Panga Drops
Nicaragua Craft Beer Company / San Juan del Sur Cervecería

(review from June 2019) Nice Keller pils with a light but satisfying palate heft & a slightly sweet, toasty, malty flavor & mouthcoating finish. Interesting 8oz can for those who only want a 'half-a-beer'.

A: hazy; deep gold in color; 2 finger off white head that receded to a wispy cap with a moderate tight collar; no lacing;

S: lemony floral;

T: corn for a moment, then tea, grass, and metallic; mild to moderate bitterness at the end;

M: medium bodied; moderate carbonation; dry finish;

O: not a good choice;

Semi-clear amber yellow appearance with a fluffy beige head, decent retention and lacing. Malty, grainy, bready, caramel, slight sweetness. Medium body, creamy carbonation. Different but maybe representative of the region.

12 ounce bottle poured into a Spiegelau wheat beer glass.
Bottle says “Amber Lager”

L: Hazy amber pour, persistent one finger khaki head.
S: Zesty hop and bread malt aroma, mineral notes later.
T: Tart and tangy, sour fruit, bread grain malt, floral and herbal hops, mild bitterness, some metallic oxidative flavor.
F: Light body, soft feel to open but drying to the finish.
O: Weird, seems to be an old oxidated bottle of Keller-Amber.

 

 

Nicaragua Craft Beer Company "Panga Drops"
12 fl. oz. can without production codes or freshness dating
$3.29 @ Total Wine & More, Claymont, DE

Notes via stream of consciousness: This beer is from Nicaragua, which I believe is the largest country in Central America, and I have to wonder if I've ever had a beer from Central America before; I don't think so. It's poured a hazy deep gold body beneath a short head of white foam that's dissipating before my eyes. Well, se desvaneció, all that's left is a thin collar about the glass. Is my glass not clean? I don't see any bubbles sticking to the sides. Onward, the aroma is sweet with malt and I'm not really getting any hops apart from a light waft of floral character. There's some graininess to it but at the same time I'm questioning whether there's some adjunct involved, but probably not as it's 6.2% ABV and still sweet. I'm a little bit surprised that this is from a "Craft Beer Company" as there's no clear hop aroma in a Pilsner. On to the taste, it remains sweet, and is actually sweeter than I thought it would be. The floral hops remain and there's a light touch of herbal and spicy character but not much. It lacks bitterness, and it's out of balance, at least for a Pilsner. Is it bad? No, I actually like it, but I also tend to like malty sweet beers. I certainly wouldn't have labeled this as a Pils if it was my beer though. It's clean fermentation-wise, so they've at least got that. In the mouth it's medium bodied on the fuller end, and gently crisp and then-smooth across the palate. Again, I love the smooth and malty mouthfeel but a Pilsner should be crisp with carbonation. As might be expected with a limited head, I have very little left behind in the way of lacing. This is a nice beer that's probably best enjoyed ice-cold but it's certainly not a good example of a Pilsner. I'm probably missing something culturally, but on a world-wide scale as a Pilsner beer this is way off base.
Review #8,665

Panga Drops

PANGA
Nicaragua Craft Beer Co. - C... Kellerbier / Zwickelbier

A light and easy Keller style pilsner. 6.2 packs a kick for this style. It clean, golden grains of corn and buttered toast leans into a lagery green veggie hop and slightly spicy yeast thing. Pretty sure this is my first brew from Nicaragua.

12oz can purchased at Smokes & Suds in Dalton Gardens, ID.

Poured into a glass, this was a fairly chill-hazed, deeply orangey shade of amber. Good sized off-white head.

Malty, corny and grassy nose, in that order, with a bit of a skunky aroma.

Corny sweetness is fairly upfront in the taste. Slightly toasty, bready maltiness is present as well. The skunky and grassy notes from the nose are seemingly gone.

Medium bodied, with a mouth feel that seems a bit thick for the style.

Thoroughly "meh" stuff. I mainly bought it because I've never seen a beer from Nicaragua before. Seems unlike the style except perhaps in appearance. Won't be hitting this again.

Poured from 12oz can into a dimpled mug.

Appearance: medium yellow hue with a light haze and a finger of creamy eggshell foam atop. Quite good!

