Casta Bruna

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

More like a strong Ale, it has nothing to do with English ales, maybe because it is pasteurized. But the colour is alittle dark, without being a dark one. It is amber after all, good foam, and malty taste.

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

Had to drink this from the bottle as no glass to hand. Did not get around to reading the label until afterward. Thought this was a lager - nameless/ faceless. I drink a lot of english bitter being English and this is not at all representative of that style.

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

Amber colour, low dissapearing head. Hard and simple toffee aroma, hints if caramel. malty flavour of nuts, caramel and light chocolate with a yeasty undertone. Hard mouthfeel. Short finish of toffee.

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

Boy, it's weired having a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale right before this and expecting to find the same hop explosion. The two are not the same by a long shot. This is good, but think English Bitter, not Pale Ale. Pours a dark amber with a pretty good head that leaves some nice lacing. I do like the artwork on the bottle and actually the bottle itself. Smells malty with just a touch of hops. Tastes malty with some grain flavor. Again, just a touch of hops. It's almost out of balance but not too bad. Mouthfeel is good; full and creamy with a moderately clean finish. Drinkability is pretty good, though it's not a "hot weather" beer.

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

Darker end of pale ale. Mine was a bit darker than the picture here. Off-white head isn''t as nice as the Morena. Looks a bit like medium brewed tea. The aroma is faint citric hops but is really faint. The flavor, oddly enough, reminds me of tea. Maybe it has something to do with tannins, but I don''t know. There''s also a light toasty malt there. Despite the fact it''s obviously not flat, the mouthfeel is a bit flat and thin. This is a disapointing beer after the Morena, but something about it is begging to be drank. I''d polished off half the glass before realizing I needed to give it time to warm up to see how the flavors changed. Even then my hand kept reaching back for it so it''s a very drinkable ale.

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

Amber brew with a nice white head that lasts. Malty and definitely in the english style. Slight hop presence.

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

To finish off my trifecta of Casta brews, here it goes with what I assume is the brewery's flagship beer -- an English Bitter if ever there was one.

Nice layer of white foam (a welcome change from the other, more boring looking beers that I've had from this brewery), on top of a firm reddish bronze body. Interesting, so far.

The smell threw me for a loop, though. "What the heck kind of hop is that supposed to be?", I asked myself. Very fruity in the nose, with something of a weird sour tang to it, as well. Perhaps due to a "very English yeast", or something else, I wasn't quite sure.

From the first sip, I knew this would be a different brew than the norm. Sweet/sour front-end, with an odd aftertaste in the finish. Trying to think "outside the box", I asked myself, "Is this trying to be a Bitter, or a Pale Ale, or what?" If nothing else, the slight astrigentcy is a bit of flaw, regardless of the intended style.

Mid-glass, things finally starting to come together in my head on this one. This is what Dos Equis would taste like if it were top-fermented with an obscure English yeast (e.g. Southwold, or maybe Ringwood). Not that should be considered to be a bad thing, but just something to use a reference point.

Is it good? Is it bad? Tough call, that one. It makes one ponder the world in ways not normally imagined...; but in the long run, I would say that I would not be going out of my way to seek this out.
//TB

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

Medium amber color. Medium head. Aroma is fruity and malty. A medium bodied Pale Ale. Malts are slightly roasted, light and fruity. Hops are slightly spicy and piney. Well balanced. Lighter flavored. Nice taste. Very drinkable. I think I have a new favorite brewer from Mexico! Light and spicy finish. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

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

I really wanted to like this beer. Since so many beers from Mexico are sub-par at best, I was thinking Casta would be out of sight. Well, compared to the likes of Sol and Corona, it's quite good. But stacked up against others of its style, it didn't bowl me over. Pleasant color and aroma, but way too sweet for my taste. Cool label, though.

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

Appearance: Clear amber colored with a tightly bubbled white head Aroma: The nose had some malty and some lemony notes in it. Flavor: It does have some maltiness to it, but I detected some lemony fruitiness too.