San Miguel Especial
San Miguel Fabricas De Cervaza Y Maltas S.A.

San Miguel EspecialSan Miguel Especial
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From:
San Miguel Fabricas De Cervaza Y Maltas S.A.
 
Spain
Style:
European Pale Lager
Ranked #379
ABV:
5.4%
Score:
63
Ranked #28,389
Avg:
2.63 | pDev: 21.29%
Reviews:
56
Ratings:
198
Status:
Active
Rated:
Friday at 09:14 PM
Added:
Nov 22, 2005
Wants:
  5
Gots:
  41
No description / notes.
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Ratings by DaveUK:
Photo of DaveUK
Reviewed by DaveUK from England

2.36/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 1 | overall: 2
Appearance - Golden, yellow brown. A small head of white bubbles, with a fair retention if drunk quickly (!).

Aroma - Weak floral, fruity note. Nothing else for me.

Taste - Crisp fruity, citric taste. Hint of sweet malt as the beer warms up.

Mouthfeel - Powerful acidic bite, sharp and light texture, carbonic acid among probably other additives contributing to a nasty mouthfeel.

Overall - I must admit that the initial taste wasnt too bad, however it was followed by a horrible acidity, characteristic of many mass produced lagers. A one dimensional beer with many flaws but at least the taste is better than some of the other "macrolagers". It would take a pub with a really poor selection to force me onto this lager.
Jan 23, 2008
More User Ratings:
 
 
Rated: 2.71 by BillyNoonan from Ireland

Feb 14, 2024
Photo of RonaldTheriot
Reviewed by RonaldTheriot from Louisiana

4.6/5  rDev +74.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
San Mijguel Especial has a clear, deep gold appearance and a thick white head. The aroma is of white bread crust. The flavor is similar with sweetness and a noticeable, mild hop bitterness. San Miguel Especial has a medium body and a crisp finish.

RJT
Dec 09, 2023
Photo of flagmantho
Reviewed by flagmantho from Washington

3.43/5  rDev +30.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured from 330mL bottle into a wine glass. Best by 12/8/24. I am drinking this in Spain and it appears this bottle was indeed brewed in Spain.

Appearance: pale golden hue with a clear body and two fingers of frothy ivory foam leaving a nice lace on the glass.

Smell: light and crisply malty. It’s not particularly strong, but there’s a nice semi-sweet malt character.

Taste: light malt with just a little bit of adjunct flavor. There’s a little bit of sweetness; bitterness is moderate and comes through at the end. Not the best beer out there, but pretty inoffensive.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a decent enough carbonation and creaminess.

Overall: a drinkable-yet-plain European lager. Nothing wrong with that!
Oct 16, 2023
Photo of BurtonRed
Reviewed by BurtonRed from England

2.36/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.25
UK brewed - has that metallic UK macro lager flavour, otherwise little aroma. Typical lager. Metallic notes take away actually decent malty profile and refreshing crispness.
Sep 25, 2023
 
Rated: 3.25 by hockeypuck from Maine

Aug 21, 2023
Photo of Ant777uk
Reviewed by Ant777uk from England

3.05/5  rDev +16%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5
Spanish brewed version...likely better than the UK one.

Rather large bubbles. Looks refreshing. Aroma of dry malt and some faint hops. I like the bitterness in the aroma.

The malt is far more flavorsome than the majority of pilsners, as is common in Spain. Mahou is far superior, but I much prefer this to Estrella, which for me is mega over-rated. When I was younger I stayed in a holiday resort in Ibiza where all alcohol was free, and this was the only beer on tap. There were water jugs at our tables, so I emptied the water out and walked to where the San Miguel tap was. I saw another person with a water jug full of San Miguel, and smiled at him and said "English". He smiled back and said yes ; )

So for about 2 weeks, I substituted water for this. It's dry, reasonably complex, and as long as you drink the Spanish verion and not a dodgy sub licence one, which exist in multiple countries, it's pretty good. The hops add a dryness with not much flavour, however because the malt is flavoursome, almost as flavoursome as Belgian malt, the beer tastes pretty good. Unlike some other dry pilsners such as Croatian Pan and Romanian Ursus, which literally have no taste beyond the dryness.

