Beck's, a Premium Lager by Brauerei Beck & Company12 ounce bottle, served in the bottle.
Ah, Beck's. I was celebrating the father's birthday with the family and the father kept offering me a beer. I finally gave in because I knew that the shredded barbecued beef sandwich and the barbecued pork ribs demanded it.
I sat and drank. I pulled out my notebook and scribbled notes. I listened as the father regaled me with stories of drinking warm Beck's on tap in West Germany forty years earlier, during his days of youthful abandon. I learned. I enjoyed.
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The aroma is a hint of burning rubber tires or skunk cabbage, although it is not skunky per se. In fact, this vague and ambiguous hint of skunk is somewhat appealing. Underneath lurks hints of freshly mown hay and light lemony brine. The flavor follows suit. I imagine that if I ran out and licked a patch of sun-dried grass and then bit into a bicycle tire and gave one good wash over it with my tongue that I would be close to the taste of this. And, once again, that is not a negative. It was strangely invigorating. This is much better than other macrobrew lagers I have had. It has a clean, crisp finish with a light spiciness and subtle dryness. It is hoppier and more bitter than other lagers of its type.
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The father had no idea what I had jotted down. Yet he told those of us gathered that if he left Beck's out overnight (when he lived in Germany) that it tasted like skunk cabbage the next morning!
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We also learned that German Beck's in late-1960s West Germany was about twice as strong, alcohol-wise. The father prefers it to other German lagers, finding it to be slightly more bitter and much more to his liking.
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So, I found a beer that the father and I can enjoy together, especially during the warmer days of spring and summer. I am going to have to stock the refrigerator with some Beck's for when he visits.
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