Welcome back to FTW’s Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.
I do not know you, dear reader, but I know this much about you; you deserve to drink something better than Corona on Cinco de Mayo.
The most popular Mexican beer in America is a bland bottle of nothing. It requires fresh citrus just to register on your taste buds. It’s so inoffensive you can pour a tiny bottle of it into a margarita and not affect the core taste.
Corona is, in layman’s terms, butt.
But there are several Mexican lagers that are not. Today we’re gonna try a new one.
Firestone Walker, out of California, has an entrenched place in the craft beer landscape thanks to its hop-heavy (and incredibly drinkable) pale ales. That made its newest venture, 805 Cerveza, a proper fit not only for a review but one that happens to fall on Cinco de Mayo. The Mexican lager is spun off from the brewer’s 805 imprint, a blonde ale crafted in honor of the company’s west coast roots (and area code). It’s a light lager with lime involved, clocking in at 4.5 percent ABV and 110 calories.
Of course, there are concerns. Firestone Walker is an American brewery. While they can recreate that cerveza style, drinking their beer isn’t supporting a Mexican company on the day Americans choose to celebrate our neighbor to the south. If you’re looking for a great, authentic brew from Mexico there are several proper options. My tastes are pretty basic since Mexican lagers aren’t my favorite and I live in Wisconsin, but I’m always down for a Pacifica or an Estrella Jalisco. There are tons of smaller breweries who probably make incredible stuff as well.
Today, we’re drinking an established American brewery’s take on a Mexican classic. Let’s see how it goes.
805 Cerveza: A
It pours a pale yellow with a small, quickly dissipating white head. This beer is effervescent; the bubbles don’t emanate from a single nucleus at the bottom of the glass but from multiple spots. Maybe that’s because I’m using a mug from 1979, but this thing is picturesque. Lots of tiny bubbles floating upward like reverse snowfall.
It smells like a pale light beer — that corn shines through. There’s maybe a little lime involved but it doesn’t suss through after the pour.
The first sip reveals a very smooth, drinkable beer. It’s not as malty as a traditional lager and the light touch of lime keeps that corn from overpowering things. The balance is notable; the result is an eminently drinkable beer. There’s some citrus, some malt, but mostly it’s an easy beer you can drink three or four of without giving it a second thought (4.5 percent ABV).
This tastes great even as it warms up, making it both crushable and a worthy sipper. The lime is prevalent but not overwhelming or markedly artificial flavor-y. The malt of the lager shows up but never takes over. Mexican lagers aren’t always my thing but this is an easy win. There’s a ton of great flavors involved in a very pleasant surprise.
Or maybe it’s not a huge surprise since it’s Firestone Walker. Either way; this beer is wonderful.
Would I drink it instead of a Hamm's?
Welcome to a new feature on these reviews; a pass/fail mechanism where I compare whatever I’m drinking to my baseline cheap beer. That’s the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm’s. So the question to answer is: on a typical day, would I opt for Firestone Walker’s 805 Cerveza over a cold can of Hamm’s?
Yeah, I’m all about this beer. It’s a perfect summer day drinker. Firestone Walker doesn’t miss.
