Coruja Strix Extra
Cerveja Coruja

 

Unfiltered and malty beer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice golden orange color, slightly hazy (than cloudy in the last drops) with tiny floating particles. Poured a two finger head with low retention.
Faint malty aroma with hints of earthy hops. Once it warmed up got some orange peel and vanilla.
Likewise, malty flavor with a strong earthy hop taste. Also notes of nuts, roasted matls and orange. Aftertaste is mild dry with a residual taste of grounded grains.
Full body with low carbonation.
Definitely the 6.5% is not felt, good choice for malt chasers, prioritizing it over bitterness.

Poured into a pilsner glass from a 600ml bottle. Bottle advertises it as an "extra lager."

Finally, some craft beer from Brazil! It's unbelivable how much control macrobreweries have over the beer market in this country. Let's see how this holds up. I bought this from a small wine store from Itaipava, in Rio de Janeiro.

Reveals an amber-orangish appearance that looks a lot like APAs, yet with some differences. Tons of carbonation is visible, to the point where it's hard to tell at first if this is even a lager, or if it's even filtered. As carbonation dies down, it indeed matches up - although the huge, creamy head makes it not look like any lager I've ever seen before in Brazil.

Contains a huge malted aroma, to my surprise, as well as slight bitterness. Am I crazy or does this smell exactly like many Portuguese ales I had in Europe? As it warms up, notes of chestnuts, grains, honey, and slight roastedness.

The beer proves itself to have overloaded maltiness but a hoppiness that keeps it interesting. Bready, yet not too fruity overall. Sweetness definitely is derived from the generous ABV offering. Creamy and thick - does not remind me at all of a lager in terms of body and flavor except for its filteredness.

If reviewing to style, Coruja has developed a very good example of the maibock German style. It's too malty for me, but it is definitely a balanced beer that is hundreds of times better than any of the boring adjunct lagers that exist everywhere in Brazil. Definitely refreshing!

Unknown bottle size, thanks Jon,

A: Pours orange with a good sized head, spotty lace, good head retention.

S: Sugared orange peel with a hint of spice/coriander.

T: Nice bread malt flavour, with more fruit than I'd expect perhaps the Brasilian heat. Nice orange notes with a hint of corn.

M: Smooth, light-bodied and crisp. Mild carbonation and very easy drinking.

O: This clearly does not drink like 6.5%, it drinks like 4%. Good lager.

A relatively new beer to the Coruja family. The specs of Strix looks similar to Extra Viva, though the Strix is pasteurized while the Extra Viva is not. It's another Brazilian beer coming from the hand of srbcurti, so you know that I'm excited once again to try another one. On to the beer:

Shows a yellow orange color with a creamy head some good amounts of spotty lace. The nose brings a lot of sweet white corn, along with an evergrowing note of honey and wildflowers.

The first few sips had a distinguishable grainess, though this does go away completely. Once that's out of the way, Strix becomes a good, strongly flavored lager. Honey, fruity, wildflowers, and a pinch of peppery alcohol towards the end are among the specs of this Gauchan beer. The medium is quite full...closer to medium-full, not too over the top, so it remains easy to approach.

I'll admit to shying away from strong pale colored lagers, though both offerings that I've had from Coruja have been expection to this rule. Quite interesting without being too brash.