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AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 12/20Chad9976 (1495) - Albany, New York, USA - NOV 12, 2015
One
of the small pleasures of beer reviewing is trying a beer you were told
is horrible and it turns out to be not all that bad. The Mexican-brewed
“Sol” by a Heineken-owned conglomerate definitely had one of the worst
reputations for macro lagers I can recall. Now that I’ve actually tried
it, I’m surprised it’s not actually a bit acclaimed since it’s slightly
sweet, not skunky, and very quaffable. That being said, it’s still mild
and pretty boring overall.
I poured a 12oz bottle into a tumbler glass. It was bottled on 7/4/15 and cost $1.66 ($0.14 per ounce).
Appearance: Clear shade of amber proper with effervescence visible. Pours to a small, white, foamy head which retains and laces about as well as a macro lager might.
Smell: Typical lager aroma in every way, though there is no distracting or annoying corn or rice smell. Additionally, there is no skunky scent despite the clear bottle (perhaps they use GMO hops?).
Taste: I’ve drank enough macro lagers to discern the difference between the bad ones and the not-so-bad ones. I wouldn’t consider “Sol” to be a truly good lager, but it’s definitely not bad. It just tastes like a generic lager in all aspects. I will say that it’s noticeably sweeter than most and there is no cornwater taste (DMS), though I do detect some apple character and a bit of a tartness on the end. That might be acetaldehyde, though it is subtle compared to some other brands. Nothing in the way of hop bitterness or flavor, but that’s expected. Overall, this is decent for the style and tolerable for a beer in general.
Drinkability: Beers like Sol tend to be a challenge to drink. Either they taste disgusting or they’re overly-fizzy or leave a bad aftertaste. Surprisingly, none of those factors are present here. Though the mouthfeel is thin and crisp, it never feels like water despite the light 4.5% ABV body. Sessionable to be sure, this is the kind of beer I could drink straight from the bottle, though it’d probably be better presented in cans.
RATING: 5/10
I poured a 12oz bottle into a tumbler glass. It was bottled on 7/4/15 and cost $1.66 ($0.14 per ounce).
Appearance: Clear shade of amber proper with effervescence visible. Pours to a small, white, foamy head which retains and laces about as well as a macro lager might.
Smell: Typical lager aroma in every way, though there is no distracting or annoying corn or rice smell. Additionally, there is no skunky scent despite the clear bottle (perhaps they use GMO hops?).
Taste: I’ve drank enough macro lagers to discern the difference between the bad ones and the not-so-bad ones. I wouldn’t consider “Sol” to be a truly good lager, but it’s definitely not bad. It just tastes like a generic lager in all aspects. I will say that it’s noticeably sweeter than most and there is no cornwater taste (DMS), though I do detect some apple character and a bit of a tartness on the end. That might be acetaldehyde, though it is subtle compared to some other brands. Nothing in the way of hop bitterness or flavor, but that’s expected. Overall, this is decent for the style and tolerable for a beer in general.
Drinkability: Beers like Sol tend to be a challenge to drink. Either they taste disgusting or they’re overly-fizzy or leave a bad aftertaste. Surprisingly, none of those factors are present here. Though the mouthfeel is thin and crisp, it never feels like water despite the light 4.5% ABV body. Sessionable to be sure, this is the kind of beer I could drink straight from the bottle, though it’d probably be better presented in cans.
RATING: 5/10
