Dos Equis

Dos Equis is, today, one of the most popular Mexican-produced beers, and its popularity is due, in large part, to the "World's Most Interesting Man" ad campaign, which was launched in 2006.

In 1897, German immigrant, William Hasse, began to sell Dos Equis from his Moctezuma Brewery, located in his adopted city of Vera Cruz, Mexico. This beer, XX, was named for "Twenty" in honor of the approaching 20th Century. Unfortunately, most consumers did not understand the connection, so they simply called it "Two X's", and later on, after realizing the fruitlessness of trying to continually correct the public on the correct use of the beer's name, the brewery officially adopted the nickname as the actual name.

Dos Equis has, like so many other beer brands, been passed around to numerous owners, and Heineken International is the newest brand holder, acquiring the company in 2010. Dos Equis has been imported into the USA since 1973, and in 1984, Dos Equis Especial (4.3% alcohol) was introduced. The Especial has actually become the flagship brand of the line, and the original Dos Equis, now called Dos Equis Ambar (4.7% abv), is a lower-volume companion. Many do not realized that the original Dos Equis was a Vienna Lager and not the more well-known pale lager. Also, during the Christmas season, a special, called Noche Buena is sold, but in very limited quantities.

The consumer will find that Dos Equis Especial is widely available in varying bottle sizes, on tap, and in cans. One will also sporadically find the Ambar, almost always in bottles, although canned versions of it are sold. This writer has tried both the original and the Especial, and I must say that both are smooth, pleasant beers, that can strongly compete with all of the other mainline Mexican lagers.

There is no doubt that the heavy advertising attention given to the Dos Equis line has made it such a common and popular beer offering.

RJT

Sol

Sol beer was developed in the federal district of Mexico (Mexico City) in 1899 by a German immigrant, and is so named for its bright, sunny appearance in the clear bottle. Sol has been a Heineken International brand since, 2010, when the Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma brewing company was acquired. Sol is available in fifty countries and is sold in varying bottle and can configurations, and one might occasionally see it on tap. According to Heineken, it is especially popular in the Middle East, Asia, and South America. One will find that it is also widely available in America and it is a standard offering in Mexican restaurants.

Sol is 4.5% alcohol, and the company touts its "exquisite aroma", "mild flavor", "slightly bitter" flavor, and "refreshing" character. Sol's mellow approach guarantees that it is not shunned by those turned off by harsh or strong beers. However, most beer enthusiasts will find that the beer had enough flavor and character to complement a spicy Latin meal. This writer sees a bright future for this brand in the coming decades.

http://www.cuamoc.com/es/cerveza/sol

Carta Blanca

Carta Blanca (Blank Check) was introduced by Cuauhtémoc Brewery in 1890 in Monterrey, Mexico. This beer was the original beer of the brewery, and was the flagship beer, until the 1980s, when the Dos Equis line began to overshadow it, after the merger with the Moctezuma company in 1985. At 4.5% alcohol, Carta Blanca is an easy-drinking, mass-produced lager, and is widely available, typically in 32 oz. bottle in six-packs of 12-oz. bottles in select locations. Cans are rare, but are produced.

One will run across this beer on many menus in Mexican restaurants, and this writer can attest to the exceptional pair-ability of this lager with spicy Mexican or Tex-Mex offerings. It is highly recommended that the beer enthusiast sample this classic beer brand.

NOTE: Heineken International acquired this company in 2010.

The Winery Exchange and Private Label Beer

Founded in 1999, the Winery Exchange produces a large array of private label (store brand) beers, wines, and hard liquors. Many of their beer brands, such as Big Flats 1901, are sold under exclusive agreement with store chains, such as Walgreens. Most of their beer brands are produced at the Rochester, New York brewery, most famous for the Genesee beers, although some Winery Exchange beers are imported from Europe or Latin America.

Although the quality of the beers is questionable (I have tried quite a few and have found them inferior or even outright unpleasant), there does seem to be a continuing market for them, and many times they are marketed as craft beers, as one will notice with the brands sold at Whole Foods Market.

Like it or not, the private label segment of the beer market is strong, the Winery Exchange is a major player in it, and there is no sign that the trend will end in the foreseeable future.

