Panamá Classic Lager

I’m in Peru! But, along the way, I had a brief layover in Panama, where I picked up a can of Panamá Classic Lager.

Panamá Classic Lager is a 4.4% abv American light lager. As such it had the relative dearth of body, flavor, bitterness and aroma that is typical American light lagers – but it did have more of all of those than, say, Budweiser, which is one of the exemplars of the style. That could be because, unlike many of its American counterparts, Panamá Classic Lager does not contain any rice or other adjunct grains or sugars, being made from only malted barley, hops, yeast, and, of course, water.

The beer was well-made. Being so light in all respects, they style does not allow for any errors. I did not detect any off flavors, and the aluminum packaging prevented any “skunking” from exposure to light.

The beer was indeed refreshing to drink. While that might not mean much in the damp cool of a Lima winter, I imagine would be great in the tropical Panamanian heat. My only complaint is that it had very poor head retention. The foam collapsed almost immediately, which allowed the brew’s already light aroma to dissipate that much faster.