Estrella Damm Lager
Beer No: 93
Page No: 371
Category: Blond
Day 15 of the World Cup and the round-robin round is complete. We now know the final 16, so it's time for some predictions and I'll see if I can keep up my World Cup Beer Challenge (picking a beer from a country that plays that day).
June 26 - Uruguay vs. South Korea, United States vs. Ghana - The first game is a bit tough to pick. I've been impressed by South Korea's resilience through the tournament, however, I think that Uruguay is the superior team here and I see them winning 2-1. And of course I'm going to pick the United States. I don't think Ghana will be nearly as tough as England was and if we can take it to penalty kicks, I think we have the best goalkeeper in the league. However, I don't think it gets there. U.S. 2-0. Beer: United States something...I've got too many U.S. beers to count these days.
June 27 - Germany vs. England, Argentina vs. Mexico - That first game will be amazing. And it's almost impossible to pick. However, I think Germany has the better team chemistry and we've seen that England has been struggling to score. Germany wins 1-0. Argentina / Mexico is pretty tough too. I don't really recall exactly what the Argentinian team looks like other than Messi. However, they did win all three of their games in the first round and have pretty much dominated Mexico, losing only 4 times in 25 total international matches. So, Argentina 3-2 in extra time. Beer: German something...I've got a bunch of them too. Probably will have more than one German beer that day.
June 28 - Netherlands vs. Slovakia, Brazil vs. Chile - I like the Netherlands here. They breezed through their first three matches with 3 wins while Slovakia managed a win, loss, and a draw. NED 2-0. Brazil vs. Chile should be fun, but I don't think anyone can stop Brazil in this round. Brazil 3-0. Beer: NOTHING...I'll have to stop by my usual locations to see if I can find a Brazilian or Netherlands beer. Chances are slim, but you never know what new stuff might have arrived since I last checked.
June 29 - Paraguay vs. Japan, Spain vs. Portugal - I think Paraguay / Japan is a pretty tough one to pick like the Uruguay / South Korea. Pretty strange that Uruguay and Paraguay are both facing Asian countries in Japan and South Korea. Like South Korea, I've liked Japan's play through the group play so I think they might have a chance here. So, I'll go out on a limb and pick Japan to win in penalty kicks. As for Spain / Portugal, another interesting match-up with the two countries of the Iberian peninsula. However, Spain just looks too good and I've not been impressed with Ronaldo, so go Spain! Spain 2-1. Beer: Spain Alhambra Negra or Japan Hitachino Nest XH. (probably Japan's XH so I can save Spain for the next round).
There's then 2 days off for the teams to recuperate and then we move to the Quarterfinals.
Incidentally, with today's win by Spain, I finish the first 15 days of the World Cup Challenge with a record of 6-6-3 for the teams I picked to drink from. Not bad, but I wasn't going for wins, just trying to match teams to beers, which has been fun. As for my predictions on the teams that would advance, I was 3 for 4 today, picking Switzerland instead of Chile. So for the final round of picks, I correctly picked 13 of 16. Not bad, but also, not that great since a lot of the teams were already easily on their way to the next round. We'll see how my picks above do. Those are much tougher to call.
Today's beer comes from Spain as I had no beers left from North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal, Brazil, Switzerland, Honduras, or Chile...The Estrella Damm Lager obviously comes from the same brewery as the Estrella Damm Inedit. Unfortunately, the lager is nowhere near as good as the Inedit. Granted, it's not horrible, but it's nothing special and pretty much your standard watered-down lager with mediocre flavor.
My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:
Aroma: 3/10
Appearance: 1/5
Taste: 4/10
Palate: 2/5
Overall: 6/20
Rating: 1.6 / 5.0
Pours a clear straw, yellow color with very slight head that dissipates quickly. Aroma is almost non-existent with slight hops and grass. Flavor is weak, watered-down, malty, astringent, hoppy, dry. Boring lager.