George Killian's Irish Red

In 1981, Coors acquired the rights from Pelforth Brewing of France to produce their own U.S.-made version of George Killian's Irish Red, which is still common to American beer outlets, usually in bottled form and occasionally on draft and in cans. At 5.4% alcohol, Killian's Irish Red is a lager beer, although, when it was introduced in Enniscorthy, Ireland in 1864, it was sold as Enniscorthy Ruby Ale. Pelforth had picked up the brand in 1956, when the original Irish brewery ceased operations. Interestingly, Pelforth (now, a Heineken subsidiary) continues to sell a European Killian's Irish Red, which is of a different recipe and label design.

According to the Miller-Coors website Killian's is a 5.4% abv lager, but the Molson-Coors website shows it at 4.9% alcohol, and it might be sold at variant abv levels. In 2006, George Killian's Irish Stout (4.9% abv) was introduced, and it is sold in select American states. George Killian's Irish Honey beer was sold in the 1990s, but this offering did not last.

Killian's has proven to be a consistent seller for Coors, and it is commonly available. One will not often see any sort of advertising for this beer, however. This lager has won a bronze, three silver, and two gold medals over the years at the World Beer Cup and the Great American Beer Festival, so it has a trophy case to back up its claims of quality and enjoyment.

It seems as though George Killian's Irish Red Lager will remain a strong contender in the beer world for years to come. This author has had much enjoyment from it, and it's stout variant for years.

Extra Gold Lager

Extra Gold Lager, formerly Coors Extra Gold, was introduced in 1985 as a cold-filtered, non-pasteurized competitor to the newly introduced Miller High Life Genuine Draft, now Miller Genuine Draft. At 4.97% alcohol, Extra Gold Lager, is sold regionally, usually in 30-packs of 12 ounce cans, although it is also available in bottled form. Coors describes it as "a distinctive brew with abundant flavor and a deep golden color. Extra Gold Lager starts with the slow aging of its roasted malts, which are then combined with its other premium ingredients and slow-brewed to produce this exceptional, refined lager." It is no longer described by Molson-Coors as a cold-filtered, non-pasteurized beer, however.

Upon this beer's introduction, and until the mid-1990s, this lager received heavy television, radio, and print advertising attention, and it was available nationwide. For whatever reason, possibly because the beer did not meet expected sales expectations, Coors Brewing Co. began to slowly cut back on promotions and on availability. The beer enthusiast will, more than likely, have to search hard to find Extra Gold, but this writer can verify that the beer offers a smooth, pleasant, and tasty drinking experience. One hopes that this beer will again be decently marketed.

http://www.molsoncoors.com/en/Brands/Global%20Portfolio/Extra%20Gold%20Lager.aspx

SILVER THUNDER MALT LIQUOR

One of the more obscure and mysterious malt liquor brands is the regionally available Silver Thunder Malt Liquor, which is "Brewed with classic natural ingredients for a smooth full flavor", meaning, it is made with cheap, six-row barley malt, corn syrup, hop extract, water, and yeast. What do we know about this extra-strong lager beer brand? We do not know its alcohol content, because that is not available on the Pabst website, and beyond that, this beer is not even referenced on that same site. We do know that it was a Stroh Brewing brand, introduced sometime in the 20th Century, and we also know that it won a silver medal at the 1992 Great American Beer Festival. We also know that it is sold in at least these vessels- 40 ounce bottles and 16 ounce cans, which is verified by my first-hand observation of such on a recent East Coast road trip. I notice that the label design has not been altered since at least 1996, as evidenced by literature produced by Stroh Brewing in 1996, which was sent to me by that company.

This writer has never seen it sold anywhere but in states ranging from Virginia to New York, but it is probably available, elsewhere. Since 1999 it has been a Pabst brand, and it is, like Big Bear Malt Liquor, one of their most unattended and unacknowledged brands. This beer receives absolutely no advertising attention of any kind, yet it does seem to move at a steady, if unremarkable pace. This is known to be the case, because other beers, like Falstaff and Ice Man Malt Liquor, which did not sell at an acceptable level, have been dropped by Pabst without the least sentiment or public notification.

I have tried this product on one occasion (16 oz. can in 2010), and I found it to be comparable to other mass-produced, value-priced malt liquors, such as Colt 45 and Schlitz Malt Liquor. It is recommended that the reader sample this beer, if the opportunity presents itself.

NOTE: Silver Thunder will be discontinued after 2013.