


Dos Equis Special LagerDos Equis Special Lager

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1,677 Ratings

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Ratings: 1677
Reviews: 507
rAvg: 2.74
pDev: 23.36%

Brewed by:
Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma, S.A. de C.V. visit their website

Style | ABV
American Adjunct Lager |  4.30% ABV

Availability: Year-round

Notes/Commercial Description:
No notes at this time.

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Beer: Ratings & Reviews
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Ratings: 1,677 | Reviews: 507 | Show All Ratings:
Photo of TippySelenoid


2.38/5  rDev -13.1%

Served in a shockingly frosted mug, but I didn't send it back because I figured it wouldn't hurt much.

It's yellow and fizzy. It has a white head that quickly disappears.

It smells faintly of grain.

There is an adjunct, corny sweetness. Not much by way of bittering hops.

It's thin and fizzy.

Not a very good beer. There are a handful of other Mexican lagers I'd rather drink.

Serving type: on-tap

01-18-2012 19:37:56 | More by TippySelenoid
Photo of akorsak


3/5  rDev +9.5%

On-tap at Herby's. Lime on tow.

A: The lager is very light, a pale yellow color that has just enough golden brown in it. No head, thank I'm guessing, to the lime's citrus.

S: Mild nose, a little bready a little hoppy but very strong on either front. The highlight may just be the spicy citrus that the lime imparts. Fairly boring, but it greases the skids for the queso fundido.

T: Again, the lime delivers a pleasant detour from an otherwise boring lager. The light breads, very pale, are practically nonexistent. And don't even think about hoppiness. The good news is that the lager goes down very easily. This one didn't make it through the birthday apps.

M: Mouthfeel? It's moist with a drip of citrus. About what I expected.

Serving type: on-tap

01-17-2012 01:43:55 | More by akorsak
Photo of mrfrancis


1.65/5  rDev -39.8%

A: Pours a clear gold with a thin, fizzy white mousse.

S: Really neutral and sterile on the nose. Aromas of grain husks and lemony hops are just barely evident, even after the beer has settled and warmed.

T: Harsh notes of minerals, lemon, lime, grain husks, and cooked vegetables fill the mouth. The finish is fleeting with mineral and cooked vegetable notes.

M: Very thin, dry, and light-bodied. Carbonation is harsh and fizzy. Not particularly drinkable in my opinion.

O: This is another subpar lager. I honestly don't understand why this beer is so hyped by mainstream drinkers.

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2012 19:22:50 | More by mrfrancis
Photo of sommersb


2.83/5  rDev +3.3%

Tasted On: 01-14-2012
Freshness: Not indicated
Packaging: 12 oz. green bottle
Glassware: Shaker Pint
Purchased: 6-pack from Wal-Mart

Picked these up to go with some Mexican dinner at home...

Appearance is a clear, straw-yellow color, with lots of bubbles seen in the glass. The white head settles to about 2 fingers high and features good retention and a little bit of lace.

The aroma is almost non-existent. Some light, clean malt character at best.

Taste seems like a watered-down pilsener flavor, with some light malt sweetness and faint hops. I get some off-flavors that I would guess came from corn or some other adjunct filler.

Carbonation is high and the body is thin, giving a crisp mouthfeel. Really not much of an aftertaste, however.

Overall, not a very remarkable beer, but not offensive either. A good choice for washing down some dinner.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2012 03:16:28 | More by sommersb
Photo of Bockrules

New Mexico

2.8/5  rDev +2.2%

Got a six pack of this for working on a friends car. Poured from the green bottle into a pilsner glass

A - Pours a straw-gold with a few bubbles lazily rising to the white, two finger head. Head is gone almost immediately. Leaves behind one or two bubbles of lacing.

S - Grass notes win over cereal upon opening the bottle, giving this beer a better nose than nearly all macros. Still not much here.

T - A little bit of corn sweetness upfront. The body is a sweet corn and adjunct infused mixture with faint sour mash notes attempting to provide some semblance of balance lurking in the background. A slight amount of grassyness as the beer passes over the back of the tongue leads to a stale-cereal finish.

M - Slightly better than most macros, it is just a tad thicker than seltzer water with atleast as much carbonation.

Dos Equis slightly edges out most macros in terms of smell, mouthfeel, and flavor, but not enough to compensate for the premium price. Think of it as Mexican bud for when you want to look more cultured than your plebeian friends. And to my fellow beer enthusiasts: stay thirsty my friends (or else you won't want to touch this)

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2012 08:30:45 | More by Bockrules
Photo of Jra1985


1.85/5  rDev -32.5%

Poured from a bottle into a glass.

A- Typical straw color you see in aals. Almost a one finger head with no retention or lacing to speak of.

S- Corn and some other hints of grain. That is about it.

T- Corn and grains again, not much else to report. This isn't a very good tasting aal.

