Modelo?

[Clint Yeastwood]

Has anyone here tried Modelo? Is it a real beer or just Coors in Spanish?

 

[GoeHaarden]

Here. I like Modelo. It's a good beer. My choice at the beach and Mexican restaurants.

 

[fluketamer]

hey clint . hasnt everyone ? modelo is like a super popular beer. their sales numbers are scary. but its commercial swill.....but i sometimes like commercial swill. i think alcopop beers are just extremely lightly hopped beers with very thin body (adjuncted with corn or rice or both) . not necessarily bad just not rich complex balanced beers with high malt and hop character. or not - sometimes my beers are very lightly hopped and sometimes alcopop beers are balanced and highly quaffable on a steamy hot summer day when i dont want to chew my beverage and i dont want to get filled up on full bodied beers. . sometimes i dont want a hop bomb.

but ill drink a modelo or two on july fourth or cinco de mayo (if i dont have access to my homebrew)

as far as mexican type lagers go there are better ones in my opinion. i like presidente better but i think modelo is better than corona.

coors in spanish thats funny.


lately i have had quite a few drain pours at the beer store and i would never pour modelo down the drain. so if thats any indication if its real beer or not i dont know.

the last two times a tried a kahona big wave which used to be decent it has this nasty wet clay cat litter aroma that i think is from the hops but could be oxidation idk but its awful.

so i d say its reel beer.

but in my opinion coors is also reel beer its just incredibly light in malt and hops.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Thanks. Sounds like it's not worth wagering $10 on a six pack.

I've had a few Mexican beers, and generally, the experience has been good, but I thought Tecate was like club soda with a little soap in it. Given the popularity of Modelo, I feared it would be pretty much like Bud. I don't like Dos Equis Lager Especial, either.

I enjoy Corona. I get flak for that. Not a favorite, but no gag reflex.

 

[fluketamer]

like i said i think its a little better than corona but i agree I cant stand tecrappy. i dont care for dos equis either.

id say its a touch more malty than corona and a little bit more hops. but still very thin for the summer

i was in san juan last week and had to drink there medalia light and was surprised. its by far one of the better light beers i have had. you could actually taste the malt.

 

[ehall]

like any mexican beer, it needs a lime in it

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I like Dos Equis amber with Mexican food, but the lighter stuff seems to be all bitterness and no flavor. And green bottles to let the light in.

 

[fluketamer]

like any mexican beer, it needs a lime in it

unfortunately the only reason they need the lime is to kill the taste and add a little flavor. lol

 

[Rish]

Modelo Especial is the biggest selling beer in the U. S. but then so was Bud Light for a long time. If you want something that won't interfere with the taste of your tacos, chips and guacamole, Especial is fine. If I'm drinking one on it's on, I prefer Modelo Negra; more malt and body.

 

[hotbeer]

I guess it depends on what you like. I've never cared for Corona. As far as the beers I think taste like cow piss, Corona is not nearly as bad as some others. But it still has that taste.

Modelo, Both Especial and Negra are my go to beers when I'm enjoying Mexican cuisine unless the place has a good selection of beers from Mexico and Central America that are not seen much here.

 

[Skeeter686]

Negra Modelo is what I'll order in a Mexican restaurant. I'm not as fond of Especial. But that's me.

 

[DrGMG]

I love Negra Modelo. Brewed a version of it using Que Bueno yeast.

 

[kheart]

I like Pacifico, Negra Modelo, and Dos Equis Amber, and drink Modelo when none of the above are available. I really want to brew a Pacifico clone, but am not set up for lagering yet.

 

[kylewag]

I like to go to one of the specialty beverage stores around where I live that sells beer by the bottle. You can put together your own 6 pack etc. Then I just buy one of several types of beers that I want to try. Then if I don't like it, I only have one to choke down. My only concern is that these individual bottles have probably been sitting there for a while.

 

[Broken Crow]

I have a local Mexican restaurant I've been going to for 30 years and I always delight in having a Negra Modelo with my meal. I've tried the Especial and thought it tasted like BMC piss. I also occasionally enjoy Dos Equis Ambar, Cerveza and Sol.
I won't recommend the Especial, but if you can get a 6-pack of the Negra Modelo for $10 I'd say go for it. Just don't drink it it in isolation..have it with a meal, as it really counterpoints spicey food quite well.

