The Champion's Brother - Dos Equis Amber
by - Written: Sep 04 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Light and smooth
Cons: Taste may be too subtle for some
The Bottom Line: A good beer to introduce your friends to. It's dark, but thin; malty, but dry - a totally counter-intuitive lager. It is good drinking!
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| remf2112's Full Review: Dos Equis XX |
Dos Equis Special Lager is, for my money, the best south of the border drink. It does have a stablemate, which is also worthy of consideration. Dos Equis Amber is a Viennese-style lager which can easily hold its own among beers of the world. When I first tried this years ago, I wanted to see if it was really in the Viennese style. I was rather surprised to discover that it pretty much is. Since then I have learned that many beers from Mexico, Brazil, El Salvador, etc. are actually descendants of breweries founded by Germans. So it is with Dos Equis. When I was enduring higher education, I used to make it a point to educate my younger friends (one never had a lack of friends when over 21, liked to party, had a car and enjoyed convivial company) in the joys of being a beer afficianado. One way I did this was to juxtapose their supposed Mexican favorite, Corona, with my favorite, Dos Equis. It usually only took once, I made LOTS of converts in this manner. I generally let the beer make its own sales pitch.
Dos Equis Amber pours to a rather thin, rapidly vanishing, head. The color of this lager is the deep brownish copper of an old penny. Nonetheless, the beer itself is very light, which is counter-intuitive for such a dark brew. The initial taste of this is strongly of very good tasting malt. The malty taste fades fairly quickly, but there is no taste of hops, vanilla, etc. I tend to prefer (as everyone knows by now) hoppy brews, but this malt is very pronounced and dry. Malty beers tend to be sweet beers, but this little lager is counter-intuitive again, as it is not very sweet. There is very little aftertaste here. Many Mexican brews have a metallic hint to the taste, which is wholly absent with Amber. In all of the above, save its lack of a head, it is very much like an honest to goodness Viennese brew.
While the consensus of Epinionators seems to be for this to go with Mexican food, I would venture to say that this goes well with Italian, Indian and perhaps Chinese cuisine. Still, the lack of spicy taste in Amber may complement some of the more peppery Mexican dishes. This beer is very adaptable to many meals and situations.
I think most everyone should try Dos Equis Amber. While its lack of an extreme taste may limit its desirability as a "favorite," this is another beer which usually only needs to be tried to be liked. It is quite available in the Great Plains, and I just got it Thursday for $9.99 a 12 pack.
I converted numerous Amherst freshman from Beer Barbarians to Beer Snobs with some help from Dos Equis Amber. Have this and try it on your friends, too. Then we'll see how badly they want to go back to Corona!
Recommended:
Yes
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