Fitger's El Lago Grande Review

Name: Fitger's El Lago Grande
Style: Pale Lager
ABV: 5.8%
IBUs: N/A

Just when I thought I put all those "Mexican" Lagers behind me from this past summer, I just so happened to come across one this past weekend when I was in Duluth and it comes courtesy of Fitger's Brewhouse. It was a nice sunny day on the outside porch and I decided that I wanted something that wasn't going to destroy my sobriety as I had quite a few plans that afternoon.

I give to you El Lago Grande, which is Spanish for "The Big Lake." It took me about two seconds to connect the name to Lake Superior, which is where Fitger's gets their water from; Plus it continues Fitger's tradition of naming their beers after locales located in Northeast Minnesota/Northern Wisconsin.

Appearance - Fairly clear pale yellow color with a small amount of visible carbonation. The head is white and pretty thin for the most part and there's just a sparse amount of lacing along the sides of the glass.

Aroma - Pale malts and lager yeasts backed up by a mild but noticeable floral hoppiness. There's also an encompassing sweetness that probably comes from the yeasts, based on what I've heard about Mexican yeast strains.

Taste - Pretty identical to the nose, with those pale malts and sweet lager yeasts that make up most of the palate with some mild floral hoppiness on the back end of the palate. Aftertaste is fairly dry save for some more sweet lager yeasts and a light touch of floral hops.

I kind of wish that this was available during my excursion down in Miami, instead of that other Mexican lager I had there. Regardless, this is an excellent lager with a nice flavor profile overall. Though I'm unsure it's seasonal availability, this one is worth checking out should you come across it.

Fitger's El Lago Grande - 8.5/10