Culebra Lager

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

A random beer that I stumbled upon at a Big Lots (discount "close-out" store) that I ran into Christmas eve, in search of a Christmas card. Figuring that I could afford $3.99 for a six-pack of something new/different, I brought this home with me.

Red can, with a length-wise silver rounded rectangle insert. "Cerveza Dorada Importada" on top, "Cerveza Culebra Lager" (a.k.a. "The Snake Beer") in the middle, and a stylized red snake on a black diamond on the bottom. Gold-on-silver grain representations on either side of the snake logo complete this beer's rather untraditional presentation.

Speaking of untraditional, I fully expected this be your typical Latin/Central American Pale Lager -- that is to say, dull in appearence, with minimal head, assy aroma, no body, little flavor, and unappealing pissy finish. Maybe that's rude on my part to automatically assume this of a beer merely by looking at it's country of origin, but history tends to back this up most of the time.

Well, I did say "most" of the time. And while the aroma isn't anything to write home about (no, not in the least), this beer at looks much better-than-the-norm. Clear yellow, with a nice layer of foam, good head retention, and a lot more lace that I've seen from much more expensive Lagers, from Central America, or elsewhere, for that matter.

Fairly clean in the mouthfeel and drinkability, letting the flavor profile of this beer come through. Granted, we're not talking about a ton of flavor, but again, much more than I would have expected from an unknown Pale Lager from Guatemala. Much more substantial than many of the beers from Guatemala's northern neighbor Mexico, and that unto itself says a lot to me, living so close to Mexico, etc.

Award winning? Hardly. A great example of what a Pale Lager can be? No, I don't think so. But is it a reasonably solid, easy-drinking beer? I would say so. The aroma is a bit beyond the pale, but if you can ignore that, this is a decent little beer. Not sure if I would want to spend more than $3.99/sixer for this, but, at the same time, I'm not sorry or ashamed that this somehow found it's way into beer fridge.

Worthy of at least a honest, open-minded try, I should think.
//TB

Aroma: 2 | Appearance: 3 | Mouthfeel: 2 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 2

The aroma was pretty non-descript only borderline nasty( probably due to this being in a can,..though id does smell faintlly of sweaty socks. Appearance is a ghastly pale yellowlike canola oil..with a white head. Flavour..mmlike flat Sprite, a sickenlingly sweet aftertaste..that sticks around way to long. Horrid on the palate. Why I but these I do not know..Im a sucker for punishment in the form of cheap Guatamalan lagers!

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 3 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 3

Blech what crap. A bland pissy colored lager is about it. Bud is worse, Red Stripe is better if that helps. Uh skip it REALLY!