Ambar Especial

Brewed by La Zaragozana
Style: Pale Lager
Zaragoza, Spain

Serve in Dimpled mug, English pint, Lager glass, Shaker

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First, I really wasn't planning on rating any new beers for a couple of days, so this one was a total accident. In fact, it was born of a bad cold I've been suffering. I figured I needed to clear my sinuses and one traditional method is to take lunch at Tacos el Asador in Koreatown. I've mentioned before how much I love this place - the food, the decor, the community atmosphere. Oh yeah, and the fact that they seem to find new beers for me to try - bested in this town only by Smokeless Joe's I think. So in I go and they have a sign for this on the wall. And some bottles in the fridge. Of course, I have a bad cold. And on top of that I burned my tongue yesterday drinking tea while my mouth was still frozen from a trip to the dentist. So this is a really hobbled rating...Ambar Especial from Zaragozana is a clean, malt-accented pale lager. Their is some hop bite, but not a whole lot. By international lager standards, this seems to be one of the better ones. I would wager that it is all-malt, and it is reasonably balanced. It's a pretty safe bet I'll be back at Tacos el Asador as it is one of my favourite restaurants, so it's a safe bet I'll be rating this one soon when my senses are back to 100%. But I'm sure of what I found this afternoon. I just need to double check to make sure there wasn't anything more.

Pours golden with steady bubbles and a nicely proportioned head. Nose of gentle herb notes and mainly a pale malt background.Taste of hay, then caramel with a grassy hop note running through. Palate is medium bodied, with a medium, tangy texture and a crisp finish. Overall, a well made strong lager.

Aroma of straw, grass and apple peels. Golden and totally clear. Minor hop presence to balance dry pale malts. Very consumable as you might imagine. Better than average basic lager.

Bottle at home. Clear golden with a small white head. Aroma light malty (caramel), medium hoppy. Flavor light sweet, medium bitter. Medium body.

11.2oz bottle in a shaker. Pours golden with a thick, white head. Aroma of pale malts, a little caramel, and light hops. Flavor the same, better than most of this style. Average texture. A decent beer.

Bottle. Golden colour with a white head. A bit sweet malty nose. Medium sweet and light grassy flavour.

Boring pale lager lacking any distinctive features. No flaws. Adjunct not apparent. Light grassy character with a thin body and dry finish.

Bottle. Clear pale golden body, small white head. Nose is dusty hops and pale malts with hints of syrup and some sour-ish tones. Taste is sweet pale malts, hints of syrup again and grassy hops. Some strange, glue-like vegetal hints in the aftertaste. Blah.

Pours a clear and golden beer with a white head. The aroma is malt and sweetness. The flavor follows the nose with additional notes of alcohol. The palate is sweetness. Overall an average beer.

Cup 33cl. Ambarcolour, like its name, with off white head. The aroma is malty and yeasty. About the taste, results sweet light and on palate results a light beer with medium body and a little bit watery and bittery at finish. The carbonation is soft.

Pours clear golden with white head. Aroma is fruits and malt. Taste is little sweet and bitter. Watery...