I really wish there was a lot that I could say about Modelo Especial, but really there’s not. Short, stubby bottles with a foil covering on the top you have to cut through and get rid of to drink, it’s not exactly a beer for every day, especially when it’s basically Corona in a different package. But is there a place for it? You bet.

It’s not really a secret that I like strong beer.  Some (everyone here other than Matt M) would call it an obsession. Weak beer (read: most lagers) have no flavor, and are brewed to the lowest common denominator. The worst offenders (Keystone, Natty Light, etc don’t actually count as beer) are South American beers, which generally taste something like water that’s had a urine soaked sock thrown in the vat. I honestly can’t think of anything I’d want to drink less. Frankly, the fact we’ve given a South American Beer higher than a 50 on this site should call into question that reviewer’s beer palate in general. That said, I’m a fan of Corona, and I’m a fan of Modelo Especial (as a technical note, they’re from Central, not South America).

Here’s why: not everyone else likes strong beers. Sad though it may be, most people’s idea of a beer is something that tastes slightly more bitter than water, and as a result if you start showing up with Barleywines to parties, you’re not going to be invited back. Furthermore, people don’t drink things they think look weird, and even if you show up with something light and tasty like a normal hefeweizen or wit, you end up taking home all the beer you brought. On the other hand, there’s a niche for beers you can buy that other people will drink and you find acceptable, and in my opinion, Modelo’s two light lagers (Corona and Modelo Especial) are the two best to get.

The tastings: I could write about its light, crisp flavor, but honestly this is Corona in a different bottle. Some people might say different, but it’s the same brewery, and I’d challenge any of those people to tell the difference in a 3-way taste test. It’s best enjoyed with a lime, though not strictly necessary. Great with spicy food, or really all things Mexican, it has enough flavor and character that it is worlds above any South American lager that you can buy.

I don’t buy light lagers much. As mentioned above, I buy them mostly when I’m going to be with people who are afraid of real beer. That said, Modelo is a beer I don’t mind drinking. It is, simply put, Corona for people who want to look like beer snobs, or people who don’t want to look like American tourists in your hole in the wall Mexican place. This is one to remember, not because you actually want to drink it, but because you can bring it to avoid options that are far worse.

Score: 87

As part of their 100th Anniversary, the Spoetzl Brewery of Shiner fame decided to create a special beer honoring their founder, Kosmos Spoetzl. For some reason that escapes logic, this beer is only available in a sampler pack featuring five other Shiner beers I generally don’t want to drink, so it’s taken me a while to find an excuse to purchase one.  Eventually, though, I broke down and grabbed a six pack, primarily because I needed a wide selection of beers for a taste test. The bonus, though, was the bottle of Kosmos Reserve.

Well, I thought it was a bonus. For starters, Shiner is rather vague about exactly what this beer is.  The bottle claims a “full-flavored, hop-jacked lager”, which seems to be two-thirds true.  Kosmos Reserve does have a fuller flavor profile than most lagers, with both sweet and fruity notes.  The hopping, however, is very subtle – not even really approaching a traditional Pilsner in terms of hoppiness.  Ultimately tasting more like an ale than a lager, Kosmos isn’t a bad beer, but it isn’t a fantastic one either.

The Kosmos Reserve was easily my favorite beer out of the six pack, but honestly that may say more about the overall quality of Shiner’s common beers than it does about the Kosmos Reserve.  My ultimate bottom line is this: if this were sold by itself in a six pack, I would possibly buy it. Being required to purchase it with a decent bock, an average blonde ale, a black ale that tastes like a mix of coffee and coke, a light beer and quite possibly the worst hefeweizen on the planet makes the purchase completely unappealing to me. It isn’t bad in a vaccum, but isn’t something to go out of your way to try.

Score: 83

Shiner has decided to join many other microbrews in releasing a steady stream of seasonal beers, perhaps for their novelty, perhaps for their marketing power, and perhaps because some people don’t consider you a real microbrew unless you have at least 4 beers with limited availability, even if you do sell more than any other non-major brewery other than Sam Adams.

Whatever the reason, Shiner’s Summer seasonal arrives billed as “the perfect sommer bier”, and is essentially a Helles Lager with the malt smoked over mesquite wood, in theory lending the beer a smoky flavor. On first thought, it might seem like a smoky beer would probably be a better fit for a winter seasonal, but built on the base of a Munich lager, Smokehouse is refreshingly light enough that it could indeed be enjoyed on a hot summer day, thought it doesn’t necessarily have the same clean and light body that a traditional Munich lager or a light Pilsner might have.

If there is any dominating flavor profile, it would be a sweetness that doesn’t seem to quite fit in either the smoky or Helles lager stereotype. Underneath the sweetness is an unnatural tangyness, almost like the overt lemon flavors in Shiner’s Hefeweizen.  Finally the beer is rounded out by a subtle but noticable smoky finish which is reasonably well balanced.

The final analysis of Shiner’s first summer seasonal is mixed.  Not as good as Shiner 99, not as interesting as Holiday Cheer, this is a beer that somehow isn’t what I hoped it would be.  Perhaps it would be better with food, but at least on its own it’s not something I would pick out of the fridge to drink.

Score: 82

“Thailand’s #1 Beer”.  The best part about this beer might be the bottle cap, which features two elephants.  To be blunt, this is not my favorite beer. While this isn’t a bad beer, strictly speaking, it’s not really one I would purchase in the presence of other beers.  A lager with a slightly sweet and malty flavor, the Chang really falls down in the overall flavor department.  The reality of this beer is a mix match of competing tastes, all of which are subtle and none of which are particularly endearing.  Not a beer to drink in the presence of other beers, notably the excellent Thai Singha, and definitely not one to purchase.

Score: 83

How can you not like this one – it’s Argentina’s favorite beer???

Ok, well my brother doesn’t like it because its super light – “it’s like water.”  But for those of us who like light beers, here’s the skinny.  I agree that it’s light, but it isn’t bad.  It isn’t super full of flavor, and if i had to pick a beer to drink out of many, i wouldn’t pick this one.  if i had to compare it to another beer – it’s like a light mexican beer.   nothing super notable about this one, but if you are into branching out, it isn’t bad.

score: 84