Modelo Especial
Grupo Modelo S.A. de C.V.

3.85/5  rDev +35.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Served ice cold with a nice Mexican dinner. This is an excellent pair with this meal. Slightly sweet and lightly hopped with a hint of corn. Goes down easy, refreshing. One of the better beers in the genre.

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3.76/5  rDev +31.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Poured from a 24 oz can:

Pours a golden yellow color with a white head that starts strong but diminishes to nothing within seconds.

Aroma is bready and floral with some light corn adjuncts.

Taste follows the nose. The honey and orange blossom are more prevalent. Corn up front, floral quality in the middle, hop bite at the end, then a quick, clean finish.

Feel is light, but not as light as I expected. High carbonation. Easily drinkable.

Overall - I was extremely surprised with this one. I was nervous to try it for fear it would be just another unpleasant macrobrew, but it’s really not. I’d be glad to have this one again. Next time I can get one with my meal at a Mexican restaurant, I will.

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2.09/5  rDev -26.7%
look: 2.25 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.25

Poured from a can into a pint glass.
Appears golden yellow with a nice foamy head that dropped quickly to nothing.
Smells lightly bready, corn, very lightly floral.
Taste follows the nose, with the corn upfront, after a couple though you don't notice the corn nearly as much.
Mouth feel is medium for the style.
Overall a beer that is good to bring to a cookout, give them away, and session with a lower ABV.

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3.39/5  rDev +18.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3.25

One of my all-time favorites, but it took me a long time to appreciate this beer for really what it was - a germanic recipe that uses corn adjuncts. This isn't the highly processed high fructose corn syrup adjunct, no it is high grade flaked corn maize which delivers a rich nearly transparent adjunct flavor - I once heard if you cannot taste the adjunct it is likely a great lager, that holds true with this 'special' model beer from Grupo Modelo.

As far as the pour you're going to get a quickly disolving head that leaves a microbobble lacing on the rim of the drink, loads of champagne bubbles pop upward in my pint glass.

The smell is of hops, ones of the grassy variety, and a slight corn smell - you may need to dig deep for that scent.

Flavoring is balanced and mildly sweet, hoppy, and carbonated in the mouthfeel. Upfront you're met with high-quality mineral water, a bit of carbonation swirl that leads into a mid that is slightly sweet malt, tangy yeast, and a neat finish that leaves a small hoppy after taste. This reminds me more and more of a Euro lager the more I drink it, outside of the corn adjunct.

Side note - this is NOT something that needs a lime.

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3.26/5  rDev +14.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

16oz can stamped L189B039 (canned 12/18/19 with some research - nearly 5 months old) poured into a Modelo branded shaker pint at fridge temp, no ABV listed on can. The beer pours bright golden yellow with off white head. The head recedes to a thin ring and island of tiny bubbles. A few spots of lacing. The aroma is faintly grainy & grassy. The taste is semisweet corny/grainy with some defined tart and vegetable flavor. Moderate bitterness of the style. The mouthfeel is thin to medium bodied with average carbonation and an undry finish. Overall, not good. There's a distracting oily bitterness that is really out of place. Tastes as if lagering was incomplete.

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3.84/5  rDev +34.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

This one pours a light golden yellow color, with a small head, and not much lacing.

It smells much like any Mexican lager would - light hop bitterness, crackery and just slightly sweet malt, etc.

This is much better than people give it credit for - but it's definitely best designed to pair with spicy Mexican food. It's crisp, it's super clean, and I don't get any flaws. It probably helps that it's in cans now, so it keeps better, and tastes more like what it should taste like.

This is very light bodied, and super crisp, with a wonderful drinkability to it.

This should not rate as 66 (Poor). It's certainly not a world beater, but it does exactly what it wants to do. It's a drinkable, crisp, and refreshing beer that pairs well with Mexican food.

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2.2/5  rDev -22.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 1 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.25

A: crystal clear; deep gold in color; less than a 1 finger white head that receded to a thick collar; no lacing;

S: completely skunked;

T: balance between sweet malt, skunkiness, and a bit of spice; mild bitterness on the finish;

M: light bodied; moderate carbonation; moderately dry finish;

O: I realize that people like this beer, but I just don't understand why;

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3.22/5  rDev +13%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3.25

Poured from a clear 12oz bottle: This Mexican import pours the the same bright gold/straw color it displays in the bottle with a thin cream colored head that quickly vanishes. A light amount of lacing, and medium amount of carbonation. Slightly skunky notes of grain/sweet corn. Personally I find this corn adjunct lager to be crisp, and refreshing. The sweet corn taste isn't over bearing, and is balanced well by the light amount hops. Overall an easily drinkable (chuggable) beer that's smooth, refreshing, and pairs well with your favorite food.

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3.43/5  rDev +20.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz clear bottle. Date coding stamped on bottle is 'K199C079'.
Clear, pale gold colored body. Brief white head, and later a isolated island and ring. Leaves a few patterns of lacing.
Aroma of grain malts and a lighter fruitier note.
Taste is not skunked, with mild malt and grassy hops, with some spice notes. Definitely has a sweet character rather than bitter or sour.
Light, crisp mouth feel. Very good carbonation.
Eminently drinkable as a reliable thirst quencher. I am surprised the beer is not skunked.

