Cencerro Cerveza
Cowbell Brewing Co.

Poured a light gold color with a thin head of foam. Keeps a fair amount of lacing around the glass. Faint corn flake smell with a very slight lime zest aroma to it. I can just make out the lime zest from the taste but barely. Other than that, it reminds me of other light Mexican lagers. Low IBU. Easy to drink. Not much character to it.

At my lady Pamela's house; canned and chilled, from their Summer Mixer boxset from my favourite LCBO at The Roundhouse Centre in nearby Windsor. My sixth beer from the Blyth, ON brewery...

March 28, 2006: At my lady Pamela's house; canned and chilled, 473mL in a pint glass. From my favourite LCBO at Tecumseh Mall in nearby Windsor. Canned October 2/24; damaged can. My 2nd time drinking this, and 1st for 2026. Outrageously deemed remarkable by Gracie the cat...(now a 4)

 

355 mL can from a four-pack purchased at the LCBO; dated Jan 12 2023 and served slightly chilled.

Pours clear pale straw yellow, with an inch of soapy, bone white head rising to the surface; it lasts for three minutes or so, soon whittled down to a frothy collar and sudsy cap. A few patches of messy lace are haphazardly flung about in its wake. It smells of corn cereal, grainy pale malts and grain husks with faint lime zest - nothing exciting, but it's fine for an adjunct/Mexican lager.

Tastes alright at first, but the aftertaste is mildly off-putting, especially for the first few sips. It tastes of bready, doughy pale malts and corn chips for the most part, punctuated by exceedingly subtle hints of lime zest. Floral, leafy hop notes appear on the back end, with a dirtiness that lingers briefly into the aftertaste; this aspect became less of an issue over the course of the glass, as I 'got used to it' I guess. Light in body, with low carbonation that contributes to this lager's smooth, wet mouthfeel - thirst-quenching, with no bloat factor.

Final Grade: 3.29, on the higher end of a C+. Cencerro Cerveza still has some room for improvement. First off, the lime is so faint that it might as well not even be there - and I'm not saying that this needs to be like Bud Light Lime, but if you're going to mention lime on the label, it ought to be more of a factor. I'm also not sure that the hoppy flavours on the back end are entirely suited to a light Mexican lager (or any adjunct lager, really). Maybe I'm being overly critical - I mean, all I really expect out of an adjunct lager is that it's drinkable and inoffensive, and Cencerro mostly fits that paradigm. If you enjoy the occasional Modelo, there's no reason not to try this.

April 1 2023