Estrella Damm - Damm S. A.

WVbeergeek

Ohio

3.25/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Never had any brews from Spain. This one was being busted out straight from the case, only a buck and some change. Euro lager so far appears a pale golden hue with bright white head forming thick, fine speckled lacing. Aroma has cereal notes mild grain/adjuncts. Nothing offensive, clean slight citrusy edge. Flavor has a nice riding sweetness, alot of lemon notes actually in there. Finishes grassy with a kiss of hops. Overall refreshing great flagship mass produced lager from Espana. Estrella equals star but what is Damm? Mouthfeel is clean easy drinking sturdy carbonation, not over done. Of course it's light bodied pale lager, but it's done right here, not bad extremely fresh example I'm sure helps out a bit. Still no fireworks just extremely safe thirst quenching industrial lager.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2011 06:22:46 | More by WVbeergeek

Monsteruss

Colorado

3.05/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

The foam was white in color, bubbly and dissapated quickly. The color was a crisp clear gold. The smell was a overall nice balance of hops and wheat with hints of lemon and malted barley. The taste was exactly the same as the aroma, a Spanish version of an American pilsner. Mouthfeel - light bodied and crisp. Drinkability - Ok. If you like the basic American pilsners and lagers you'll like this. Ok session.

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2011 22:02:53 | More by Monsteruss

ronniebruner

Arizona

3.23/5  rDev +14.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This is a very sweet lager. This is my first Estrella product, as it is generally hard to find in the US. Anyways, it pours a beautiful amber color, light carbonation, minimal hoppiness, medium head, and leaves a slight tinge on the palette after each swig. THis beer is relatively decent and it somewhat exceeded my expectations.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2010 04:21:34 | More by ronniebruner

LittleDon

Texas

2.08/5  rDev -26.5%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Straw colored with a slight haze possibly due to very small particulates. Short lived head. Grassy aroma with corn notes. Strong carbonation up front. Some of the hops show up in the beginning, but all quickly fades to nothing. Beer flavored carbonated water. Thin mouthfeel.

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2010 23:06:43 | More by LittleDon

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.18/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

500ml can, 4.6% ABV.

This bear pours a slightly hazy pale yellow colour, with two fingers of billowy, rocky white head, which settles at an even pace, leaving a complex web of spidery lace around the glass. It smells mildly of sour grass, apple cider, and glutenous corn mash. The taste is kind of a blend between corn and wheat grain, none too sweet, a bit of citric acidity, and mild grassy, weedy hops. The carbonation is below average for the style, the body medium-light, smooth enough, with a drying edge tugging at the palate. It finishes mostly dry, clean, and pretty nondescript.

For a corn and rice-riddled beer, this turns out all right. Nothing to climb over your mother for, but agreeable enough, if cold, and that's your prime directive for finding a beer at the moment...

Serving type: can

12-11-2010 01:05:41 | More by biboergosum

andrenaline

Ontario (Canada)

3.13/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A - Pours a pale golden colour, finger of big bubbled head which recedes relatively quick leaving some fine lacing throughout.

S - Very mild on the nose with grassy hops, sweet corn and a touch of apple juice.

T - Again, sweet corn and grassy hops a bit of wheat and a touch of lemon. Typical Euro style lager flavours, but a tad on the sweeter side than most.

M - Nice carbonation on the body and goes down smooth, but it finishes a tad too dry for my liking.

D - This is an easily sessionable lager boasting the typical Euro stle flavours. It's nothing special, but it's by no means terrible. In fact, I prefer this to most other mass produced Euro imports that we get.

Serving type: can

12-07-2010 01:22:36 | More by andrenaline

CrazyMike

Alberta (Canada)

2.85/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Appearance is pale yellow, head is very foamy. Smell is very faint but picked up some sweetness.

Has a light, clean taste, picked up a hint of malt. Aftertaste is probably the most complex. It is bitter and vegetable like, picked up a taste of corn.

Overall this is an unbalanced, mediocre beer. Comes off as light but hits you with a strange aftertaste. Would only recommend if you want to try a Spanish beer.

