Day 21 / Jan 21
Grupo Modelo / Mexico City Mexico
Where: Coyote Grill, Fairfax VA
| A | NG | P | G | VG | O |
Nothing Especial.
Chances are, if you go out for Mexican food, you’re gonna get a Mexican beer. And there's a good chance that beer’s going to be a Corona, Pacifico, or Modelo.
Well, last night, the wife and I went out for Mexican food, and I got a Modelo. What are the chances? Pretty good!
Corona, Pacifico, or Modelo are all produced by the massive brewery Grupo Modelo, the Anheuser Busch InBev of Mexico. Cervecería Cuauhtémoc-Moctezuma produces the other major Mexican brands – Dos Equis, Sol, Tecate and others.
Craft brewing is really in its infancy in Mexico – there are really only a handful of craft breweries in Mexico. In fact, they have created an Alliance in order to get some buying power to import ingredients and distribute their beers. There’s a couple interesting posts on Mexican craft brewing here and here.
But I didn’t have one of those new Mexican craft brews last night – in fact, I never have. I’ll see if I can find one for a future post.
I had the Modelo Especial. I’m not sure what makes it so Especial. It wasn’t Especially flavorful. It wasn’t Especially unique. It wasn’t even Especially cold. It did have a lime in it – maybe that made it Especial.
However, if you’re in the DC area, you should check out Coyote Grill in Fairfax. They serve up some interesting takes on Mexican food, always fresh and usually pretty fast. The place is pretty small, and sometimes you’ll have to wait for a table. Last year they opened a “parking lot” patio that they use year-round, with clear vinyl windows and powerful propane heaters.
Come to think of it, I did have a 24 oz. can of Modelo last year at the DC Roller Derby competition. Now that was Especial.
Of the mass produced yellow Mexican beers, I would recommend Bohemia above all others. It actually has some noticeable hop character, of which all other Mexican macro brews are devoid. From the flavor I suspect it contains proportionally less corn and more barley then the others as well.
ReplyDeleteOh and about the lime - it's to cover up the skunk aroma emanating from Mexican beers in clear bottles such as Corona, Modelo Especial, Sol, etc. Clear glass does nothing to protect the beer inside from the chemical reaction between ultraviolet light and hops. Only brown glass provide such protection against sunlight (and the fluorescent tubes in most store fridges). Not coincidentally Bohemia comes in a brown bottle.
Salud,
Henry