Who are these men? The minds behind Cervezarita.
MobCraft, a brewery known for its unconventional beer concoctions, has come up with a strong take on Mexican beer, with notes of lime and tequila.
What is it? Cervezarita from MobCraft of Madison.
Style: MobCraft describes Cervezarita as an imperial light Mexican lager. There’s a contradiction in that description. The light Mexican lager style is generally identified with beers such as Corona, with a light color, flavor and strength at around 4.5% ABV, and that hardly qualifies as an imperial. (Imperials are beers that include more of the basic ingredients, resulting in a lot of flavor and higher alcohol.) Cervezarita is light in color, but its 7.8% ABV would certainly qualify it as a strong lager beer. Its distinctive flavor comes in part from being aged in Mexican mezcal barrels.
Background: MobCraft created this beer in collaboration with Tex Tubb’s Taco Palace for this year’s Madison Craft Beer Week. It debuted in early May at Tex Tubb’s, but MobCraft decided to hold back most of the batch to allow it to age longer in the mezcal barrels. By the time the batch was bottled and released about two weeks ago, it had been in those barrels for nearly five months. “That allowed it to become smoother and smokier,” says MobCraft co-founder Giotto Troia. Mexican mezcal barrels are very difficult to get because makers of mezcal and tequila reuse the barrels time and time again. Troia says a few of the barrels used by MobCraft may have been in use in the Mexican spirit industry for 60 years. Given that it takes five to six months to make Cervezarita, and because the barrels are so challenging to purchase, MobCraft won’t be making more anytime soon. If this beer appeals to you, get it when you see it.
Unlike MobCraft’s better-known, crowd-sourced beers, Cervezarita’s recipe was the creation of brewmaster Andrew Gierczak. It includes agave nectar, sea salt and lime juice, which lend it some of its margarita-like character.
Cervezarita ends up around 7.8% ABV. It sells in 22-ounce bottles for around $13. If you’re looking closely at the label you might recognize the amigos behind the bar, left to right, as Will Mueller, Andrew Pryde and Dan Hergenroether from Tex Tubb’s. They’re serving MobCraft’s Henry Schwartz, Andrew Gierczak and Giotto Troia.
Tasting notes:
Aroma: A hint of lime, like a margarita; along with the herbal notes of agave.
Appearance: Its color is light yellow-copper, a little darker than what one thinks of with Corona.
Texture: Medium-bodied. Bubbly and sharp at first impression, with lime and tart wine-like qualities. But there is warmth and more body that comes out in the finish.
Taste: There’s an interesting flavor profile, with lime and wine-sourness up front, followed by the complexity of agave, saltiness, woody barrel qualities and warmth that comes in later in the background.
Finish/Aftertaste: The spirit qualities are very much reminiscent of tequila. They seem to come out stronger in the finish, alongside warmth from the alcohol.
Glassware: I was tempted to drink this beer from a margarita glass, for the fun of it, but instead chose the stemmed or footed pilsner to show off the yellow-copper color. Find one with an inward flare to the lip to focus the margarita-like aromas.
Pairs well with: Best to enjoy the first few sips alone to appreciate how this beer marries a margarita and smooth Vienna malt. It’s a beer that goes with light snacks, especially something that offers a little spice and heat to bring out the margarita/lime qualities. My choice with Cervezarita is sriracha and lime pretzel chips/crisps. Or, go with the straightforward Mexican tortilla chips and salsa.
The verdict: MobCraft comes up with some off-the-wall ideas for beers, but more often than not executes them in ways that end up being very drinkable. I’m not sure about this one. Cervezarita appealed to my scavenger hunter tendency to seek out unusual beers. If you’re looking to get the most out of the beer-margarita experience, serve Cervezarita very cold, the colder the better, to accentuate the lime and a wine-like acidity up front in the flavor profile. Initially, it gives the impression of a crisp and refreshing sour beer. However, it doesn’t take long for the agave and warmth to settle in and remind you that this isn’t a sour, nor a light lawnmower beer. There are some of the flavors found in a margarita, so in that sense, it succeeds. But in the end, I prefer my beer and margarita in separate glasses.
