A Beer on a Mountain Part 3: DAB

Continuing with the fabulous backgrounds the Laurentian mountains have provided for my starlets over the past few days, I took advantage of the spooky mood that a cloud-covered mountain can provide and served up an Export from the Dortmunder Action Brauerei (DAB). I have to admit that I have never been to Dortmund, but given the rivalry of my favorite football club with the one from Dortmund and the heinous insolence through which Dortmund copied my team's club name, I find it appropriate to give the DAB a nice haunting stage design. Indeed, Dortmund is located in the industrial heartland of Germany, the Ruhrgebiet in which coal and steel industries have always been the backbone. I contrive stark silhouettes of smoke stacks and factories in heavy fog as an alternative, industrial view, compared to the actual nature view in the photo below. Smoke stacks and factories would also make an interesting stage design for another day's malt star.  What is in the future for heavy industry? The same as for brewing, I imagine, where we have seen consolidation followed by creative niche specialization. The big get bigger and work based on an engineer's logic, the small stay small and work based on an artisan's logic, and the middle is squeezed out because they are not big enough to meet the demands of the engineer, and they are too large to be seen as a legitimate artisan. Good thing that DAB is playing legitimately among the big boys, I should say, because I enjoyed extinguishing my thirst with this DAB specimen, arriving in what appears to be a recently re-done can design.

I do not believe it is well known outside of Germany that Dortmunder is actually considered a beer style of its own, developed as an alternative to Pilsener and Munich lagers. What makes this beer appealing to me is the mouthfeel, which is a rich and velvety blend of breads, balanced with subtle hops bitterness.DAB beer has the typical German malt flavors that make me drool like a dog - think of a Ukrainian Easter Braid loaf or a fresh croissant. I have never tasted a Canadian beer that has this same rich malt taste, while Dutch and Czech beers do have it, and so I speculate that this has something to do with the difference between North American grown and European grown barley. The malt flavours in most Canadian beers are less bread-like and rather dry, more akin to Melba toast. DAB's gentle hop flavors make the taste of sweet malted barley fields become more pronounced but still provide a nice clean palate at the end. Dortmund, I spit on your football, but I savour your beer!