Top Rope Mexican-Style Craft Lager
Upslope Brewing Company - Lee Hill

 

Color is straw gold. Nice foamy head when poured fades to thin blanket. Nose is clean, malty, lemon, bread crust, light caramel; medium minus intensity. Palate is quite malty, bready, toast, yeasty, going towards lemon yogurt, with a mid palate of light citrus (lemon and lime), banana, grapefruit. Pros very clean, complex, simple enough to chug a can after a bike ride, terrific balance of hoppy fruit and malt, delicious, refreshing. Cons thin head (though pours nicely), maybe a little fruity technically for a lager (banana). 91/100

 

 

 

 

The body exhibits a crystal-clear, pale yellow body and with a lasting creamy white head. Smell is predominately light malt notes and little noticeable hop aroma, though what I get comes across like fresh grass. Taste is lightly malty, like bread crust, slightly sweet with a very light hop bitterness at the end. Body is light, clean, and dry.

A very nice lager. I don't know if there is any sort of official style description for 'Mexican-style' lagers, but this lager puts emphasis on the malt profile with very little noticeable hop presence. Very refreshing and enjoyable.

Pour - fills the glass a straw color, clean and clear with a relatively thin, white, wispy head.

Aroma - cereal grains, lemon, fresh cut grass, some hints of melon and a bit of an earthy, spicy hop aroma.

Taste - very crisp and refreshing right from the first sip. Some malty sweetness hits the tongue first and is followed by a sharp, dry finish. There are some nice citrus and soft fruit flavors to this lager as well. Within the world of canned lagers this one is certainly better than most. A job well done by all involved! Salud!

Overall - I could definitely get behind having a few of these with some fish tacos or a huge Mission-style burrito with lots of fresh salsa. Love the fact that Upslope teamed up with some local restaurants to make this one happen, not to mention the label art is just fantastic.

Note - cans of Top Rope are usually only available at Big Red F's Colorado restaurants; Lola, Zolo and Centro Latin Kitchen & Refreshment Palace. Upslope has however sold some cans at the brewery and small amounts do get distributed locally to a few liquor stores.

BONUS: There is a typo on the Top Rope can that has since been corrected. See if you can find it!

 

APPEARANCE: Crystal clear and pale, but not quite as pale as many other Mexican Lagers. There is a little orange here with a decent half-inch head. That head dissipates quickly though. A few dozen streams of bubbles race to the top giving this beer a lively look.

SMELL: It smells a bit like hops and corn. Some breadiness also comes through as it sits and warms for a moment.

TASTE: This is a traditional Mexican Lager early in the sip with crisp, clean and zesty flavors, but towards the end of the sip it becomes a touch spicy as the malt begins to kick in. The corn is still there in the flavor, but not in a bad way.

MOUTHFEEL: The sparkle is fairly strong and it pairs well with a sweet and corny tang.

OVERALL: The Top Rope is a pretty strong Mexican Lager, it’s no Ska Mexican Logger yet, but still solid. This beer is going to perfect with the post-thunderstorm, late afternoon sunshine of Boulder.