Dos Equis Special Lager - Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma, S.A. de C.V.

Zizick

Texas

3.99/5  rDev +44.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

A: Pale straw color, foamy-fizzy head. Much carbonation.

S: Pleasant smells of some malts, kinda like a Heineken in some way that I couldn't explain. Really really faint though.

T: Has a fair amount of bitterness, but not a lot at the beginning and finishes very clean, has some taste of malts and adjunct but definitely not a lot.

M: Light, a tad bit watery. Easy to gulp down ice-cold on a hot day.

O: It's a nice beer, definitely not offensive, has great drinkability. All in all, it has it's place.

Serving type: can

05-20-2013 22:08:28 | More by Zizick

beergoot

Colorado

2.88/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3

Poured a pale yellow color with a big, foamy white head; little carbonation in the body. Funky, sour-like aroma. Fair flavor with just a hint of cereal. Good mouthfeel; clean, crisp, and dry.

Just an average beer for this style. The weird aroma really distracts from things as well. Drinkable? Sure. Makes you want more? Not unless there is absolutely nothing else available.

Serving type: can

05-19-2013 22:33:27 | More by beergoot

bondjedi

Washington

3/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I'm shocked that this beer has so many "bad" reviews here on Beer Advocate. It is not bad, but only average. It is overwhelmingly average, so gargantually run-of-the-mill and ordinary that this is the first review that I have ever posted that awards five "3" grades in the ASTMO categories.

I had it with an average plate of wings at the mundane Buffalo Wild Wings in Tacoma on a Wednesday.

Serving type: on-tap

05-08-2013 22:12:14 | More by bondjedi

CloudStrife

New York

2.74/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

24oz can poured into a nonic glass.

A: Pours a clear light yellow gold with a 1 finger white head. Bit more head than your typical AAL but still fizzes away fairly quickly. Average visible carbonation.

S: Not much going on here, corn and other malts. Bit of sweetness that reminds me of cheap beer.

T: Same flavor you would expect from this style, a bit more on the sweet side of things.

M: Light body with average carbonation. A bit sticky on swallowing from the sweetness. Could be more crisp.

Overall not the best of the Mexican beers but inexpensive and great for a hot day. Bit too much corn going on.

Serving type: can

05-05-2013 18:14:00 | More by CloudStrife

TheSixthRing

California

1.88/5  rDev -31.9%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

Appearance - Pours a crystal clear pale yellow with a white, finger width head. Poor retention.

Smell - There's supposed to be a smell with this beer? Went and smelled the rodent cage just to be sure my nostrils were working. They are. I'm picking up almost nothing with this beer. Ghostly hint of grain and sweetness.

Taste - Follows the nose; almost nothing to be had here. Slight grain and residual sweetness. Finishes stale, like cardboard.

Mouthfeel - Light in body with a nice, crisp bite. Goes down smooth before a semi-dry finish.

Overall - So apparently the Most Interesting Man in the World drinks the most uninteresting beer in the world. Cool. I've had tap water with more character. Reading the date code, I believe this was bottled on January 30th, 2012. If these kinds of beers are supposed to quench one's thirst, then I guess everyone is taking Interesting Man's motto of "Stay thirsty, my friends" to heart. As indifferent as I am to this beer, it is a candidate for a re-review.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2013 03:38:00 | More by TheSixthRing

Alextricity

Michigan

2.64/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.5

Looking to get a cheap buzz, I bought a 24oz of Dos Equis, having never had it before. Well, here we go... I'll just skip the appearance since I had it straight from the can.

Smell: Don't ask me what I mean, because I'm not sure -- but it smells Mexican. Has a bit of spice/twang to it that I don't usually get out of adjuncts. Interesting to be sure, but not very inviting.

Taste/feel: The initial taste I actually quite like, as it's an adjunct flavor with a bit of pepper or something. The finish on this one (maybe because it's a can) is EXTREMELY metallic. If it weren't for that metallic/copper/blood taste that I'm getting, this could be a surprisingly tasty adjunct. That after taste pretty much ruins it for me though... which is a shame. The carbonation is medium/high, as well.

Overall, this trumps the Natty Daddy that I just had ... no contest. Natty had a bizarre sweetness to it, but Dos Equis is actually a decent adjunct lager. In comparison to Budweiser or Coors, I like it quite a bit more, as it doesn't have that extremely skunky corn aroma or flavor. Quite carbonated and lacking flavor (that DAMN metallic taste...), but still a decent choice if you want to get a buzz.

Serving type: can

02-25-2013 02:25:35 | More by Alextricity

ranger7

Texas

3.28/5  rDev +18.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I've had this beer a couple of times. Once from a bottle without a slice of lime.
This time, I drank it with a lime at La Hacienda with their signature fajitas .

