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If you want to craft a good Mexican lager, you should probably start in Mexico. Second only to that, you should move to Texas. I was introduced to Shiner beer many years ago by a friend who was from Texas. When I tried my first, I was not particularly impressed, but my intervening years allowed my appreciation of craft brews to increase dramatically. As a result, I'm looking forward to this one with gusto.
The pour is simple enough, and the beer doesn't sport a whole lot of head, but that's absolutely to be expected with this kind of beer. The pale gold beer has many points of nucleation to let you know that this is carbonated and not just gold water. The aroma is more bread dough than anything, and I'm not sure this is what I expected. Should I have expected it? It's been quite a while since I had a Mexican style lager, and maybe my brain is shifting. Either way, the malt is also very sweet. Glancing at the can, I realized that the reason it smells sweet is because it has had agave added to it. That could be good or bad, but the only way to know is to taste it.
First sip is pretty darn good. It is sweet in all the right spots, heavy in all the right spots, and it is crisp, as you would expect a Mexican lager to be. There seems to be even a bit of honey added to the beverage to give it a smooth, gentle vibe that I am enjoying quite a bit, but it's entirely possible that's coming from a mix of the agave and dough malt. Either way, I like the sip. I wonder if I'm going to like a proper swing.
Tip-in is light lemons atop the dough malt that is sweet and complements the effervescent carbonation that does not burn, but it adds complexity. The middle gets even better as the sweetness wraps around the honey and dough to prevent the beer from getting too thin while making it very drinkable. The finish is a little off with a bit of skunk joining the agave aftertaste before a yeast-filled dough hangs on for the trail off.
Bottom Line: Not bad, but maybe Mexico is the proper place for a Mexican lager.
3.0/5
