What the heck is a Mexican lager and why are so many craft breweries -- including NoDa -- making them?
It’s a light lager on a beach, a green bottle in the hand of The Most Interesting Man In The World. And lately, the Mexican lager is a trendy style for craft breweries all around the country, especially with warm weather on the way.
NoDa Brewing is getting in on the action with its Bandito Mexican lager, which will be released this Sunday, April 30.
But what is a Mexican lager?
This broad category could include light lagers like Tecate or Corona Extra, pilsners like Bohemia, or Vienna lagers like Dos Equis Amber and Negra Modelo. These are twists on German styles, made Mexican through branding and sometimes the addition of ingredients like corn (in the case of Corona).
Ska Brewing’s Mexican Logger is one of the craft beer industry’s longest-running examples, having been brewed since 1999. Only recently have other small breweries started taking on the style in earnest, with examples ranging from Full Sail Brewing’s new Sesión Cerveza to 21st Amendment’s El Sully or Anchor Brewing’s Los Gigantes, a collaboration with the San Francisco Giants.
AleSmith Brewing Co. in San Diego recently announced plans to brew a Mexican lager in collaboration with the band Sublime. The Vienna lager will be packaged in cans and 40-ounce bottles, the latter an homage to the band’s iconic album “40oz. to Freedom.”
The Unknown Brewing Co. brewed its own take on the style in 2014. As you might expect from Unknown, its version was a little bit different. With a name that roughly translated to “The Path of the Fiery Scorpion through the House of the Dead Chupacabra,” the beer came in at 10.1 percent ABV and was brewed with agave nectar, serrano peppers and 99 real (but food-grade and very dead) scorpions. It was aged on oak staves that had been pulled from tequila barrels.
NoDa Brewing’s new Bandito might seem tame by comparison, but it’s more in keeping with the classic Mexican lager approach. The beer has a pretty simple hop and malt bill that is supplemented by flaked maize, according to head brewer Chad Henderson.
“The corn just gives it that extra crisp character that’s different than relying solely on malt,” said Henderson. “It’s a different adjunct that’s really nice to accentuate that fine, rounded, creamy finish.”
It’s a perfect hot weather beer in a city that can skip right over spring, according to Henderson. And while the brewery has other refreshing options (Cavu and the upcoming NoDajito come to mind), Bandito stands out as a lager. The beer is fermented longer and at a colder temperature than most ales with a Mexican lager yeast from White Labs.
“It’s not our normal wheelhouse,” said Henderson, noting that the brewery’s Mexi Lager was popular last year. They decided to bring that same basic beer back again with a new name.
Get your hands on Bandito.
Four-packs of the 16-ounce cans will be available at the brewery for $8.99 each starting at noon April 30.
NoDa is throwing a fiesta party to celebrate the release, with the Tin Kitchen food truck parked outside selling tacos.
If you miss the party, you can rest easy knowing Bandito will be available around town for the next couple of months — and is certainly a fine local option for any Cinco de Mayo celebrations next week.
Photos: Full Sail Brewing, Anchor Brewing Co., The Unknown Brewing Co., NoDa Brewing Co.
This story was originally published April 26, 2017 at 11:00 PM with the headline "What the heck is a Mexican lager and why are so many craft breweries -- including NoDa -- making them?."