Mexican Lager
Today's Beers
- Corona Extra
- Hop Saint Las Olas
- Dos Equis Amber Especial
- Negra Modelo
- Baja Escorpian Black Ale
- Trademark A La Playa (Lime & Salt)
- Modelo Chelada
Why the Lime?
- No clear history to it
- "Reasons/Stories" given
- Questionable notions like:
- Disinfects the water used in the beer
- Disinfects the bottle top and removes rust from bad caps
- Keeps the flies out
- Taste reasons
- Obscures skunkiness, reduces bitterness
- party in your mouth, vacation on your mind (the Corona effect)
- Questionable notions like:
Speaking of Skunking
- Skunking not from Chilling/Reheating the beer
- Due to the interaction of UV light and hop compounds
- 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol (MBT)
- Use of clear/green glass makes this "worse"
- Miller and others have switched to light stablized hop extract
- Corona? Let's see...
I'm Mean
Mexican Brewing
- Indigenous Brews
- Chica/Tesgüino (corn)
- Pulque (agave)
- Tepache (pineapple/sugar)
- Mid-late 1800's - heavy Austrian/German influence
- Second Mexican Empire
- Porfiriato (military dictactorship)
- They bring Pilsner, Helles, Vienna inspired beers
Mexican Brewing
- These Days
- 90+% of the beer in Mexico is produced by
- FEMSA (Heineken partnered)
- Tecate, Sol, Dos Equis
- Grupo Modelo (ABI owned)
- Corona, Modelo, Pacifico
- Growing craft scene - particularly in Baja California/Tijuana and the other border areas
- FEMSA (Heineken partnered)
- 90+% of the beer in Mexico is produced by
What is Mexican Lager
- The BJCP classes them under "International X Lager"
- You'll see terms like Clara and Obscura (clear and dark)
- What separates them from American Adjunct lagers?
- Variant Lagers with corn/pilsner malt - noble hops
- Yeast Strains:
- WLP940 Mexican Lager (Modelo)
- OYL-113 Mexican Lager
- Really any clean neutral lager yeast - 34/70, Diamond, etc
Template Clara
- Gravity: 1.040-50ish, IBUs 10-20
- Grain:
- 70% Pilsner
- 30% Maize
- sometimes partial additions of Vienna or Munich
- Hops
- 60 minute addition of Saaz, Mittelfruh, Tett, Sterling, Williamette
Template Obscura
- Gravity: 1.045-50ish, IBUs 15-25
- Grain:
- 80% Vienna
- 10% Maize
- 10% Caramunich/Crystal
- Hops
- 60 minute addition of Saaz, Mittelfruh, Tett, Sterling, Williamette
Mexican Lager
By Drew Beechum
