Dos Equis XX
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009
From the outset, this beer is intriguing. It is a beer that I have oftentimes thought quirky as I have seen it in the shop, but overlooked. I’m glad I gave it a chance, and I think you will be too.
This Mexican beer, brewed by the Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery (1890), has an interesting history. Pronounced “Dos Ecc-is”, the beer was a result of celebrating the XX century. The brewery began production in 1890, releasing its first keg in 1893, winning awards at the Chicago and Paris world fairs with that first brew. Four years later, Wilhelm Hasse created the Dos Equis (originally dubbed “Siglo XX”). The interesting thing about this turn of events was that this distinctively Mexican beer was created by a German, and it shows. It has a distinct organic taste that is synonymous with many German beers, but at the same time is undeniably Mexican.
The beer itself has a slightly heavier feel to it than what you would expect from a Mexican Cerveza, for example, Corona or Sol, but is refreshingly smooth at the same time . It is quite light in appearance, maybe more so than traditional lagers, and is quite fizzy, dubbed “a refreshing, golden aromatic pilsener-style lager”, which I concur is a very apt description. The bubbles are the first thing to hit you, followed by that distinct Mexican flavour, and then a pleasantly bitter aftertaste that lingers on your lips for quite a while after drinking. It’s heaviness has a tendency to make you feel like you are getting full quite quickly, so I would recommend it as a compliment to spicy Mexican food, as opposed to an easy-drinking session beer. As with most Mexican beers, it’s traditionally served with a slice of lime in the bottle.
The advertising for this beer is not what you would expect from a Mexican beer. We are used to people smiling, having fun on a beach, etc when we see many Mexican beers advertised on television. The campaign has rolled out distinctively different, a true salute to the kind of beverage it is. It follows a snapshot of the life of “the worlds most interesting man”, drinking what we are led to believe is “the worlds most interesting beer” which can be seen below. Aside from the clever advertising this beer also made an appearance back in 1999 in the hit comedy Office Space.
Promoted as a “Vienna-style Lager Beer”, this beverage certainly sets itself up as a somewhat elite beer. While I partially agree, the product does have something missing. It feels like they have attempted to create a fully-rounded, full-bodied Mexican-style lager, but there is something that makes it just fall short of the mark. Don’t get me wrong, I greatly enjoyed this beer, and would buy it again, but maybe not at the same frequency as other Mexican beers. This being said, I do recommend it, especially if you enjoy your Mexican cuisine.
Rating (out of five):
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