A - Very light in color; pale gold. About average for a lager.

S - Underwhelming. Typical lager scent. The lime overpowers most of it.

T - Very light. The lime helps.

M - A lot of carbonation: very fizzy and goes well with Tex-Mex.

Summary - As a lager, this is overall pretty poor. The smell and taste is non-existent and it is much too fizzy to be enjoyable on its own. With a lime wedge and some nice Tex-Mex, however, Dos Equis is a great option.

Serving type: on-tap

02-25-2013 02:12:50 | More by ranger7

The21ner

3.43/5  rDev +24.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I tried the bottled version. I was very impressed. I really came to believe that all Mexican beers were as bad as the American. But it wasn't the case. This beer is above average, very smooth , very drinkable. Dos equis became one of my go to beers when watching a game.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2013 22:09:44 | More by The21ner

Kremlock

Ontario (Canada)

2.79/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75

A: Pale straw colour, 1/4 inch head, no lacing, very clear.

S: slight toasty scent. A bit of adjunct detectible, soft grassy hops.

T: Very light flavoured. Sorta hard to even find a flavour here. Light adjunct and that's about it.

M: well carbonated but a bit fizzy on the tongue.

O: Refreshing and thirst quenching, aroma is good but no flavours.

Serving type: can

02-17-2013 20:38:48 | More by Kremlock

ColdWaffles

Pennsylvania

3.3/5  rDev +19.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

Reviewed from notes of stuff I've had over the past month or so.

This one was reviewed directly from the bottle with a bit of lime and served with authentic Mexican food.

Appearance: Through the bottle, but you can tell this is a gold lager in the image of an adjunct. Given the style it's appropriate.

Smell: Adjunct characters through and through. I personally added lime after the initial taste. Everything about the beer was better, including the smell.

Taste: Clean, crisp, lightly skunky, surprisingly good for what it is, especially when citrus is added.

Mouthfeel: Crisp, pretty light and with exceptional carbonation. Kinda soda-esque.

Not a great beer by any standard, but in the Mexican adjunct category it's not bad at all.

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2013 23:46:27 | More by ColdWaffles

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

1.63/5  rDev -40.9%
look: 3 | smell: 1.75 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.75

Draft: Poured a golden yellow color lager with a medium white foamy head with average retention and some light lacing. Aroma of overly sweet adjunct is quite gross. Taste is also dominated by loads of gross sweet adjunct notes with a bland aftertaste. Body is light with light oily notes. Overly sweet bland lager.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2013 19:37:45 | More by Phyl21ca

GhostKidd956

2.38/5  rDev -13.8%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

My take on Dos XX

Appearance: slight hazy yellow color not much going on.

Smell: small sweet grains smell, very little malts.

Taste: very very light hop and malt taste not very much going on.

Mouthfeel: a bit over carbonated tends to bubble in the back of your throat

Overall: eh its a alright beer. better than any other mexican beer i've tried the only other beer that i feel that has the most flavor is Indio.

Serving type: bottle

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2012 06:55:33 | More by GhostKidd956

ShawnB

District of Columbia

1.5/5  rDev -45.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 3 | overall: 1

This was legitimately the worst beer I've ever had.

Appearance: average adjunct. I like the appearance, but it's nothing special.

Smell: Some funk going on, but it doesn't warn me about what's going to happen when I actually taste it.

Taste: Worst taste ever. The aftertaste tastes the way burnt plastic smells. I have no idea how this taste got into the beer, but it's awful.

Mouthfeel: Thin and watery, but not actively offensive.

Overall: Terrible, terrible beer. I'm more than willing to tolerate an adjunct lager, but not this.

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2012 04:05:09 | More by ShawnB

ptykozoon

California

1.25/5  rDev -54.7%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1

"Gringo!" he barked "Go take your fancy princess beer and shove it up your burro!" His shrieks echoed in the dry heat, the heat was instigating him, rivers of sweat ran down his leathery face like veins. He was a man at the constant point of no return, one of us was going to burn. As he started walking towards me I found that I could not move, the smell of his sweat arrived a few yards before he did and I found myself paralyzed by this animal of a man, now just inches away. A primal beast that didn't care about anything but proving his dominance over others.

I felt the fear swelling up in my stomach, finding myself more and more hopeless with each stilted breath I took in. I decided then and there, to my own surprise that I wasn't going to cower down in fear, I clenched every muscle in my body, looked him in the eye and almost shouted "Listen buddy I am drinking a La Fin Du Monde, its ABV is 10% alright, that's more than most bee..." He cut me off with furious throaty laughter, his head reeled back as he let out howls of insanity. "HAHAHA you fool..." he quickly slapped my glass to the floor, shattering it, all the time his eyes locked on mine, his smile now turning to an sinister grimace.

