Modelo Especial

Modelo Especial.
4.40% ABV.
Brewed by Grupo Modelo S.A. de C.V.
Mexico

Gold foil wrap...this is fancy as all hell.  I will not be putting any limes in this one. Not A fan of putting fruit in my beer. If it can't stand alone, it can't stand at all. Am I right? Am I right?

Look: A clear bottle...why? Why could this not be in A brown bottle, or at the least in A green bottle. Like most Mexi-lagers, this one follows suit. The beer pours A very light golden color. Nothing to special about it. It looks like most others. Perhaps A bit more dark.  A thick, off white head forms with an aggressive pour and quickly dies out. Some carbonation trickles upward from the bottom of the glass. The beer does leave a bit of decent lacing around the glass though. Not that this creates A special beer or anything.

Smell:  By the grace of whomever, this beer does not smell skunky.  It does smell A bit cheap though.  Some stale malt is about all I'm getting.  It smells very sweet.  I'm not really A fan of overly sweet lagers, so hopefully this doesn't follow into the taste.  After sitting A bit I was able to pick up just the faintest trace of hops.  I have no idea what variety of hops they use in this brew.

Taste: Here we go. The beers sloshes into my mouth and goes right down my throat without any problems. A tad sweet on the mouth. Some toasted malt and A touch of honey up front, followed by A bit of bitterness to balance. A bit of earthy hopping thrown in as well. Nothing is really too discernible.  Very unoffensive. At least, I was not offended. An easy drinker.  I also am picking up some metallic aftertaste.  Not really against that though, It could have ended A cloyingly sweet. The beer finishes semi-dry and even A bit sticky. A simple lager that you could down easily on A hot day. I guess that is the aim of these brews.

Mouthfeel: Smooth. Easy to drink. Moderate carbonation. Surprisingly doesn't burn my mouth or throat. I don't really like it when the beer feels like I'm swallowing tons of little needles with every gulp.

Overall: This really isn't bad. It's actually one of the better Mexican lagers I have had. It's leaps and bounds ahead of Corona in my opinion.  I would get this again. I would like to try it from the can some time in the future.  It is A bit pricey though.  I paid $28 for A case of it at my local distributor.

Modelo Especial gets A 3.5/5 from me.
 It's not amazing but it's also not disgustingly awful. A middle of the road brew for people tired of the Corona.