other mass-market beers around the world.” The top selling beer in the UK is Carling (Black Label) which is an AAL (i.e., a BMC type beer). As regards the UK there is absolutely no conflation there. Carling is brewed by Molson Coors Brewing in the UK. Cheers!
We were in Paso back in Oct. and I really like Pivo Pils. Heavy handed, that would be Russin River's Pils!
Not rich in malt, and some grainy finish, fair amount of hops. Russian River "It Takes a Lot of Great Beer to Make Great Wine" was more like Pliny the Lager. At 4.75% ABV it was not so bad though as a change of pace at RR.
