Today we’re joined with a nice big bottle of Alhambra Premium Lager. I don’t remember how much this cost, but as it looks fairly shitty, it couldn’t have cost much more than £3. Alhambra comes in a 1 litre bottle containing 4.6% lager. It looks kind of like one of those “Forties” Americans are always going on about, but unfortunately they are impossible to find here, so essentially it’s just a big bottle of shit beer.
Delicious hot hamwater
Normally I am cautious of Spanish beers as everything I’ve had has tasted like pissy shitwater (although my experience is limited to the likes of San Miguel) but the large bottle convinced me that it would be worthwhile. There isn’t much information on the bottle, but a little internetting suggests that it is made by Carlsberg and San Miguel. As there isn’t anything to make fun of on the label, we’ll skip straight to drinking it.
Alhambra doesn’t have much of a smell but there is a slightly sweet scent, as well as a usual cheap lager aroma. The beer seemed to form a head of larger bubbles when it was poured, but this is possibly because I chilled it quickly in the freezer for 15 minutes so I didn’t have to drink it warm. Overall it looks quite bland. I’m not sure what’s different about it, but it looks much more boring than other beers. At first taste I was pleased with the beer. It isn’t a super flavoursome beer, but it is quite a standard lager. Alhambra is a lager without much taste, which could be considered a bad thing, but I don’t expect cheap lagers to taste great and I would much prefer a watery, tasteless lager over a really grassy tasting lager such as Carlsberg or Stella Artois. About half way through the first glass, Alhambra begins to develop a sweet taste. It isn’t overpowering but it is quite strange. By the end of the glass it doesn’t really taste too much different, whereas with other beers I find the end of the glass to be warm and horrible. Alhambra isn’t an overly flavoursome beer, but it seems like a perfectly swallowable summer beer.
Overall, Alhambra is a pretty decent beer. Assuming I didn’t spend a huge amount on it, Alhambra is top of its class (assuming its class is shitty lagers). As I only have the one bottle I don’t know if the sweetness would become sickening if drinking it all night, but as a quick refreshing beer, Alhambra is flavourless enough to guzzle and provide a quick buzz.
Booze Review rating: 7/10 deliciouses
Loading ...
I used to drink loads of this when I was studying in Granada, Andalucia, in 2000. It was pretty good back then because Granada is bitching hot and the beer always came pretty cold. A beautiful combination.
It was popular with the crusty gypsy beggar-tramps that seemed to flourish in Granada (the Pit People as my posh friends used to call them). Many of these pseudo-gypsies were actually German, so I was pleased to know that it was not drunk exclusively by one social class or nationality, but instead was enjoyed across all the strata of society, including those who never washed and used to roll around in puddles of dogpiss.
I stopped drinking it when a friend went on a tour of the factory and said that it was the most disgusting place he’d ever been. Shame, as I thought it tasted pretty good.
As a Belgian (now that’s a reference ainnit?), that’s been living in Granada for more than 5 years, i have to say my favourite spanish beer is definitely this one.
It is really refreshing and as the main reviewer told, it has a sweet, non bitter aftertaste so it goes in very good especially on those hot summer nights.
For me this beer deserves a 8/10, it easily tips all other commercial Spanish beers (i know that is not difficult to do compared to piss standards like San Miguel or Cruzcampo), but still Alhambra deserves to be recognized.
Cheers!