Pizza Port Amigo Mexican Lager

On-tap at the brewpub: Nice clear pale gold yellow color with a smallish whitish cap of foam sticking around the top. Small bands of strings and some spotty lace stick as its consumed; and consumed quickly. Aroma is crisp and grainy like that of mushy Cheerio’s. Taste is absolutely wonderful for such a simple lager. Outstanding whole grain taste. Cereal crispness of Cheerio’s and Chex with a great wheat grain finish thats never, ever too tangy. It fits right in with a light toasted breadyness as a small dry hopping of a Czech pilsner style fades off the end with amazing grain taste. Feel is clean, crisp, and bold with a very fine creamy medium body that totally fits the flavors. A perfect beer for just a quick thirst quencher. Hits the spot without a doubt and drinkable without a doubt. Damn fine beer.

A very thirst quenching as it says...make sure you tell bartender No lime as it takes away from subtle flavors of the grains that are almost sweet but not over top. slight hop bitterness adds to crispness. good summer brew

On tap at RBSG at Lost Abbey. Pours a light copper color with a small off-white head. Aromas of lightly roasted barley and bready yeast. Tasted of malted grain and molasses. The mouthfeel was light and a bit astringent. Finish was short and dry. Overall: A very sessionable pale lager. Very tasty.

Sampled on tap May 2007
Last impressions first, this is a poor example of a Mexican Lager; at least I was expecting something close to water, with overtones of corn, and perhaps even some authentic skunk. This beer did not come close. Instead I found a nicely hoppy beer that had a solid backdrop of clean, cereal grain, malt character. It did hit the crispness of a Mexican Lager, but the crispness was contributed by a solid hop biting bitterness in the finish that is quite atypical of it’s namesake beers. The body was also not light and watery enought; it was still light, yet had a nice malty fullness that just kisses the palate enough to let the clean malt character linger on a bit. The hop character leans towards grassy herbal notes, but does seem to have a hint of lemon grass to it as well.

All in all a failure from the cloning of a Mexican Lager aspect. Thank goodness though, because instead we have a nice, easy drinking, hot-weather refresher. I would definitely forgo the recommendation for a lime, this beer has enough malt and hop character to stand on its own two feet.

Solana Beach. Aroma of grain and vienna malt. Appears a yellow color with a light orange tint; no efferveascence and no head. Flavor is nutty, with toffee, and with good residual sweetness. Palate is medium-light, with low carbonation, and quite appropriate. Overall, this is an excellent representation of a vienna lager, and it is greater than the sum of its parts.