M- fair amount of carbonation and light bodied.

O- Very boring and below average, even for an aal. If you like Mexican beer at least go for a Modelo or something.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2012 20:19:18 | More by Jra1985
Photo of wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

1.78/5  rDev -35%

355ml bottle poured into pint glass 3/1/12

A clear straw yellow with a few bubbles feeding a short lived thumbs width of foam that leaves no lace

S corn and rice cake with a slight chemical smell almost like a shitty chardonnay, no skunk though even with the green bottle

T a little sour wet hay to go with what I smell but just a little worse, still no skunk so that's a plus but it has off chemical flavor that's faint but not so nice

M flat and watery with a gross sour aftertaste, the aftertaste is pretty lousy

O another beer I could do without, not much going on and what is going on I don't really care for

you would think the "Worlds Most Interesting Man" would drink and interesting beer but what can you do? avoid Dos Equis that's what

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2012 07:05:40 | More by wordemupg
Photo of DarthKostrizer


1.08/5  rDev -60.6%

Look: Straw yellow 1/8 inch head and no retention

Smell: Smells like dirty water that you find in Mexico

Taste: Same as the nose just awful dirty bong water flavor

Mouthfeel: Thin and fairly carbonated

Overall: Just a awful beer why do people buy this shit

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2011 03:25:14 | More by DarthKostrizer
Photo of BierFan


2.93/5  rDev +6.9%

Poured from a green 12 ounce bottle into a pint glass.

Thin head doesn't last long. Disappointing. Pale clear yellow body. Pale malts, not much flavor. Kinda grassy. Very easy drinking. This is the most water-like beer I have had in a very long time. If you want to get drunk on water go for this beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2011 08:26:35 | More by BierFan
Photo of RossPeterson


1.05/5  rDev -61.7%

I am going to review this beer and be constructive, but let the record show that this is perhaps the worst beer I have ever had in my entire life. On to the constructive critiques:

A: Very pale yellow with a one-finger head. Died quickly with no retention.

S: Musky, skunky smell of stale grains.

T: The smell translated to the flavor; LOTS of stale grain and very watery.

M: Extremely light, silky smooth.

O: I got this in a "Build your own six-pack" special, and even with low expectations I did not enjoy this one bit. It was like a mexican pissed into a glass bottle, filled the rest with water, froze it, and shipped it to my liquor store. If given this beer for free, I would actually refuse. It tasted as bad as it smelled with its musk and watery smell, and nothing set this beer apart from other adjuncts. I apologize if this was a slammer, but I honestly have nothing positive to say about this beer and felt my review should show my honesty.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2011 09:06:01 | More by RossPeterson
Photo of thehyperduck

Ontario (Canada)

2.99/5  rDev +9.1%

355 mL bottle picked up as a single; best before June 2012. One of the few major Mexican pale lagers I haven't yet tried; I usually like to avoid green bottles but I don't have much choice here.

Pours a pale golden-straw colour, with a little more than a finger of fizzy bone-white head on the surface with poor retention. A soapy film remains on the surface, with a thin collar of foam around the edge of the glass .This stuff smells borderline rank to me; the skunkiness isn't too dominant but it is definitely a factor. It has that cheap, stale beer smell, the sort you might get a whiff of if you wander into a house that hosted a kegger the night previous - pale malts, too much corn; tolerable but not the most pleasant odour and not enticing at all.

Fortunately it tastes significantly better than it smells. Some slight pale malt sweetness and corn husk. Faint vaguely citrusy notes, hinting at the presence of some sort of hops. Clean finish without much aftertaste. Light-bodied, with the usual heavy macro carbonation and watery feel. Crisp and refreshing, as an adjunct lager should be.

This is not an interesting brew and like most Mexican lagers it is very overpriced, but considering its brethren, you could do much worse. More of a Euro-style lager than a stale corn bomb like Corona. I doubt I'd buy this from a store again, but I could see myself getting it at a Mexican restaurant, paired with spicy food.

[Updated Oct. 20 2013]

Picked up a can of this on a whim, to see if my opinion has changed any. I must admit, the outlook isn't as rosy as last time - this is a pretty mediocre lager, comparable to most domestic equivalents, with a grainy, corny flavour. Like Corona, this one is all marketing hype... at least the commercials for this brand are chuckleworthy.

Serving type: bottle

11-12-2011 06:38:25 | More by thehyperduck
Photo of tjkinate


2.93/5  rDev +6.9%

One of the better mass produced beers.

A: Pale transparent yellow beer that is topped with a 1 fingered frothy white head that exhibited some retention, but very little lacing.

S: Sweet malts and scents of grains.

T: Sweet grains and malts, like the smell, dominate the taste. Short lived flavor, but one of the better macro brews around.

M: Light, but silky

O: Ok brew that I enjoy on occasion.

