Monte Carlo

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 4

Pours a clear golden colour with a small white head. Slight lime and citrus notes, aroma is stale, corn tortillas and arroz possibly- sampled in El Remate, Guat.

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 5

Monte Carlo and Mazo were my favorite Guatemalen beers. Monte Carlo kind of reminds me of Rolling Rock. When fresh and cold it has a clean taste with only a hint of bitterness -which gives it enough body to elevate it above tapwater such as Sol or Pacifico. Like Rolling Rock, Monte Carlo is perfectly drinkable but nothing too special on its own.

Aroma: 2 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 2

My first of two beers from Guatamala that I popped open after work today -- and let me tell ya, it sure wasn't a welcoming start either...!

No vile odors when I popped this open (it's a twist off, but I always use my bottle opener out of sheer habit). But when I poured it into my Primo Beer glass, it looked like someone added just a dash of yellow food coloring to some 7-Up -- complete with the big mounding head of foam that subsided and disappeared in seconds.

What misgivings I had from the looks of this obscure import were only solidified with the first taste. WTF is up with this? Why would someone go through all the time and trouble to buy mass amount of Miller High Life Light, allow it to sit in a hot warehouse for a few months, and then rebottle it in Guatamala?

Now I know that's not what this actually is -- but it sure does come across that way to me. Old and watery Miller High Life.

Unfinishable schwill. After bravely soldiering through a half-glass of this, I dumped it down the drain.

This wouldn't cut it even if I was sweating my ass off in the tropical jungles of Central America. And if a beer can't be appealing in those conditions, how do you think it'll fair in more temperate settings?

Next...
//TB

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 3 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

Pours nearly clear, a very faint yellow with a fluffy, lasting head. Smells just awful; dirty and sour. Tastes slightly better, just thin and bland. I'd drink it if I were in Guatemala I'm sure, but I won't drink it again here.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 3 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 3

Sampled from bottle. Pours a very clear light gold with a generous white head. Aroma and flavor are both one-dimensional: sour malt. Balanced, smooth, light-bodied and well-carbonated. Another generic adjunct lager. Nore to self: check beer from Guatemala off the list.