100 Beers, 100 Days: Day #25
All the way from the Philipino mega food conglomerate San Miguel comes tonight’s beer, a dark European style lager. Dark European lagers are popular in a variety of unusual places in the world like Mexico, due to the flight of brewers out of Germany in the 19th century. I believe something similar is how we have an interpretation of a continental European style in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. This is also part of my plan to widen the list of countries I’ve been drawing from, especially from the traditional large beer producing countries.
Anyway, this dark lager does indeed pour a very dark color with just a hint of red if you hold the glass up to the light. Yes, I really did that. I am that kind of beer drinker. It also has a very thick head on it. The smell is quite reminiscient of Negra Modelo (which I am quite fond of), though not identical. It also tastes similar to it though I noticed a couple differences. First, it’s like a thicker and chewier cousin. Second, there’s a taste of corn and perhaps even a slightly metallic tinge. The aftertaste is malty and thick. There’s no real hop presence in this beer, at least that I could find.
It was an interesting beer but inferior to Negra Modelo as far as I am concerned. I’d like to see a little bit less body and a little less of the off flavors. With those changes made, this would be a very refreshing beer. I suppose I should be happy that it’s not a crappy light lager or a dry beer, though. I hear those are very popular in that part of the world.