Lawnmower Beers. If I were to try to loosely define this beer category I would categorize it as “a select group of beers (usually in the lager family) that go beyond the ‘session’ beer and enter into a category of easy drinking after a period of sustained physical labor.” Some people might categorize them as “softball” beers. Others as “I just cut the lawn. It’s freaking hot out. Just give me a beer” beer. Others consider them to be macro-brewed swill that will never pass their lips. While they struggle to open their latest 750 ml “find,” I’ll be reaching for a cold one in the fridge. Sue me.

I like the lawnmower beer. I grew up drinking Schaefer and cutting the lawn. [Of course, my late father only had Schaefer available. He considered Heineken a “fancy” beer.] It is not readily accepted that one can be a beer geek and also embrace the lower end of the beer cooler selection shelves (seven dollars a six-pack appears to be the demarcation line in my area), but I find that there are times when a macro brewed bottle of beer can just about be perfect.

And, it’s not just strictly a nostalgic need to “slum among the macros” for me either. I have found other beers within this area outside of the usual macro-brewed products that give this much maligned category some added competition.

Price Wars. One such beer is WARSTEINER Premium Dunkel. German beers are increasingly being priced competitively in the marketplace and, consequently, there are bunch of German brews priced below seven dollars that can add value to your lawnmower beer pursuits. Warsteiner products retail for $6.99 a six-pack in my area, and a 12-pack runs $11.99, which makes it a competitive choice for people who normally look to American macros and Canadian offerings in these price ranges. It also makes it a serious competitor to Sam Adams on the 12-pack price range. The irony is that Warsteiner uses the slogan “Life is too short to drink cheap beer” yet here they are pricing their beers to compete with what some would consider “cheap beers.”

The Warsteiner US Web site [www.warsteiner-usa.com] defines their Dunkel or dark lager as “a traditional German dark brown lager… being neither sweet nor roastily dry, with a slight spicy maltiness and a clean round finish. It has a reddish-black color which is almost opaque.”

Like most German beers it is “brewed according to German Purity Law of 1516.” It has a 4.9% alcohol by volume (ABV) rating and contains no preservatives or additives.

More information on the brewery (brewing since 1753) can be found on the Web site or at the international site [www.warsteiner.de].

In any event, I’ve been drinking my share of Warsteiner products lately. And, doing my share of yard work in the NJ heat and humidity as well. Though the Premium Verum (4.8 ABV) has its fans (my wife among them), I prefer the Dunkel.

WARSTEINER Premium Dunkel pours to a reddish dark brown color with a nice touch of beer lace. The brew emits a pleasant fragrance, a touch of sweetness in the air, with a dough-like aroma.

The taste is uniformly pleasant throughout. A very mild hop presence with some bite, but mostly a steady dose of malt sweetness from start to finish. There is an equally mild roasted coffee note here. I would describe the beer as sweet, but it’s not as sweet nor spicy as some of the more authentic Dunkels one can find. It has a prune-like flavor lurking at the finish which is kind of interesting.

Overall, WARSTEINER Premium Dunkel is the kind of beer that I find myself reaching for after doing battle with my yard (lawn, trees, garden) on a weekend afternoon. It’s virtually impossible to have just one; it’s a very easy drinking beer. I enjoy it a lot (three stars) and at the current price range, it’s certainly worth a try for those looking for something other than their usual “lawnmower brew.”

Note: Premium Dunkel is Warsteiner’s name for this beer in the US market. It is otherwise marketed as ISENBECK Dark.




Recommended: Yes

Beer Name: Warsteiner Premium Dunkel
Price per six-pack ($US): 6.99
Beer Rating: Drinkable