Alhambra Mezquita

Brewed by Grupo Cervezas Alhambra (Grupo Mahou-San Miguel - Carlsberg)
Style: Strong Pale Lager/Imperial Pils
Granada and Cordoba, Spain

Serve in Dimpled mug, Footed Pilsner, Lager glass, Stein

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330ml bottle (£1.99, Lupe Pinto deli, Glagow):
Sweet with a lot of rich and creamy malts to begin with together with a good helping of caramel malts that was not what I was expecting from this one. There is a touch of fruit and maybe some vanilla but it is the caramel that stands out from the start.
Bright amber to copper colour with a thin, half centimetre tall and foamy, white head that holds exceptionally well.
Darker fruits, mainly figs and some raisins to begin with along with a lot of caramel from the nose and some sweet malts as well. Pretty much mirroring the nose but somehow not quite as nice and more harsh in the taste department. There is some sugar and a boozy, alcohol taste along with very strong kick right at the end.
Medium bodied with mild carbonation and a sweet, alcohol laced mouthfeel with a strong, wet finish that had a real kick to it.

Good looking and great smelling beer that was let down severely in the taste department due to the excessive alcohol content and a beer that I feel would have benefited from being a lot less strong and more of a session beer.

UPDATED: JAN 17, 2013 Buen intento de alhambra de hacer una belga, se nota demasiado el alcohol quizás para tener 7 grados.

33cl Bottle: BBD 24 June 2013. Drank @ home on 2013’s New Years Eve during a ’Drinking around Europe’ evening. Copper/reddy amber body, clear and bright: on top a thin crown of white foam. Malty aroma: various molasses within those malty smells with caramel leading the way. The taste was a mix of the aforementioned maltiness and a hop sharpness joined by a big helping of alcohol. The body depth didn’t quite carry the flavours passed the alcohol level and I have a feeling this is one of the beers that gave be the headache I woke up with on 1st Jan 2013!

This pours clear copper with a tan head of foam. The aroma is caramel, estery fruity sweetness and a mineral notes. The taste is basically the same as it is smooth and sessionable and non offensive in any way. I get a fairly tasty mix of caramel, sweet apple like esters and mineral notes.

A decent brew with some grainy and malty flavor. A little hoppiness thrown in, and drinkable. It’s ok.

Copper pour, white head. Aroma is malty, grainy, very light hops. Flavor is smoother than I thought it would be. Malty, a bit of corn. Really not as bad as I expected.

Bottle from Drinkmonger. Pours a dark golden colour with a fair white head. Aroma of bready yeast, caramel and alcohol. Similar flavours with mild carbonation and a foamy mouth-feel.

Botella de 330ml. copa Pokal. (Antiguas notas). Color ámbar rojizo. Espuma beige claro y corona fugaz. En nariz, maltas tostadas y melazas, toque de frutas oscuras y alcohol. El sabor es el esperado según los aromas. Final bastante dulzón. Cuerpo medio y carbonatación moderada. El ABV se percibe mientras permanece hasta el retrogusto. Se agradecería un poquito más de lúpulización para equilibrar los azúcares; sin embargo, es una cerveza bastante aceptable. 330ml bottle. Pokal glass. From my notes. Reddish amber color. Light beige froth. Brief crown. Toasted malts & molasses, dark fruit touch & alcohol to the nose. Flavor as expected from aromas. Quite sugary finish. Medium body. Moderate carbonation. ABV is felt while lingers into the aftertaste. A little bit of hoppiness to balance sugars will be appreciated. Even though, pretty correct beer.

33cl bottle. Pours amber with a nicely proportioned head. The nose has caramel with a strong malt backbone. The taste has more of the caramel and pale malt. The palate has at least a medium body, maybe even more, the texture is thick, it just needs a bit more sharpness on the end. Overall, a good effort but not as refreshing as I’d prefer.

Bottle. Amber with a medium sized head. Sweet caramelly aroma with some raisins, light hops, a bit floral and metallic, and of course alcoholic. High carbonation, sweet caramelly taste with raisins, with an unpleasant, alcoholic-astringent finish. Would require more depth to justify such an overt alcohol presence. Not good.