Many moons ago, before I became a true Bruguru, I used to drink Beck’s beer. Mind you, we’re taLking some 23 years ago, but back in those glory days of my youth I would consume cases of Beck’s and Beck’s Dark, with a good amount of St. Pauli Girl thrown in for good measure. Oh, there were a few other beers I’d drink, too (usually a case of Schmidt’s from Philadelphia, especially their Bock beer at Easter time. Eight bucks a case was such a bargain).

Anyway, enough reminiscing. Here it is, 2006, and I haven’t really drunk a lot of Beck’s beer in a long while. So, just for nostalgia’s sake, I picked up a 24 ounce bottle tonight and spend a night with an old friend. After so many years of drinking double bocks and IPAs and barrel-aged stouts, a glass of Beck’s might seem a bit out of place. But I can still appreciate a decent pilsner, thank you very much.

That said, Beck’s is not the finest example of German pilsner. To be sure, I would take one of these over a Budweiser any day, but I would rather have a Warsteiner these days than a Beck’s, if I am to be quite frank.

A good part of the reason for that is the green glass that Beck’s is packaged in. Green glass is the “in” thing for mass market European imports, and unfortunately the American consumer by and large seems to associate green glass with quality, Indeed, some even come to think that the “skunked” flavor in green glass packaged beers is the way these beers are supposed to taste.

They’re not, of course. Skunking is a phenomenon that occurs when certain wavelengths of light-energy stimulate chemical components present in hops. The result is trace amounts of the same chemical that skunks produce, which is not something I want in my beer.

Brown glass does a much better job of filtering out these harmful wavelengths than green glass does, though it’s not entirely perfect either. Sadly, the marketing people always seem to win out in these battles, and so the uninformed consumer ends up buying defective beer.

Beck’s Lager pours to a surprisingly pale golden color with a light spritzy head formation and a decidedly skunky nose. I wouldn’t call the body of this beer full by any means, but it has a little more malt depth than, say, Budweiser. There is a definite biscuity malt character present, and the fact that there are no nasty adjunct flavors here would be a plus. Would be, if it weren’t for the skunkiness.

A little bit of grassy hop character is present, but that annoying skunkiness mucks up the finish too. And that’s about all there is to say about Beck’s. It’s a better beer per se than Budweiser, though the latter doesn’t end up skunked (you have to have hops for that to happen). On draft, Beck’s is much better, with the pleasant character of the hops appearing untarnished by the skunk aromas.

I like the Dark a lot better, though I like the new Beck’s Light least of all of their beers. I wouldn’t turn a Beck’s lager down if somebody else is buying, but by and large there are usually better options available.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft



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