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3.91/5  rDev +37.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

It is what you expect of a crisp lager. It is a refreshing beer that has a light taste not too sweet. Not the best color for a lager but this beer is easily drank at a barbecue with friend or after mowing the lawn. My preferred beer for said occasions.

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4.1/5  rDev +43.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

I've never had a Mexican import other than Corona, and this beer blew Corona out of the water in my opinion. The maltiness and crispness was fantastic, although there wasn't a very strong hoppy taste. Colorwise, the clean, golden color was very appealing to the eye. This beer was much better than I expected, and I highly suggest anyone grabbing a 6-pack and trying it out.

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4.17/5  rDev +46.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Tastes pretty good. Pretty much the best Mexican beer that they commercially sell in the USA.

Actually has a similarity to some other high quality beers but it's kind of subtle on the flavor yet its not that cheap tasting.

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3.14/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3

Clear Golden yellow liquid
Pencil thin white foam cap that quickly recedes
Aroma is faint, light, grains
Taste is adjunct grains and then someone polluted my beer with a lime
Good beer

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4.59/5  rDev +61.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

One of the best beers that you can find around in US. Always light and refreshing yet so full (sexy hop bite) that this is the go to in most places. Gold standard of affordable and readily available beer.

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3.18/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

Drank from a bottle while butchering chickens. Looks a clear medium gold color. Smells and tastes like fizzy yellow beer. Good for the circumstance ,after a few I wanted some Mexican food.

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1.9/5  rDev -33.3%
look: 3 | smell: 1.75 | taste: 1.75 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Frankly,I am astonished at how bad it is...I would trade it for a Miller High Life in a heartbeat. Someone left some at my house and so I thought I would break away from my Fat Tire and give it a whirl...My first impression? Nada,nothing...like where is the beef? No head,no lacing no flavour,no smell...nada. I used to enjoy Mexican Beer a lot as I live near the border and even visited the Tecate Brewery a few times and enjoyed every bottle,but this? Nada...there is nothing here..glad I didn't buy it. Maybe I got a bad batch...there are no dates anywhere so who knows? Salud!

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3.07/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3

Much better beer than Corona. Pours light golden color with small head. Smells slightly skunky, but most light beers do. Tastes similar to corona, but more good flavor. Light beer, so you can drink 2 no problem. Good job Modelo.

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3.09/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Nothing fancy, just a straight forward “regular” beer. Smooth with some corn notes on the finish. Super crushable, great beer on a hot day. Will take this over Corona 100 times out of 100.

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4/5  rDev +40.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Look is medium light gold with an average white head.
Smell is faint but clean.
Taste is very balanced, I know it’s an adjunct but I don’t really notice the corn. It’s malty but without the graininess of some lager/pilsners. Seems like it has more bittering hops than most adjunct lagers, especially AAL’s.
I can only imagine that the poor rating this gets is from people drinking this from the clear bottles and getting lightstruck beer. Only drink these from the cans, the big 24oz cans are the best. So if you read this review, disregard the poor rating, this is the best Mexican lager hands down. No way should this be a poor rating. To me, this tastes more like a Munich Helles. I highly recommend, I will drink more of this over the coming weekend.

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2.64/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 2 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 1.75 | overall: 3

The beer pours a pale straw color with very minimal head. It is very clear. The smell isn't very strong. What is there is a soft malty aroma. Given the clear bottles, there is a clear lack of skunkiness (at least for the bottle I had). The taste isn't bad, although off flavors are present. There is a good caramel flavor which crescendos into the after taste. That being said some unpleasant phenols are also present in the after taste. The hops are there but not very foreward. The body is very loose and the carbonation isn't strong. Overall, I find it easy to focus on the good aspects of the taste and enjoy the carameliness of the beer.

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2.87/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75

Pours a yellow-orange with a foamy white head that lasts quite a while. No discernable aroma. Tastes of spice. Average mouth feel; dry and spicy. Good summer brew.

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2.87/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75

Corn,,corn syrup, some skunk,malt,grain,breast
Taste is corn , malt, bread and skunky.
It's a tough one to critic as theres things to complain about yet I seemed to get it down without any problems. It's a safe bet and did go well with Mexican food so I would get this in a pinch

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3.93/5  rDev +37.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Awesome beer. One of my go to's especially in the warmer weather. Much more flavorful and full bodied than 95%+ of AAL's. Much better than corona or dos equis in terms of mainstream mexican style beers as well.

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3.31/5  rDev +16.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

I am not sure how this has a poor rating. It is a decent beer. It is very drinkable and it is versatile. The flavor is okay. It isn't too hop-heavy, which makes it versatile enough to work with a variety of meals. It reminds me of a beer you should keep around for guests. It isn't your standard AAL, so this works for those who are strongly against AAL (it seems like there is a growing number of people who hate the AAL). But, it is inoffensive, so those who like the AAL style and not the IPA hoppy beer, they will be able to get down with the Modelo. Plus, the packaging isn't too bad as well.

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4.03/5  rDev +41.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

I don’t get why beers like this don’t get any love. It’s tasty. It’s not complex. It’s refreshing. Clear bronze, nice carbonation. Crisp, clean, I guess you could say it’s got a typical AAL taste. I like the feel-it’s not thin and watery. I’m glad my neighbor gave me one of these, as I normally wouldn’t buy it, but for a macro, it’s good.

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