Del Norte Mañana

Formerly brewed at Del Norte Brewing Company
Style: Amber Lager/Vienna
Denver, Colorado USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, Lager glass, Shaker

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I was first introduced to the Del Norte Mañana under exceptional circumstances. And by exceptional I mean exceptionally awesome circumstances. The Mañana made an appearance near the end of my very first homebrewer’s association meeting, where I was graciously hosted as a guest, and given pint after pint of unique, lovingly crafted brews. I was made to be a king, and there upon my kingly table were overflowing glasses of sour red ales, black IPAs and a fallout shelter’s worth of drinkable goodies. Many of these beers were introduced with dramatic flourishes and bows, followed by pronouncements of their most noble and scientific origins, each given a list of accolades detailing their painstakingly long and tedious birth. The Maãnana was anonymously abandoned on the counter, left sitting in a cardboard six-pack holder, looking intimidated in its flimsy basinet. An elderly man shuffled up to me and parted his beard to declare that this beer was a lot like Corona but better, and that it was a shame restaurant’s did offer it. He then shuffled away, fading into the crowd, presumably to offer more prognostics to unsuspecting students. I took the bottle and gave it a pour, and found that the old man was entirely wrong. The margin between the Mañana and the Corona was larger than small. The beer looks a lot like whisky, though with a much fuller light brown head, and a mild coffee aroma. The flavor is intense and deep (the greatest disparity between it and Corona) with a sweet, warm honey flavor, and a tragically brief aftertaste. Some deep thinking leads me to conclude that both the aroma and flavor feature heavy undertones of mesquite wood, piled on top of a mild, soft carbonation. This would make an excellent session beer, and I see it paired well with that Mexican restaurant food too, but a close observer will find very little overlap between this brew and a Corona.

Tasted at the 2010 Craft Lager Festival in Manitou Springs. Pale amber liquid with a thin bubbly head. Aroma and flavor are both pretty flat and unimpressive...not bad, but nothing memorable. Light malt appears in both, touch of twang from the hops, but metallic finish really pulls down the experience.

This is a decent beer. The flavor has a good malt character to it. The problem is that it smells bad, like of a malt liqour almost.

Draught. Amber with small head. Aroma is hoppy and stale skunky smelling. Flavor is light hop bitterness throughout but in the beginning this bitterness sits behind a sweeter character to start. By the beers finish, sweetness has changed to sour and dough and metal. KInd of gross. The warmer it gets the worse.

The girls brought this back with groceries to Mike’s cabin in Colorado to drink between tasting the 17 top 50 beers we had rounded up for our family reunion. Not much to say, copper color, a nice bit of malt, a bit of grain, fairly dry, no aftertaste, better than a Miller.

Bottle. Pours a copper color with a thin, foamy beige head that slowly fades. Taste is of malt, banana, caramel and hops. Slightly bitter. Similar aroma. A little thin, but easy to drink. Not bad, but not that great. Better in the bottle than poured out of it.

bottle. clear amber, small head. body is excessively rough and caustic, harsh carbonation combined with a husky, stale bread crust/crumb character leaves this beer nearly undrinkable. mild flavor of sweet vienna and munich malt with low hop bitterness, it turns from somewhat sweet to soured/soggy bread when it warms with diacetyl/butter/metallic notes. not terrible but nothing i’d ever want to drink again.

Aroma - very faint maltiness; Appearance - copper color, fluffy head, great lacing; Flavor - sweet malt front, subtle caramel, mild back with a slight tang, dry finish; Palate - smooth for the style, good body; Overall - unique brew, not typical of the style, more flavor than typical Mexican swill yet less than a good vienna, solid effort.

From the Jug at the GABF, Colorado Convention Center 12/10/2007 Hoppy aroma. Golden coloured smooth on the palate and hoppy with a crisp malt finish.

(on tap at Trinity in Colorado Springs). Porus a clear amber color. Medium white head. Light malt aroma. Light malt taste, with burnt malt flavor on the finish. Moderate lacing. Avg duration. Smooth/watery finish. Medium body. Moderate carbonation.