Serving type: can

11-02-2010 04:46:50 | More by CrazyMike

SmokinSmyth

Belgium

3.15/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I had this with dinner at a Tapas restaurant in Southampton. The end of a long day brought a tall cold clear and crisp beer that I enjoyed.

It came in a tall pint glass, chilled with not much head, didn't leave a lot of lacing along the glass.

Smell was sweet, but not overly so. Taste was minimal, but with a good mouthfeel, and complimented the black pepper steak I was eating very well.

Closer to many "American" beers that most of the things I have had in Europe, so a welcome change. Good with a meal, but I don't think it would provide much of an experience if enjoyed on its own.

Serving type: on-tap

10-30-2010 11:50:55 | More by SmokinSmyth

wahhmaster

Virginia

3.05/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured from a 11.2 oz. bottle into a Sam Adams Boston Lager glass.

Appearance: Pours a very pale golden color. Has a large, foamy head that dissipates slowly and leaves some spotty lacing.

Smell: Smells highly sweet, like most macro lagers. Not impressed...

Taste: Surprisingly complex for a mass-produced lager. Has a sweet maltiness backed by a good deal of toastiness. Even has a touch of hoppy bitterness to it. Nothing fantastic but still surprisingly good for what it is.

Mouthfeel: Crisp and clean, like most lagers.

Drinkability: A surprisingly good Euro lager. While I don't think that this beer is worth the high import prices you'll pay for it, it is definitely one of the better macro lagers out there. I certainly wouldn't mind having it again.

Serving type: bottle

10-23-2010 15:22:41 | More by wahhmaster

Swedes21

Ontario (Canada)

2.15/5  rDev -24%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Poured in a chilled pint glass...

Appearance - a very light pouring beer, first appearance is very refreshing! Solid white head that disappears pretty quick. Minimal lacing and the head turns to the island appearance! Carbonation is present, however dies down fairly quick.

Smell - light smelling beer, almost no hops present.

Taste - clean tasting beer, i would say refreshing. Slight taste of liquor at the end, but very much not present.

Mouthfeel - smooth moutfeel, not a lot of carbonation. after taste is a little more present.

Drinkability - I would not lean twds this beer again in the future, it offers a limited amount of taste. Only thing is its a light and refreshing based beer.

Serving type: can

10-02-2010 01:18:35 | More by Swedes21

kwjd

Ontario (Canada)

1.83/5  rDev -35.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 1

Pours a very clear yellow with surprisingly nice white head. Smells metallic and like some grain, but very faint overall. Flavour is about as close to nothing as beer could be, but a little off tinge to it. Ok carbonation. Drinkability is not good as I do not want another one. Oh well, at least I tried a beer from Spain.

Serving type: can

10-01-2010 01:14:48 | More by kwjd

TheDeuce

New York

2.53/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Estrella Damm....in a bottle....at Aldea in NYC.

Apperance-pale gold to light orange, medium sized head that sticks around. Loads of bubbles.

Smell-light hop aroma, mix of grass, lemon, residual adjunct grain. Alcohol mixed in.

Taste/Mouthfeel-initial sweetness mixed with grain, touch of alcohol, honey, rice, grass, finishes clean.

Drinkability-clean

Overall-not memorable, nothing wrong but not much there, that said it went ok on a hot day. Still, not much here to recommend it over anything else.

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2010 20:46:48 | More by TheDeuce

philphilphil

Australia

2.5/5  rDev -11.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

appearence was amber with no head lasting more than a second.
Smell was the worst part, just weird like strange
Flavour is adjunct plus smell.
Mouthfeel is a little thin.
Drinkability is low, import price but an adjunct, only euro adjunct i know of, why can't they do a pale lager like most euros do.

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2010 13:47:09 | More by philphilphil

FreshHawk

Illinois

2.7/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A - Clear gold color with a smaller than average foamy, bubbly head. Below average retention with just a faint ring of lace left.

S - A lot of grainy and cooked vegetable aroma. Pretty sweet malty aroma as well. Just a hint of grassy hops.