Serving type: bottle

10-23-2011 21:22:54 | More by tjkinate
Photo of NeutroMan


2.53/5  rDev -7.7%

At a friend's Monday Night Football party; choices were this or Amstel Light. Gave me a weird look when I asked for a glass. Tried to explain how a beer must be properly decanted if I'm going to properly review it. Got an even weirder look. Bears suck.

Appearance: Clear straw color, very pale. Rather large head is gone almost immediately. Steady stream of bubbles rises from the bottom.

Aroma: Sweet malts struggle against the cooked-veggies DMS smell. Has some of that distinct macro skunk.

Taste: Cereal grains and corn malts. Minimal hop bitterness. Crisp and dry; finishes clean with a grainy aftertaste. As far as macro lagers go, this is one of the better examples, though that's obviously not saying much.

Serving type: bottle

10-11-2011 22:51:46 | More by NeutroMan
Photo of homebrew311


2.9/5  rDev +5.8%

I’m currently in a drought of craft beer as I am vacationing in Mexico, seems like the perfect opportunity to tick some Mexican beers.

A: clear, gold, fizzy, a razor thin collar of head. The color is a touch darker than what you get with other adjunct lagers.

S: the nose features cereal malts, corn, and a little bit of husk. Not as offensive as some of the comparable brews.

T: faint sweet malt notes up front followed by an empty and watery middle, a little bit of corn on the end, easy drinking. I guess you could say the lack of flavor is balanced well… if that’s possible…

MF: light body, high carbonation

O: well this definitely is a cut above Modelo Especial, and tends to be refreshing while sitting in the sun on the beach. I would say the amber version edges this one out. All in all, for what it is, its not bad… or offensive, just bland and flavorless as I would expect.

Serving type: on-tap

10-05-2011 23:39:40 | More by homebrew311
Photo of Hazer115


1.8/5  rDev -34.3%

I poured the green bottle in to a pint glass. Initially it had about a three finger head that was gone with about two minutes. It poured a very clear pale yellow with very little carbonation evident from the look of it.

The smell was nothing that I would describe as good, it had a faint smell of stale bread with the very slightest bit of hops.

In my opinion, I would say it tasted much worse than it looked. The mouthfeel was very heavy, with very little carbonation. If you were to just take a dink of this you may think that it had gone flat, but if you let it sit on your tongue, (as hard as that might be for you to do with this beer) for a while you can pick up that it does in-fact have carbonation, but very little. The taste of it was of a somewhat skunked beer with a stale bread taste, much like the smell, which was not pleasant to drink at all.

Overall, to the “Most Interesting Man in the World”, you picked a very uninteresting beer to drink.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2011 12:43:11 | More by Hazer115
Photo of MadCat

New Jersey

2.8/5  rDev +2.2%

Appearance: Yellow, short white head that dissipates as fasts as it forms. Leaves no lacing. Worse head retention than soda.

Smell: Light malts, corn, mostly clean nose

Taste: Very clean palate, mostly light malts and corn. Mild hops

Mouthfeel: Light body, high carbonation

Overall: Seems closer to Heineken than Corona. Not bad, but not a whole ton of flavor, or a whole lot going on. I'll drink it, but it isn't my preferred style.

Serving type: bottle

09-01-2011 01:24:55 | More by MadCat
Photo of boneboy


2.78/5  rDev +1.5%

A - Pours a pale, yellow straw color with lots of visible bubbles. The head is a finger width, white head that dissipates to a thin film.

S - The smell is of grain and sweet corn.

T - There isn't a whole lot here. It is quite typical for a light lager. Nothing really stands out, but there are no offensive flavors either. It's smooth, refreshing, with the slightest hint of hops.

M - Light, crisp, well carbonated.

O - This would hit the spot on a hot, summer day. As far as macro-lagers go, this is not a bad choice.

Serving type: can

08-30-2011 03:01:27 | More by boneboy
Photo of elNopalero


2.55/5  rDev -6.9%

Poured in a plastic cup. Keeping it classy, folks!

Full carbonation. Fizzy and foamy. Smells skunked, although I think that’s how it’s supposed to smell. To say no flavor is a lie, there’s a flavor here but it’s not pleasant. Thin body. Leaves me with that nasty “beer mouth” feeling. How did I ever drink so much of this one in the past? Adding salt and squeezing a lime would improve the flavor, only because then it would taste like salt and lime. In fact, midway through I ended up squeezing the lime into it. My friend’s treat, and I appreciate the gesture.

Serving type: on-tap

08-29-2011 19:56:16 | More by elNopalero


3.2/5  rDev +16.8%

12oz bottle into tasting glass.

A: Pours a classic lager appearance, a foamy white ahead that has a finger formation and very good head retention. The body is a pale straw color, with a very whirlwind like carbonation flow. The lacing is left in a layer swaths.

