Beer of the Week: Dos Equis Special Lager

Beer score: 3.4

Company: Dos Equis
ABV: 4.2
IBU: 10

Pours a light golden color with a little bit of a yeasty smell. Some lacing on the glass, but not much.

Pretty weak overall but has a little carbonation that adds to the strength.

About as typical of a premium beer you can get.

There are much better brews for less than the price of this one, not that this is the worst beer ever, it's just not anything special and is rather boring. Ho hum.

Beer of the Week: Murphy's Irish Stout

Beer score: 4.6

Company: Murphy's
ABV: 4.0
IBU: 34

Pours black. Real black. Dark black.

The aroma given off is that of burnt coffee and dark chocolate, with hints of dark bread.

The taste is much as the smell, with perhaps a touch of toffee and a slight tea-like aftertaste.

Extremely weak for a stout, in my opinion. So weak, in fact, you could guzzle this beer (and stouts usually should not be guzzled). One of the wettest beers I've ever had ... so wet it isn't frothy or fizzy, almost as if it's somewhat flat but without the dullness of a flat beer.

Not an exceptional beer, but not a bad one, and worth giving a try.

Beer of the Week: Labatt Ice

Beer score: 3.0

Company: Labatt Brewing Company
ABV: 5.6
IBU: NA

Looks like a generic golden straw-colored mass-produced beer when poured into a glass. There's not much smell, maybe a little cheap-beer scent or possibly faint corn scents.

Overly sweet with a roasted, burnt taste that I found rather annoying. A little carbonation. A little dryness. A little waste of my time.

Labatt does better beers.

Beer of the Week: Estrella Galicia Especial

Beer score: 3.9

Company: Hijos De Rivera, SA
ABV: 5.5
IBU: 25

This one pours a golden color. The scent and taste are pretty much like a typical premium American lager that's had some sugar tossed in, but the sweetness isn't annoying. However, the texture is a bit more heavy than typical cheap American beers, reminding me more of European lagers.

A Spanish beer that's not all that great but doesn't completely suck. There are plenty of better beers available, but you can make do with this one.

Beer of the Week: Saranac Stout

Beer score: 7.7

Company: Saranac
ABV: 5.4
IBU: NA

You should not be able to pour a stout into a clear glass and then see light through the glass. Here I can see light, but very little.

This is a good stout for beginning stout drinkers because it is not as thick, heavy or strong as most stouts.

While pouring, it gives off hints of roasted coffee.

The taste is sweet at first, then turns bitter on the way down. Also, in the taste are more hints of that roasted coffee, but there are also touches of caramel and maybe chocolate.

This isn't the best stout in the world, but it's still quite good.