Smell: malt is quite sweet with a fair amount of corn-like adjunct character. Not terrible, but not my favorite.

Taste: again, kind of a sweet, corny malt, with a light but present bitterness. To me, this is much more of a cream ale than a kellerbier. Still, it's a nice cream ale!

Mouthfeel: medium body with a good level of carbonation and a really nice creaminess.

Overall: this is not a bad beer, but I'm not sure it's really a zwickelbier. Think of it as a cream ale and you'll be much more satisfied.

Poured into a pilsner glass. Pours a slightly hazy medium golden amber with a three finger white head with good retention and solid lacing. Aroma of lightly grainy pilsner malt, citrus and grassy hops. Flavor is grainy biscuit malt, noble hops; grainy finish with grassy hops and pleasant lingering cracker. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess, nice mouth feel. It's been a while since I've had a kellerbier (this one labeled a keller pils), but this seems to hit all the right notes for the style, tasting a little light initially, but finishing with a great balance of pilsner hops and fine malt depth. The mouth feel is denser than expected, which added to the experience. This appears to be a fine craft brewery in an unexpected place and I'll try any other offerings from them in the future.

 

 

Dark gold with bubbly carbonation and a small white head. Good retention and lacing.

Toasted brown bread on the aroma, some cardboard and iced tea, subdued floral hops, lemongrass, hay.

Toasted bready malt, slight cardboard and iced black tea, lemonade, clover honey, hay, mineral water, mild bitterness that lingers for a moment.

Medium feel, well carbonated, nice breadiness to the body, slight slickness of sweetness, then crisp finish.

A pretty decent keller pils. Wish it was fresher. The creep-in of oxidation is a detracting factor, but this is a pretty enjoyable pils nonetheless.

A: Pours a very lightly hazy medium golden yellow in color with moderate amounts of active visible carbonation rising from the bottom of the glass and moderate bright yellow + straw yellow + pale yellow colored highlights. The beer has a two finger tall sudsy foamy bright white head that reduces to a medium sized patch of thin film covering a little more than 25% of the surface of the beer surrounded by a large patch of slightly mottled very thin film covering the remainder of the surface of the beer and a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Light amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate aromas of bready + cereal grain malts with a light to moderate amount of light fruit (apple + white grape) sweetness. Light aromas of lager yeast and light aromas of floral + spicy + grassy hops.

T: Upfront there are moderate flavors of bready + cereal grain malts with a light to moderate amount of light fruit (apple + white grape) sweetness. That is followed by light flavors of lager yeast. Finally there are light flavors of floral + spicy + grassy hops which impart a light amount of bitterness which fades away over a reasonable amount of time.

M: Slightly heavier than light bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Slightly crisp with a relatively clean finish.

O: Easy to drink with well hidden alcohol and a pleasantly crisp mouthfeel. Enjoyable enough though it almost reminds me of hybrid of a Kellerbier/Zwickelbier and an American Adjunct Lager.

8oz can poured into a snifter

A- pours a hazy golden color with a one-finger foamy white head that has good retention

S- smells of doughy malts, fresh cut grass, spicy floral hops, lemon and a hint of honey

T- doughy malt up front gives way to some spicy floral hops, followed by lemon and a hint of orange peel. The finish gives some earthy yeast, with a linger of doughy malt and floral hops

M- medium-light body with moderate carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel that continues into a crisp finish

O- solid and drinkable, well done

 

 

The beer pours a good looking white and creamy head that dissipates at a moderate pace but still leaves a white cover over the beer. The beer itself is a clear golden amber that looks nice.

The smell is fine. It has a bready and fruity note with a slight citrus note.

The taste is fine. It has the same fruity and bready note from the smell with a hint of citrus in the finish.

The feel is fine. It has a medium body and tingling carbonation. Although, I'm disappointed it isn't as clean or as crisp as other lagers.

Overall, a good beer on its own merits but leaves a bit desired as a lager.

A: medium yellow with a touch of hazy, and a nice white head.

S: sweet and grainy, with that signature lager yeast smell.

T: malty with a nice sweetness, perhaps a touch of herbal.

M: medium light, moderate carbonation, and a creamy feel.

O: enjoyable lager, I like the size, very beachy.