With or Without Lime, Dos Equis Amber is an Excellent Everyday Beer

Dos Equis Special Lager is a pretty popular beer.  From my observations, it's one of the few beers that the average drinker is okay branching out with and drinking on occasion (nearly as much as Corona or Heineken).  Personally, I don't really like it.  I'm about to offer a broad generalization, but to me, Special Lager tastes like a generic European Ale (in case you didn't know, Dos Equis is brewed in Mexico).  It's been years since I've had it, so I'll pick it up some time in the near future and put forward a better analysis.  Until then, let's talk about Dos Equis Amber: the superior Dos Equis brew.

I first had Dos Equis Amber at a Tex-Mex restaurant in Gallipolis, OH called El Toril. I was extremely impressed (with the beer, but the food at El Toril is great, too). I was also immediately hooked, and started seeing six packs of the brew at gas stations and six pack stores, previously not noticing the beer due to my unfamiliarity.



It wasn't long after sharing my new find with friends that I learned of some of their bad experiences with or utter aversions they had to the Amber version of Dos Equis.  I didn't quite understand it then, and still don't.  The friends of mine that do like Dos Equis Amber prefer it without a lime.  I've always ordered it with a lime at restaurants, and typically buy a lime when I plan on picking up a six pack, but I'm starting to appreciate and prefer the beer without the fruit.

Dos Equis Amber is, of course, a darker beer than the more popular Special Lager.  The Amber body is medium, with a smooth caramel-like taste (most likely a combination of corn and roasted barley), and offers enough hops to satisfy the palate, but doesn't act as the salient quality.  That's what makes Dos Equis Amber "special."  I see no reason as to why it shouldn't be labeled an everyday beer.  The balance in the taste of the beer, from the initial taste to the finish of a swig, is what merits such a placement in the realm of beers.  It's not heavy, it's perfectly medium.

The ABV (Alcohol By Volume) for Dos Equis Amber is 4.5%, or a little more than the going rate for large brewery, light beers.  This means you'll start to notice a head change about 2 beers in.  Honestly, that's all the ABV I'm looking for.  Heavily alcholic beers are respectable (see Great Lakes Brewing Company in Cleveland, OH), and a lot of them have outstanding flavor, but I personally wouldn't prefer to drink more than 4 or 5 in a night, and that's me being generous.  I don't drink beer everyday like I did in my early 20's, so I can't handle the intake of 12 light beers or more likely, the 8 full beers I used to put down.  I do, however, know what an everyday beer tastes like because, as I said before, I've been there.  For Dos Equis, I can enjoy a six pack with 3-4 glasses of water in between to replenish my body (alcohol is a damn thief!), and I'm fine the next morning.  Depending on where you reside, you can pick one up at your local 6-pack shop for anywhere between 7-8 dollars.  If the store charges more than that, they're trying to gouge you, and are evidently successful with other people.  Personally, I wouldn't pay it, but if you really want to give this one a shot (and you really should), feel free.  Trust me, if you thirst for beers with a medium body and a roasted barley flavor that's there enough to notice, you'll really like Dos Equis Amber.

Interesting Footnote: If you are ever in Gallipolis, OH, drive across the state line to Point Pleasant, WV (yes, the Moth-Man Prophecies hometown) and check out a Tex-Mex cantina called Panchos. It's cheap, the food is tasty, and they've got Dos Equis Amber in the fridge. The lime is up to you, but bet on them sticking one in the mouth of your bottle if you choose not to say anything when ordering.