El Pistolero
Excel Brewing Company

Pours a light golden amber with a foamy white head that lasts quite a while. No discernable aroma. Taste is light with a clean finish. A slight hoppy bitterness.

Excel brewing Co. "El Pistolero"
12 fl. oz. brown glass bottle without freshness dating
$2.17 @ Beer Belly's Beverage, State College, PA

Notes via stream of consciousness: Pretty nice looking "Mexican Style Amber Lager"... so we're talking Vienna-stlye lager, yes? Almost fingerprint-through-the-glass clarity in a copper body beneath a pillowy head of white. The head retention looks good so far, and there's some nice lacing. The aroma offers some grainy, toasty malt with a little bit of a dark sugar note and some floral, spicy and earthy hops. It's clean and fairly bright, and for the most part recognizable as Vienna malt although I'm sure there's some Munich malt in there as well. The flavor follows but there's something a little bit out of place, it's almost like some roasted malt had been thrown in for color and that's just not the way it works. I'm disappointed because I thought the aroma was so good. It's also a bit sweet, and it lacks that hard to describe "juicy" note that Vienna malt can give. The floral and grassy and spicy and earthy hops come through nicely though. Yeah, there it is again, I get the almost chocolatey-roasty note in the finish and it just doesn't dove-tail in with the rest of the malt. What a shame, it was going so well. The bitterness is moderate yet it still finishes dry with residual earthy and spicy hops remaining. Medium-bodied and gently crisp then smooth. Despite it's one variance within the malt it remains a very good example of a Vienna-style lager and I'd certainly recommend to anyone that this is a better example to learn from than Dos Equis.

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a pint glass.

L: Nearly clear light golden amber pour. 2 fingers of foamy white head. Scant lacing.

S: Sweet malts... cracked grains. Nutty.

T/F: Light... fairly clean lager. Some caramel malt character... a bit earthy. Very light hopping for bitterness. Light in body. Well carbonated. Finish is a grains.

O: An average lagery type beer. Not bad, not great but serviced ice cold after working in the sun for a few hours it went down nicely indeed.

 

 

Pours a nice dark orange with a thin, creamy white head and good carbonation.
Smell of sweeter malt an yeast.
What a wonderful suprise taste on this Vienna lager. Great yeast taste that gives off the creamy bread taste. A slight hop gives this nice balance. Carmel malt is nice and sweet and not overpowering. Excel, keep it up!

 

Pours a clear crisp amber with a one finger white head that slowly dissipates leaving a think white filmy head on the beer. Continually rising bubbles show a steady stream of carbonation.

Smell is a nice mix of mild hops, sweet carmely malts, and some yeast. Appropriate for a vienna lager and very nice.

Taste follows the nose with a nice crisp caramel malt flavor followed by a hint of hops, yeast and wheat. Very clean and quite tasty.

Feel is again clean and crisp with medium carbonation that gives it some pop while still being nice and light. Really good mexican style lager. Could drink this one for days.

 

Pours a clear, copper color. One inch head of an off-white color. Great retention and great lacing. Smells of sweet malt, caramel malt, slight sugar, hint of hops, slight yeast, and a hint of adjunct. Fits the style of a Vienna Lager. Mouth feel is smooth and clean, with an average carbonation level. Tastes of pale malt, caramel malt, slight sweet malt, hint of hops, slight yeast, and a hint of wheat. Overall, good appearance, feel, and body; close to a Marzen.

 

Poured out a clear, amber color with caramel highlights. It had a small, off-white head of foam. It smelled slightly floral with some caramel malt. It tasted malty and sweet with a floral hop bitterness. It was crisp, sharp and smooth.

 

Thanks to Steve for this one!

Bright golden orange, lasting foam and surface skim. Sharp clarity, and very much to style in every aspect. Toasted malt aroma, nutty and pleasant.

Taste has a similar nutty toasted malt character, lightly bitter in the dry aftertaste. Light bodied with ample carbonation. Overall a nice Vienna lager, crisp and tasty.