 

[Knightshade]

Probably the only time I’ll bother with any Mexican lager is when I’m indulging in mexican food. Not much of a fan otherwise, although if I’m able it will always be Modelo Negra.

 

[NSMikeD]

Negra Modelo is what I'll order in a Mexican restaurant. I'm not as fond of Especial. But that's me.

I don't get the love affair with Especial, it's very plain jane to me. I'm with you with the Negra which is more akin to what mexican lagers (ie viennas ) are all about. Plus it pairs better with chiles and other herbs and spices in mexican food.

 

[NSMikeD]

fwiw, I brewed a Negra Model (dark Mexican Lager) clone based on the recipe in CloneBrews Book (Tess and Mark Szamatulski ) last year (in anticipation of Cinco de Mayao) as my first true lager home brew. I liked it.

 

[JohnDBrewer]

Try it! In terms of mega breweries, it's a great beer. My favorite mass and Mexican beer (outside of Mexico,) dark and light. On tap is even better.

Negra is finally opening the mass market to dark lagers. There used to be a lot of dark lagers on the mass market, Schlitz and Lowenbrau dark was on tap everywhere. Plus a bunch of larger regionals which have all disappeared. Model Negra is bringing it back. I love dark largers.

 

[Rish]

Sounds like it's not worth wagering $10 on a six pack.

Find five friends to go in on it with you and give it a try!

 

[hilljack13]

When I lived in San Antonio, my neighbor would invite me over for drinks, after a few shots or a mixed drink or two, Modelo was on the menu. It was good that way, but I have never voluntarily bought it. My neighbor was Mexican too, made the best damn brisket I have ever had!

 

[bwible]

I don't get the love affair with Especial, it's very plain jane to me. I'm with you with the Negra which is more akin to what mexican lagers (ie viennas ) are all about. Plus it pairs better with chiles and other herbs and spices in mexican food.

Hazy IPAs and sour beers are not for everybody. The average person is not a brewer or a homebrewer. They haven’t gone through the education - and there is quite a lot whether anybody realizes it or not. They don’t know cascade hops from mosaic and most don’t know the difference between an ale and a lager.

The beers you’re talking about are brewed for mass appeal. To be as inoffensive as possible to as large a number of people as possible.

Homebrewer snobbery and piss comments aside, these are all extremely successful beers evidenced by the billions of dollars these companies take in annually. If their beers really sucked so bad nobody would be buying them.

Modelo recently took over as the number one seller after the Bud Light publc relations mis-step. First remember those people were buying Bud Light to begin with. And Especial is part of that. Its a well made beer that a large number of people saw as an alternative to buying something they disagreed with.

I wish it didn’t come in a clear bottle though. What is it with Mexican beers and clear glass bottles? The sun is hot down there.

 

[fluketamer]

whether intentional or not clint's op is really a throw back to the bmc debates of which im sure there are many threads. i wont bother looking. asking if modelo is real beer is the same as asking if BMC is real beer.

logically, in this vain, modelo is just spanish coors, not real beer. ymmv




btw happy cinco de mayo

 

[ncbrewer]

logically, in this vain, modelo is just spanish coors, not real beer. ymmv

I'm one who likes Modelo Negra but not really fond of Especial - seems like several of the posters here are in that boat. I wonder - are you referring to the Especial or the Negra?

 

[fluketamer]

me personally the especial which i like as far as mexican mass produced lagers go. i dotn like dark lagers.
mexican or any other.

 

[Bobby_M]

Negro Modelo is a Vienna Lager. "Dark Lager" is a pretty wide brush stroke to write off in my opinion. It's relatively neutral with a bit of toasted character, not anything like roasty or overly malty.

 

[DrGMG]

Negro Modelo is a Vienna Lager. "Dark Lager" is a pretty wide brush stroke to write off in my opinion. It's relatively neutral with a bit of toasted character, not anything like roasty or overly malty.

Untappd and Modelo's website has it as a Munich Dunkel.

 

[Knightshade]

Untappd and Modelo's website has it as a Munich Dunkel.

So you're saying maybe I should give brewing this a shot?

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/homebrew-recipe/degobah-dunkel/

 

[DrGMG]

So you're saying maybe I should give brewing this a shot?

