Negra Modelo Review

I'd been meaning to get around to this one for a while now. Today I give you my take on Negra Modelo.

You see, most Mexican beers (Corona, Tecate, Modelo Especial, etc) are just adjunct lagers, like Bud or Miller. Very few, like this one, are made in a different style and actually have some flavor to them. The Grupo Modelo website calls this a Munich type beer, which I'm sure is why Beeradvocate.com categorizes it as a Munich Dunkel Lager (dunkel = dark). A Dunkel Lager is just a lager brewed with more malt, making it darker and richer, but still not as heady or heavy as something like a stout.

I had had this beer before and liked it, so I had been meaning to get around to having it again to review it. Hindsight 20/20...

Well, it pours a dark brown color but upon pouring it I realized that not much head is forming. Never a good sign. The head dissipated quickly and left neary a trace. Disappointing.

Along with that typical clean lager smell there is some toasted malt and caramel in the nose, along with a faint touch of nuttiness. The maltiness is to be expected but overall, there's nothing special here.

I still had faith in this beer... until I tasted it. Toasted caramel malt came in behind the bubbly fizz of too much carbonation. There was some vague hop in the finish but mostly all I got was watery malt and carbonation. In a way, it was like a cleaner, more carbonated Newcastle. Again, never a good sign.

This beer is about as thin and watery as a beer this color can get. The carbonation is on the heavy side but it works for this beer, or saves it, depending on your point of view.

I expected better. This is a Glass 1/2 EMPTY beer. It's in no way horrible, there are no adjuncts and the flavors and balance are almost there, but it's weak and watery. This beer is better in the bottle and is still a good choice to wash down some Mexican food. Other than that, reach for something better. Cheers!