I didn't used to like this, but because of my current location I have had so many terrible beers recently, I quite like this. Mouth feel is impressive for a pilsner. Pretty good overall, I like. UK version is terrible though, as are some of the other internationally brewed ones. From memory, some don't even say where they are brewed ; )
Jun 26, 2023
 
Rated: 2.43 by MrJones07 from Spain

Jun 22, 2023
Photo of drdiesel9483
Reviewed by drdiesel9483 from Ohio

2.92/5  rDev +11%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3
Look - golden clear nice white head
Smell - Grainy
Taste - grainy clean
Feel - light body with a crisp carbonation
Overall - not bad but still lacking depth
Mar 20, 2023
Photo of EmperorBevis
Reviewed by EmperorBevis from England

2.74/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75
Canned in a full pint can and a gift frm a neighbour for helping out
Pours a fairly clear lemon jello coloured body with decent white head
Aroma is semolina & candy cigarettes without the sweetness
So is the flavour
Sep 30, 2022
Photo of Shanex
Reviewed by Shanex from France

2.88/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
SanMiguel Especial, which come in a standard 330ml bottle with a medium ABV of 5,4%. Not to be mistaken with another beer named like that from the Philippines.

Poured into the Guinness it left a two inches white head quickly vanishing as I write this. Clear and golden yellow brew.

On the nose, it’s pretty dull some hints of floral notes and that’s about it.

On the palate, it’s again not opening a Pandora’s box of aromas of flavors, but that was expected for something I was fearing would be another mediocre industrial Euro Lager. It’s a bit richer than that. I like the dry finish and drinkability but I wasn’t looking for more from this one.

It’s a medium bodied beer with high carbonation. Dry finish and drinks well

Overall it’s not as awful as reviewed here or elsewhere. Best drink fresh and cold, would probably pair really well with España food but in lack of a Chorizo or Paella right now, not to mention being quite far from the Puerta del Sol, this will be a one and done. Ticked, reviewed. Not a huge aficionado but there are far worse European lager around here.
May 28, 2022
 
Rated: 2.5 by DOCRW from Kentucky

Jan 19, 2022
 
Rated: 3 by altrio

Oct 04, 2021
Photo of Dakkyz
Reviewed by Dakkyz

2.54/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
440ml can. 5.0% version, brewed in the UK by Carlsberg.

Drank from the can and a glass, tastes like copper nails, tastes far worse as it warms up, very metallic tasting.

Drank from a bottle previous times and really enjoyed it.
Jul 30, 2021
 
Rated: 3.29 by Biergerd from Germany

Jun 11, 2021
Photo of Sigmund
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

2.94/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
This one (5,4% ABV) is far better than their 4,5% version lager, which most people have rated under the Philippines branch brewery, even though many of us obviously have had it in Spain. Anyway, the 5,4% version is quite malty, with a barely sufficient hoppiness. An acceptable premium lager, not great but well worth having with (or without) a meal in Spain. This rating is based on a bottle bought in Norway, had travelled well.
Apr 29, 2021
Photo of Spike
Reviewed by Spike from England

2.5/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
440ml can. 5.0% version, brewed in the UK by Carlsberg.
L: Clear, golden colour with many streams of bubbles. Excellent head is big, white, soapy & long-lasting. Served in a cold glass with beads of condensation, this is exactly how you want a lager to look.
S: Absolutely nothing.
T: Sweet & grainy. Negligible hop flavour.
F: Thin mouthfeel almost saved by moderate carbonation.
O: Incredibly bland. Designed to be drunk ice cold. Looks great and is well sessionable, otherwise poor.

PS. DO drink ice cold. This beer becomes sickly sweet as it warms.
Oct 03, 2020
 
Rated: 2.25 by Askala from Spain

May 16, 2020
 
Rated: 2 by RiceOwls27 from Texas

May 04, 2020
San Miguel Especial from San Miguel Fabricas De Cervaza Y Maltas S.A.
Beer rating: 63 out of 100 with 198 ratings