Mexican Empire
Arches Brewing

 

What a very surprising Mexican lager. Dark in color, lightly malty in smell, the mouthfeel is medium-bodied, and the taste is really a reminder of the Boston Lager - again, a very solid lager - pleasant surprise...

 

 

L- golden amber
S-toast but not much else
T- cereal and fruity notes
F-great,
O- expected more than what I received, but it’s a learning curve. When I first drank wine, I had no idea what to look for. 400 bottles later I know exactly.

On the darker & maltier side for a Vienna Lager but tasty. It pairs well with spicy foods.

Pours a clear coppery amber producing a strong 2 finger beige, frothy, short-lived head which leaves little in the way of a collar, surface cap or lacing. Aroma is malty: bready, toasty, caramel with hints of cereal grain, and thin grassy hops. Taste is sweet malt forward caramel, rich toasted bread and cereal grain in a fruity background. Toasty and bready fronted with grain hints appearing at mid-sip where the fruitiness blossoms to flow through the finish. Aftertaste is toast and caramel fruity sweetness with low level bitterness. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with moderate carbonation, wet, tongue embracing with a faint prickle. Toasty, Very mellow. Pleasant. In terms of flavor and one of the better Vienna Lagers I've had to date.

Tastes so much like as so close to Dos Equis Amber that you wonder what's the point of making it other than to see if you can try to make something as close as possible to Dos Equis Amber. Of course it's fine if you like Dos Equis Amber but that beer is easy to find so why bother making this?

 

 

 

 

Look elsewhere for notes of oak, Belgian funk and the like. This is just a supremely well crafted table beer – from its unique color (as brown as something can be without being black) to the way it finishes (clean and flavorful). The taste balances well between some roasty, nutty malt and a little kettle corn, with just a bit of carbonation to keep it lively and an underhanded smoothness all the way through. The beer feels complete. I wouldn't change a thing.

 

 

 

Excellent Vienna, glad I stumbled on this at Kroger. Well crafted with big malt taste. Should be a winner for this brew house.

Pours a clear dark Amber with a nice off white/kaki head. Malty aromas light toast with herbal hops aromas. Tastes exactly as it smells, malty light toast flavors. Smooth medium finish with just enough bitterness. Excellent balance.

Arches does a good job with the water, hops and malts profile of this beer.
This style is supposed to be malty with mild hops aromas. The style is marked by milder Continental type hops (Saaz for example). High Alpha Acid hops are not appropriate for this style. Arches is known for paying close attention to water profiles of their beers and this one is no exception.

This is an excellent Vienna style. If you like classic malty lagers, this is an excellent choice.

Hops: Magnum, Hallertauer, Hersbrucker Malts: Vienna, Carafa

Appearance: Pours a clear, tawny brown body with a medium-small, off-white head.

Smell: Though not overly aromatic, there are toasted, bready notes with a razor-thin edge of roastiness, some dry caramel, even a hint of cocoa. Not picking up much hop character coming through.

Taste: Well-toasted breadcrusts and rich, lightly nutty caramel with a faroff hint of chocolate powder. Moderate sweetness. Rather restrained hops, just a bit of imparted bitterness to attempt to balance things out. Remains toasty and holds its sweet caramel nature through the smooth finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium-soft carbonation. Relatively smooth mouthfeel.

Overall: Not an unlikable dark lager by any means, it just doesn't immediately strike one as a Vienna, as its inordinate darker malt components contributed more caramelly aspects than needed, skewing the appearance a bit too dark, and even overshadowing the modest hop profile. Again, this brew is not anathema to me, it just doesn't quite fit the Vienna mold.