Today's subject is something of a sequel to Victoria Málaga, which featured in a post about Spanish beer last year. Rosa Blanca is also from the Barcelona beer giant Damm, and is sold in a 66cl bottle. That becomes rather less indulgent-seeming at an ABV of only 3.4%. From that I expected it to be pale and sickly looking, but it's quite a rich golden colour in the glass, with a positively handsome German-style head. The aroma shows character too: peachy fruit, suggesting that the label's claim that it's a "hoppy lager" isn't simply an idle marketing boast.The flavour is plainer, certainly, but it's not dull. There's a cereal crispness emphasised by a surprisingly full body for the strength. The hops -- American, I assume -- add a zesty lemon note, building gradually into quite a serious resinous bitterness. The sheen comes off it after a few sips, however, with the introduction of a slightly cloying floral perfume note, and a dry tang of metal: both hallmarks of when big breweries try to give their mass-market beers craft-style hop appeal. It's hoppy, but it's not quite right. Regardless, this one has enough going on to feel more like an American pale ale, or at least a European take on one, than a basic eurolager.
More than anything, it's a work of technical achievement, showing what can be done with lager's appearance, texture and flavour at a very low strength. Maybe 3.4% is a sweet spot that nobody noticed before it became a cut-off point for excise duty in the UK, which I presume is the reason for this beer's existence. I'm less sceptical about all that now than I was when I took the cap off.
