TMS Beer Project: Dos Equis Amber

With the name Saloon included in our moniker, one could surmise that we here at TMS like to drinky drinky. One that would make such an assumption would be correct, thereby throwing out the whole, 'when you assume you make an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me' bullshit. We also like to plagiarize each other. In the same vein as the Wrigleyville Bar Project, we are proud to bring you another installment of the TMS Beer Project. The premise is simple: we review beers. Each rating will feature a variety of scores from 1-10 and comments from the bartender. This is a public service damn it. We don't want you to be the sucker who pays $15 for a six pack of some overrated Belgian cat piss. Now, we all drink massive amounts of beer so we know what we speak of. Each of us seem to have a favorite style of beer though. Will we be reviewing macrobrews like Bud and Coors? Oh you bet your Aunt Susie's ass we will. For purposes of this science experiment, and it is in the name of science, those will be the "control" group. Use them as a base line for when we review lesser known imports and microbrews. Without further ado, I bring you our next beer:

Dos Equis Amber

Brewery: Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma, S.A. de C.V.
Type: Vienna Lager

Receptacle: 12 ounce bottle

Drinkability (1 being Jim Jones' kool-aid, 10 being the nectar of the gods): 9.5
This is a very smooth beer. It has a mild malty taste with a hint of caramel and some smokiness. It goes really well with a meal at your favorite Mexican restaurant, especially something spicy. The flavor of the beer really seems to meld with the spicy peppers and chillies found in Mexican dishes and enhances the overall experience of both the beer and the meal.

Personally, I could drink these all night long, my one complaint being that the last few swallows from the bottle taste a little watery to me. I've had Dos Equis Amber in Mexican restaurants with a lime and at home without and I actually prefer it without. The lime flavor obscures some of this beer's natural smokiness and to me, that's a bad thing. The only other Mexican beer I've ever had is Corona and flavorwise, this kicks Corona's ass.

Heartiness (1 being fresh mountain spring water, 10 being a pureed British steak infected with mad cow disease): 5
These aren't real heavy, which is one reason they go so well with a real stick to your ribs meal. (See above for my comment on the last few swallows from the bottle.) This is a great beer for drinking while you're throwing some seasoned steak on the grill on a warm summer day.


Intoxication (1 being your friend's weird pentecostal grandmother high on Jesus, 10 being Boris Yeltsin on a week long bender in the Crimea): 3
Dos Equis Amber has an alcohol content of 4.75%. I'm a drinking lightweight and I have to knock back almost a sixer of these before I start getting buzzed. If you're looking to get drunk, this is not the beer for you, son. These are perfect to drink with people you'd rather not embarrass yourself in front of, like your co-workers or your wife.

Celebrities You May See Drinking This Brew: Bill Clinton, Ernest Hemingway, and of course, The Most Interesting Man in the World.

Affordability ($ being chicklets in Tijuana, $$$$ being diamond encrusted braised lamb shank from a trendy cafe on the Champs d'Elysee): $$: I paid $14.00 for a 12 pack of this stuff. Worth every penny.

Overall: 9

In all honesty, I'm hardly a beer expert. Of all the Bartenders, I'm probably the least knowledgeable about beer, particularly smaller, independent breweries. I also have very little money, so I don't experiment very often. I tend to find something I like and stick with it for long stretches of time. I tried one of these in my favorite Mexican restaurant and have been hooked ever since. So take my opinion for what it's worth, but this has become my beer of choice over the past month or so.