T - Similar to the nose with a lot of sweet grainy flavors, a touch of bready malt. A lot of cooked vegetable flavors. Just a touch of grassy hops and a bit of a bitter taste toward the finish.

M - Light body with a good amount of carbonation. Crisp feel with a bit of a drying finish. Typical for the style.

D - Inoffensive and easy to drink beer that is refreshing on a hot day. Doesn't really inspire me to get another though.

Notes: Pretty much what I was expecting with a typical mass produced lager. Has a lot of the Euro Pale Lager cooked vegetable flavors. Something cold to drink on a hot day (maybe in Barcelona) but other than that, not really worth getting.

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2010 00:21:29 | More by FreshHawk

Syko

United Kingdom (England)

3.28/5  rDev +15.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Served on tap at Marfil's bar in Cala Bona, Mallorca. Served into a Estrella pint glass

A - Very nice clear straw colour with a nice bright white head. Decent head retention leads to patched lacing midway through the drink.

S - Not really a lot to report. Slight corn mixed with malts makes up the aroma.

T - Malts at the front, and then the hops kick in and run to the finish. Leaves a slight dry but crisp taste at the end. Slight bitter aftertaste, but it is tolerable.

M - Watery, but I didn't mind this considering it was a good 35 degrees outside.

D - It was my beer of choice for the two weeks I was out there. Could easily have 3-4 pints of this in one sitting

Overall, I think this is a very decent beer for a warm climate, and a class above other major Spanish beers available in Mallorca. However, I have the feeling if I was drinking this in the cold and dampness of England, I wouldn't particularly enjoy it.

Serving type: on-tap

08-26-2010 12:45:22 | More by Syko

DrJay

Massachusetts

2.33/5  rDev -17.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Pale gold and crystal clear with a lot of fizzy carbonation. An inch and a half of white foam covered the beer, fine in texture at first but more rocky as the high carbonation supported the cap. Decent head retention, a bit of clumpy lacing. The foam started looking a bit strange after a while, looking really creamy on top and rocky underneath, which could be due to the stabilizer listed in the ingredients - it just didn't look right. Sweet grain and corn aroma, a bit fruity, mild grassy hops. The flavour was pretty basic, some sugary sweetness, cereal grains, with some cooked veggies and fruity hops in the background. Slightly mineral in the finish. Light bodied with ample carbonation, quite dry. Fairly mediocre and not something I'll go back to.

Serving type: can

08-18-2010 17:54:29 | More by DrJay

ThaCreep

Belgium

2.13/5  rDev -24.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Level flavors, either in the nose or mouth, there are few flavors really appreciable. The body is too unpleasant, and finish a little dry and bitter, has a strange and bitter little interesting for the fans, certainly due to the label "glutenless" gives him a taste forgettable.

Serving type: nitro-tap

07-27-2010 19:16:34 | More by ThaCreep

glid02

Georgia

3.6/5  rDev +27.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On-tap at a random bar in Figueres.

Pours a clear straw color with a one-finger bright white head. The head slowly recedes into a thin layer on top leaving thick lacing.

Smells of light pilsner malts with solid amounts of earthy hops.

Tastes similar to how it smells. Crisp pilsner malt flavors kick things off and are quickly joined by earthy and somewhat grassy hops. The hops carry through to a crisp ending.

Mouthfeel is good. It's got a smooth thickness with moderate carbonation.

Drinkability is OK. I didn't have a problem finishing my glass although I'm not sure about another.

Overall I had this multiple times while in Barcelona but the tap version at this particular place was head and shoulders above the rest. Maybe it was the tap lines but it's certainly a different beast fresh. Worth a shot if you're near the source.

Serving type: on-tap

07-23-2010 03:57:50 | More by glid02

tempest

Pennsylvania

3.13/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

I hade a .5 liter can brought back from Spain. It poured a clear gold in my 20-oz glass and left a bit of lacing. Th aroma has it's good point and back. There's a sharp, unpleasant boiled vegetable note, but also a nice bread and brown sugar character. The flavor is a little better with bread crust and a fruity lager notes backed by a lightly spicy hop finish. This beer actually tastes fairly decent, but there is an odd vodka note in background. Still, on a sweaty summer day, I'd enjoy a pint.

