REVIEW - Estrella Damm 4.2% (UK Import)

Beer - Estrella Damm
Brewery - Estrella Damm
Strength - 4.2% (UK)
Type - Pilsner

Anyone will tell you that I don't normally drink pilsners. Bitters are fine, ales are superb, stouts are beautiful and lagers are...there. But Pilsners usually get avoided by me. And often, I don't even know why. This beer is the first proper pilsner I've had in a while, and it's a pleasant break from the usual. 

Pilsner, similar to the way a stout could be considered a stronger ruby ale, is often regarded as just a particularly pale lager. Pilsners are popular in Europe, being widely produced in Germany and Spain. So this Spanish beer caught my eye. Annoyingly, to make it available on the UK market they've had to produce a weaker version, at only 4.6% compared ton the usual 5.2% available in native Barcelona. The beer uses a popular mix of barley malt and maize but places rice higher than hops in the ingredients, giving it a distinct flavour.

First thing to point out with this beer is it's a VERY easy drink to drink. As a pale lager, many would assume it means it has no flavour - however, when drunk properly chilled and from a chilled glass the beer is absolutely fantastic. The taste of the rice is very evident in the overall effect of the beer on the palate. As with many Spanish beers it is made to be enjoyed cool on a hot summer's day and this is no exception. 

With a pleasant dark aftertaste and a bitter note at the back of the tongue, this is a very enjoyable beer. The only major negative is it has to be watered down to make it into the country, and as a pilsner it already has a slightly weakened flavour from my usual ale choices. Improve the taste and strength and the pilsner world has a beer to add to the upper ranks.

                                                                        GDBS - 6