Beck's Dark

First Brewed: A while back
Brewery Location: Bremen, Bremen, Germany
ABV: 4.8%

History & Availability: Beck's Dark is the #1 imported German dark beer, which I'm 100% certain is simply because Beck's has been exporting their pilsner to the US for over a hundred years and brand recognition is a huge bonus. It's Beck's, and Beck's is an export brand, so chances are if you're looking around you'll find it no matter where in the world you live.

Appearance: Almost pure black with just a little chocolate brown edge. Interestingly the head is fizzy, almost white, and super scant, disappearing without a trace after only a few seconds. Again, can't tell much about clarity or carbonation because it's quite dark.

Smell: This is the weirdest thing, I'm getting a coppery pilsner smell reminiscent of regular Beck's from this dark of a beer. There's a little more body to the smell than a regular Beck's but the connection is unmistakable. There's also a decent bit of grain coming through.

Taste: Grainy and sweet. There's a little bit of hops here but it's so faint as to be almost unrecognizable even under the fairly tame grainy foreground. There's a strong sweet aftertaste that lingers for a long time.

Mouthfeel: Carbonation is very low as I sort of expected with the total lack of head. The beer is very light-bodied for being so dark and if it weren't for the taste and color I might honestly mistake this beer for a pilsner.

Drinkability: Unlike some other beers where gas stays low despite prominent carbonation, Beck's Dark despite its low carbonation seems to reach into the aether and retrieve some of that lost gas and instill it into your stomach unbeknownst to you. This beer is really not particularly drinkable compared to its immediate brethren, Beck's in particular, because it's built to taste like a sessioning beer but bodied like a medium pale ale.

Overall verdict: C+, note to Beck's: you can't make a dark lager the same as a pilsner and expect people not to notice.