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/homebrew-recipe/degobah-dunkel/

Looks good.

 

[mashdar]

So you're saying maybe I should give brewing this a shot?

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/homebrew-recipe/degobah-dunkel/

That does look nice. I got worried when I saw "chocolate" until reading "wheat".

IMO for a munich replace half the pilsner with some dark munich (I really like the barke one), reduce to 20ibu, and skip the hops after 20m.

Also 4% mittelfruh is tough to find these days!

 

[Bobby_M]

Untappd and Modelo's website has it as a Munich Dunkel.

It was on the bjcp guidelines as a Vienna for a while and honestly it wouldn't score well as a Dunkel based on memory but I need to revisit modelo as I haven't had it since cozumel 2008.

 

[DrGMG]

It was on the bjcp guidelines as a Vienna for a while and honestly it wouldn't score well as a Dunkel based on memory but I need to revisit modelo as I haven't had it since cozumel 2008.

I think you are correct, I remember it being called a Vienna lager before.

 

[JohnDBrewer]

I think you are correct, I remember it being called a Vienna lager before.

I think you guys are thinking Dos Equis amber.

 

[mac_1103]

Modelo recently took over as the number one seller after the Bud Light publc relations mis-step. First remember those people were buying Bud Light to begin with. And Especial is part of that. Its a well made beer that a large number of people saw as an alternative to buying something they disagreed with.

Yeah, an alternative to buying something they disagreed with and didn't realize that they were giving their money to the same multinational corporation anyway. Also, it's almost always on sale somewhere for about a buck a can if you buy it by the case.

Anyway, the answer to the original question is it depends. Modelo Especial is a small step up from Corona. Corona with lime is a perfectly fine way to stay hydrated when sitting on the beach. But is it really worth it to bring any leftovers back from a beach trip?

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I don't go near beaches. Most boring thing imaginable, especially for someone who spent decades in Miami. I have a quiet suspicion that beaches attract low-IQ tourists, because no one else can handle the boredom. I had to go to Cancun recently, and I can't believe people go there for pleasure.

Maybe my suspicion is not so quiet now!

I agree that Corona is a painless way to get fluid into you in really hot weather. It would be a great fishing beer, if I weren't all done with fishing, and if I could stand to drink beer while doing it.

I can't imagine buying a six-pack, but if I'm eating outdoors, and it's a choice between Corona and the athlete-commercial wet air they usually have, I'll buy it by the bottle and enjoy it.

 

[jdubdvdt]

I think Modelo Especial is better than regular Corona. I always need a good light lager to drink when its 98F and I just got doing work outside. I typically keep Yuengling in my fridge, but I am working making some lagers for pool season. I get the hate, but honestly I can't do a bunch of hard work, get super sweaty, and then drink anything with too much hops, flavors, sugar, or body. A nice, clean, and light lager is refreshing after a long hard day's work.

One of my favorite beers is my saison which is extremely light, but if I am working in my garage all day, I'd take a yellow fizzy beer with a clean profile first.

Haters gonna hate. Not sure why people hate on others for their preferences. Regular Modelo is pretty dang good for a super light beer and sometimes that is all someone wants. More often than not, I'd find myself upset that a microbrewery has too many IPAs on their menu. Glad to see lagers and other lighter beers are making their way back into the craft scene.

 

[Bobby_M]

I think you guys are thinking Dos Equis amber.

This is from the 2008 version of BJCP guidelines..

 

[day_trippr]

No less authority than the folks behind "The Spruce Eats" have some words on the subject ...

"Negra Modelo is technically a Munich Dunkel-style lager and has been identified as one of the few surviving examples of a Vienna-style lager. That was the style which was largely replaced by Oktoberfest, a slightly lighter but no less flavorful lager, in early 20th-century European breweries."

 

[JohnDBrewer]

This is from the 2008 version of BJCP guidelines..

I stand corrected, but.... like the Negra calls itself a Munich Dunkel, Dos Equis Amber calls itself a Vienna Lager - go figure.

 

[Bobby_M]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not leaning on BJCP as the end all authority, an outdated version no less. They've even explicitely said that while it was once a good example, they're commercializing and making it cheaper with adjuncts etc, which is probably why Negro Modelo was stripped as a commercial example.