Serving type: can

07-16-2010 23:13:25 | More by tempest

twiggamortis420

Texas

2.23/5  rDev -21.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

12 oz bottle with what appears to be a best by stamp of 09/10. Pours a very clear, light gold color with a rapidly diminishing white foam. Neither retention nor lacing is in evidence.

Light grainy malts and corny adjuncts greet the nose with a light hint of floral hoppiness. Fresh, light and delicate lager nose. Not too much wrong with this one. Falls somewhere in between an adjunct lager and a decent pilsener.

Taste is very sweet and very carbonated. Did not see that one coming, very nearly like sugar-water. Cloying almost, which is strange for such a light bodied beer. I want something more crisp for a hot day, which I am sure Barcelona sees plenty of. Where is the bitterness on the finish? What minute amount does make it there is far too little and too late. I can dig on some AALs, but this is one of the worst ones I have had in a looong time. And at import prices...f*** that, gimmie a PBR over this anyday! Glad I only bought a single.

Serving type: bottle

07-02-2010 02:40:54 | More by twiggamortis420

pootz

Ontario (Canada)

2.63/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Bottle:

Pours pale gold, filtered, pasteurized euro lager.

Weak nose, some grainyness wet paper tones

Decent hop bite in flavor but thin body and too fizzy.

Totally forgettable. I have to wonder why the government beer monopoly wastes precious limited cooler space on mundane foreign imports like this when it's hard to get the decent Micro beers from other Provinces imported.

Serving type: bottle

06-11-2010 01:15:14 | More by pootz

appenzeller

Washington

3.45/5  rDev +21.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A light gold, clear lager with a nice thin but tall head that dissipates quickly. Taste is light, crisp, minimal malts and hops but nicely balanced and finishes slightly bitter.

There's nothing special about this beer, but sometimes context matters. I can remember quaffing one or two of these in the Plaza at Granada or Toledo at midnight in the hot Spanish summer. Refreshing. Doesn't get much better than that.

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2010 06:55:51 | More by appenzeller

seanyfo

United Kingdom (Scotland)

3.2/5  rDev +13.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Served on tap at a street cafe on Rambla de Catalunya in Barcelona. 33cl offering into a tulip style glass.

A- Gold body with a rocky 2 finger head reducing quickly with minimal lacing. Excellent clarity

S- Faint hop bitterness, with a hint of grainy malt

T- Malt up front is dominant with a crisp hop bitterness coming through although this is short lived, coming to a thin finish. Malt is the more dominant flavour albeit only slightly

M- Moderate carbonation and medium body

D- Easily drinkable but hop crispness is not strong enough and just dies a bit in the finish. Fine for a hot climate but id prefer it to lean more to the hop crispness than the malt.

Serving type: on-tap

06-04-2010 18:44:34 | More by seanyfo

Stunner97

New Jersey

3.43/5  rDev +21.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Tried this beer as a sampler and it was a pretty decent example of a european lager. Could see this being a nice enjoyable summer time brew, good amount of sweetness yet nicely check with a little bit hop bitterness. Like most euro lagers highly drinkable and not extremely complex. Non the less alot better beer then many of the other example out there on the market today of lagers. Worth a try its good not life changing but a respectable lager.

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2010 08:18:23 | More by Stunner97

EPICAC

Massachusetts

3.08/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I had this beer with dinner at La Gloria De Montera in Madrid on our first night i Spain,

Estrella Damm pours a straw golden color, and is topped by a decent, fluffy, bright white head that fades slowly. The aroma is clean and mild though there are notes of adjunct "maltiness", and faint, grassy hop notes.

There's a clean, neutral maltiness upfront that moves into a slight sweetness in the center. Thankfully there's a bit of hop presence in the finish which really do wonders to make this palatable. The hops are slightly spicy with mild bitterness. This beer is light-bodied, with prickly carbonation, and a crispness that keep it from being watery.

This beer was crisp and had some hop presence, and it was probably the best Spanish beer that we had on the trip.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2010 00:44:45 | More by EPICAC