I stood there and felt myself getting sick, like the air I was breathing was toxic, I knew I had to get out of there, I felt my life was now in serious danger. So I did something wild, I punched him straight in the jaw as hard as I could and ran out of the bar at cheetah pace. My sprint was cut short when two grizzly looking men stopped me at the exit, they caught me and held me by the arms, slowly dragging me back to the bar. As my legs slid across the dirty floor I found myself screaming for help, but my yells fell on deaf ears as all the patrons seemed to have left when this group had walked in - I should have noticed I thought, should have known.

I was a child at that point, so scared and helpless I felt like I was going to throw up. As they lifted me up back onto the bar stool, the apparent leader of the group, the one I had just so recently signed my death wish with only grinned at me, his gnarled yellow teeth clenched like a madmans. "Now chico, we are going to have fun. You are going to drink a mans beer, so pick up your pencil and notepad and write about...this shit." His friends laughed softly, knowingly, like I was about to experience a fiendish torture only left up to the imagination, I imagined it would be some sort of drug or poison, some kind of shady toxin that would have me curled up into a pool of blood before my ultimate demise. He marched to the bar, grabbed a bottle off the shelf and walked back towards me, I was seeing double at this point, half dazed at the thought of my life ending so oddly.

He set the bottle on the table and pulled the cap off with his bare wrists, when he did, he and his cronies flinched back a little, as if they feared even a drop of it would be spilled anywhere near them. Their eyes all locked on to the bottle with a sort of fearful concentration, as if it were a python waiting to pounce. As I shook the dizziness from my head I managed to focus in on the label. "Dos Equis" It must have been a joke I thought, I looked back at them but they didn't laugh, in fact I was absolutely sure that what I saw in their eyes was fear, a real instinctual fear that even these monsters were terrified by. "Now" he said slowly "Pick up the bottle, and drink it. Write down your review for us." I wasn't sure but I thought one of them made the sign of the cross as I poured the bottle into a glass.

Light yellow, head is fizzy and light and dissipates in seconds. As I stare into the yellowness I hear voices in my head, like shrieks of pain from ghosts telling me to turn back, turn back..

The smell makes me nauseous, it is an overly sweet skunky raunchy stench that overpowers all the hot sweat in the room and fills it with the scent of death, the bar now smells like an ancient crypt for skunks.

I lift the beer to my mouth and begin drinking, tears quickly form in my eyes. What is this? Why does this taste the way it does? Where is the goodness in life? The piss flavored grime contaminates my stomach with its cruel flavors. The liquid evil that I drink not only rapes my throat but my innocence, my faith in the world. This carbonated death was meant only to destroy, to defeat ones soul entirely.

The mouthfeel is light and overly carbonated. Awful, just awful.

I find myself alone. No where is there a trace of my captors or anyone else. I am a null in the void. I feel completely alone in the universe. There is no light in the darkness....

Serving type: bottle

11-26-2012 04:38:49 | More by ptykozoon

BlurryVisi0n

New York

2.75/5  rDev -0.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Served in a pint glass.

Appearance: Transparent gold, light bubbles that make it look like nothing is really there. White head maybe 1/3", looks foamy but settles evenly.

Smell: Has a sour scent, feels a little like rye but dissipates very quickly.

Taste: Lightly bitter, not really hoppy more like a rice feel that is really light. It makes you think, am I drinking a "light" beer?

Mouth: Medium carbonation, but has a sour after feel. It's not like a lemon it's more bready than anything.

Overall: Not a bad brew but not definitely a good one either. I am pretty sure during the right climate it is incredibly appreciated. Salud!

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2012 17:54:09 | More by BlurryVisi0n

bluejacket74

Ohio

2.6/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

12 ounce bottle. Served in a Sam Adams Perfect Pint glass, the beer pours a clear gold color with about an inch white head. Head retention and lacing are both OK. The brew smells like sweet malt, corn, and some light citrus. It tastes like sweet malt and corn. Not much to this brew at all. Mouthfeel/body is light, and it's smooth and easy to drink. It's really not bad, but it's not exactly good either. I have no problem drinking this occasionally, but I wouldn't make a point to buy it. Got a bottle from one of my buddies for free so I figured I might as well tick it.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2012 00:56:42 | More by bluejacket74

FLima

Brazil

2.03/5  rDev -26.4%
look: 1.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Poured no head. Light yellow color.
Sweet aroma from corn, for a moment I could feel a hint of hops. Medium carbonation.
Taste was refreshing while cold and it had a predominance of the usual suspect: corn.
Slightly dry finish with a corn aftertaste and some metallic.
The lemon piece that I took out for degustation would help to hide its flaws…

Serving type: bottle

11-07-2012 17:13:45 | More by FLima

SmashPants

Australia

2.38/5  rDev -13.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Bottle: reasonable label, decent green 330mL bottle. Kind of classy.