S: Aroma is a very light note of crisp Pilsen malt and a bit of low level spice. Medium level of intensity for the aroma.

T/ M: The brew is clean and crisp, not too much in the way of bold flavors, just a bit of biscuit and light malt character in the front. The body is very light, allowing the carbonation to fill the mouthfeel. Linger is short and not too much new flavors that were not all ready explored before.

O: overall for a south of the border lager is is not too bad, light and refreshing, while still having a bit of flavor.

Serving type: bottle

08-22-2011 15:12:12 | More by GDBEERMAN
Photo of kojevergas


2.28/5  rDev -16.8%

Served on draught into a Frosted Mug at On The Border in Denver, Colorado. Reviewed from notes.

A: Pours a 3.5 finger head of slight cream, bad thickness, and decent retention. Colour is a clear yellow.

Sm: A very light scent of only clean barley.

T: Clean barley, decently handled malt, and light cream on the climax. Simple but balanced. Unrefreshing. I'm glad the malt isn't intrusive like in most Spanish lagers.

Mf: Smooth and wet. Overly so on each count. Doesn't complement the flavours.

Dr: Very drinkable and pairs well with Mexican food. The price is high and the quality is low.

Serving type: on-tap

08-21-2011 00:38:37 | More by kojevergas
Photo of beerhan


2.35/5  rDev -14.2%

Preface to this review:
I was at a crowded bar and this was the easiest thing to order because it was on special. I had never had one and was bored and curious.

A-Almost transparent, light hay colored water with lots of bubbles. Kind of looks like a coke that has been watered down by ice.

S/T-Rather metallic, I guess that is why they give you a lime. Really though, I could taste nothing before adding the lime.

M-Kind of refreshing. Goes down very smooth and I guess does exactly what it is supposed to. Modest carbonation and does not have a bad flavor (nor a good one though).

O-This beer is designed for drinking mass quantities of so for what it's worth it is pretty easy to get down. It is better than many other adjunct lagers but does not really add anything. I would say it is better than other domestics but is not very useful for anything besides a hot summer day.

Serving type: bottle

08-11-2011 14:11:07 | More by beerhan
Photo of cagocubs


2.93/5  rDev +6.9%

Poured from bottle into pint glass.

A: Pours a light gold with a thin bubbly head that dissipates and leaves little to no lacing. Active carbonation makes its way to the top.

S: Mostly grain with some hops and a little sweetness.

T: Taste is surprisingly better than the smell. Very crisp and earthy. You can taste the malt/grain, some sweetness like citrus. Not an offensive taste, but nothing that will knock you off your feet.

M: Very crisp and refreshing. Carbonation is good and coating is good. Decent wet aftertaste.

O: Not a bad beer. It is crisp and easy to drink. A good alternative to the common beers.

Serving type: bottle

08-02-2011 02:08:33 | More by cagocubs
Photo of Jerone


2.78/5  rDev +1.5%

A - Straw colored with a quickly fading bright white head and lots of bubbles.

S - Smells of grain and maybe some hops and malt.

T - Like the smell, mostly grains with maybe some malt and hops in the background. Not a lot of flavor either.

M - Light body with good carbonation, very drinkable.

O - Perhaps better than your typical macro, but still not very good.

Serving type: bottle

07-27-2011 19:33:39 | More by Jerone
Photo of RoamingGnome


3.23/5  rDev +17.9%

Poured out of 12 oz bottle into standard pint glass.

A) A fairly deep yellow. I think what I'm trying to say, is I thought it be lighter. I think this is the first time I looked at this brew, as it is usually consumed direct from the bottle with the standard lime wedge. There was about a half inch of white foam.

S) I'd say average for the style. There was grain, corn, and mild sweetness on the nose.

T) There is nothing at all offensive about the taste. It's actually not to bad, even without the lime. There is a little sweetness in there and a kind of grassy finish.

M) Pretty light, and fairly crisp. The carbonation is not over done. It is a pretty refreshing lager.

O) I don't always drink lagers produced in Mexico, but when I do....

Serving type: bottle

07-27-2011 01:31:20 | More by RoamingGnome
Photo of tdm168

North Carolina

3.53/5  rDev +28.8%

Consumed from a bottle at my favorite Mexican restaurant, Torrero's in Raleigh

I have nothing to offer in terms of appearance except to say that through the bottle it looks quite pale. Smell is of adjuncts, corn and grains, but with an additional sweetness coming through. Taste is bland but sweet with a surprising apple overtone. Mouthfeel is light and crisp; very refreshing on this 100 degree day.

Overall, its not a bad beer. I prefer it to it's amber counterpart, and it's definitely one of the better adjunct lagers out there.

Serving type: bottle

07-24-2011 12:58:51 | More by tdm168
65 out of 100 based on 1,677 ratings.