Estrella Damm

So I just randomly grabbed one of these tallboys because the tin was so darn good-looking.  I assumed it would be in line with the Heinekens and Becks' and Boris' of the world.  Eurolager.  Not bad, but not awesome.  How close was I?

[caption id="attachment_472" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Estrella Damm"][/caption]

From an attractive red tallboy with a best-before date on the bottom, the beer is a nice lemon yellow with a good head after a moderately hard pour, head dissipates quickly to thin film that didn't leave much lace.  Aroma actually is a little hop-forward, metallic and a touch piney.  There is clear cereal grains, and maybe some corn.  Taste is metallic, like, I wonder if it's the hops or not, old hops or grains?  There is a nice sweet gain, lightly malty under the metallic taste, but a significant metallic presence, which I didn't taste when I drank it on Sunday.  Strange.  Mouthfeel is nice, pretty carbonated, and dry on the finish.  It's an easy-going beer that is a good measure better then any macro brews we're making here in Canada, but it's still a pretty standard Euro-lager.  Not bad, but not something I would seek out.  And this particular one has that metallic twang...  Still, good value, and I would drink it over a Heineken or Stella any day of the week.

That's interesting, I just read the label and guess what?  Apparently in Spain, you DO have to list the ingredients of your beer.  In Estrella Damm:

Water, barley malt, rice, corn, hops, propylene glycol alginate (stabilizing agent E-405).  That last one is a derivative of kelp, and is a thickener and emulsifier.  Basically, it's there to make the beer feel a little smoother in your mouth and improve head-retention.

Imagine what we would see on the label of a Bud or 67......

Tagged: Lager, Spain