Appearance: light yellow colour with big and fluffy head that dissipates quickly.

Aroma: the aroma is a little off putting, smelled of sweet corn and some grain.

Taste: thin, watery and without much flavour, a little sweet corn and grains.

Aftertaste: with the limited flavours, that lager metallic fug is definitely dominant in the aftertaste. Not terribly pleasant.

Mouth feel: light- to- medium bodied, with a medium carbonation.

Overall: thin, watery and without much flavour, a little sweet corn and grains. Nice on a hot day when you don't need flavour so much as you do refreshment. I still say that there are better beers even in this price range (AU$43 a case in 2012).

Serving type: bottle

10-01-2012 01:22:27 | More by SmashPants

puboflyons

New Hampshire

3.43/5  rDev +24.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

From the 12 fl. oz. bottle stamped 1222484FE0156. It pours yellow to golden with a short lasting fizzy head, which is pretty typical for the style.

Although it came from a green bottle the aroma was thankfully not overly skunked but it did carry some distinct barley malt and grain characters with a whiff of clean hops on the backside.

The body is thin to medium, which is again very typical for the style.

The taste is quite grainy with a slight acidity and crisp hop ending. Here is a beer with a popular advertising campaign and it is a average to above average for the style.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2012 20:31:39 | More by puboflyons

TheRealBigC

Nevada

2.48/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

There is no way the most interesting man in the world drinks this beer. It is not the least interesting beer in the world, but worse. It clearly tastes like an adjunct lager, but it's not as carbonated as Bud and the like to at least improve the feel. I would prefer a Bud, because while the flavor isn't as strong, it goes down easier. Realistically, I wouldn't want either, but for those rare times I want cheap beer, I'm not getting XX.

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2012 17:14:06 | More by TheRealBigC

jjamadorphd

Florida

2.68/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Love the commercials but the beer is a tad bit lacking. It pours well and the head looks good, but its taste is a bit watery. Feels fine in the mouth but it has that "spilled-beer-in-a-bar" smell. Not the kind of aroma that inspires one to spend lots of money on.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2012 19:21:48 | More by jjamadorphd

mick303

Ontario (Canada)

2.38/5  rDev -13.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Pours very little head, leaves a bit of lacing. lots of carbonation, colour is a light pale gold.

Smell has typical adjunct aromas, with malt and sour citrus. Something of an off-note, rancid character.

Taste follows with some of the off-flavour initially. Tastes stale and slightly rancid. Bit of citrus character.

Mouthfeel is rather thin. Lot of carbonation, the finish is dry, light barley note.

The stale and off character here is pretty grim, not whether its the batch or this beer in general, but not eager to rush out to find out.

Serving type: bottle

08-17-2012 22:22:19 | More by mick303

djura

Serbia

2.4/5  rDev -13%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Got it on some Belgrade festival.

A-Golden color,lots of bubbles,very nice tick white foam.

S-Mostly some citrus smell from yeast.

T/M-Sweet unpleasant taste,medium to low carbonation,lots of corn in it,low bitterness,undrinkable for me.

O-Will pass it in the future.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2012 08:23:38 | More by djura

kangarooAdam59

Connecticut

3/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Into a pilsener:

A: crystal clear yellow body and leaves a decent half finger white head that died to a paper thin film which lasted for about twenty seconds and died into the body. Moderate carbonation was seen rising. Minimal spotty lacing speckled the sides of the glass.

S: rice and corn, not much else.

T: basically the same, adding a slightly sweet note to it.

M: light and leaning to the watery side. There was nothing harsh on my tongue.

O: this actually wasn't as bad as I thought I would be. I've had this beer more than several times over the years and finally got a chance to review it here. Since its pretty drinkable and a decent sweetness in the taste, I would say this is one of the better AAL's out there.

Serving type: bottle

08-13-2012 21:40:32 | More by kangarooAdam59

dbrauneis

New Jersey

2.7/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: Pours a crystal clear yellow in color with moderate amounts of visible carbonation. The beer has a quarter finger tall bright white head that quickly reduces to a small to medium sized patch of very thin film and a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Light amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Light to moderate aromas of adjunct malts - corn is the strongest with grainy coming right behind.

T: The taste is similar to the smell with the corn and grain adjunct malts dominating and a light amount of lingering bitterness.

M: Light bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Slightly thin/watery.

O: Easy enough to drink but not really anything special with this beer.

Serving type: can

08-12-2012 23:54:53 | More by dbrauneis