Casta Única
Especialidades Cerveceras S.A. de C.V.

 

 

 

A very rare beer to taste and enjoy and only because I have a friend invloved in MJ’s rare beer club. Murky Orange. Very appealing, bursting aroma of ripe, tart fruits, vanilla, loads of earth, caramel and bubblegum. Very well balanced. Notes of ripe passion fruits (peaches), banana and spice. Memorable and lovely.

25.4oz bottle obtained via trade with LuckySevens82. Thanks for the opportunity... Corked and caged, Limited Edition bottle B3004.

Poured into a Rapscallion glass, formed 2" of dense, creamy, tan head over the effervescent burgundy amber brew. Head lasts very well, and lacing is heavy and foamy. Aroma is malt sweetness, with a tartness and spiciness that intrigues me. Taste finds the sweetness losing the battle to tart fruitiness, and while the malts are working it in the mouthfeel, things just don't come together as well as I had hoped. Mouthfeel and drinkability are both good and for a Mexican brew this is incredible. Against other brews of the same style, competition gets a bit stiff. Very nice brew nonetheless.

I agree with the inside opinion that this is the only good Mexican beer. Yeasty, adding in dark fruit. Corriander and vanilla and nutmeg and other spice. Some chocolate malts and complexity. Well hopped, with variety of hop. Had a year later and noted more cantillon aroma and strong carbonation and licorice taste.

Bottle # A1852
Corona this ain't!!! Pours out of the heavy-ass thick glass bottle with a fluffy and authentic appearing white head that settles over clear and gently carbonated medium amber liquid...nothing dark about this ale, but let's not split hairs, eh? The nose is very Belgian: slight yeast funkiness, banana, light tropical fruit, some candi sugar thrown in for good measure as well. The taste is sweet at first with banana and sweet malt tasted right off, then a slight doughy/yeasty note takes hold with some decent hoppiness and a touch of alcoholic dryness. Finishes bittersweet..if I didn't know this was a Mexican ale I'd have no trouble believing it was a Belgian offering...(Mexican) hats off to this brewery, a well-done authentic take on the style.

A bit light, perhaps, for a "dark" ale. But what does that matter?

Caramelized sugar / copper penny color. Strong alcohol bouquet -- and toss in some brown sugar, plum skin, pepper, and pear. Flavors of lemon rind, pear skin, brown sugar. Noticeable peppery, spicy hop finish -- Saaz, perhaps?

Well balanced and quite drinkable. The 8% is evident as it warms, but early on the liveliness and hops seem to keep it in check. Score one for Mexico.

750 ml Bottle, poured into a snifter.
Pours a tarnished copper color. Has a fine, if not rocky head with very large bubbles circling the head. The head does not last long, but the lacing is not terrible.
Smell is very fruity (loads of fruits - pear, apple, grape), it's almost wine like.
Taste is also very wine like. Very fruity up front, same pear, apple, grape combination as in the nose). There is definitely a spicy hop character, not particularly bitter at all, but definitely there and very noticible. There is a very nice, sweet, malty finish.
Also, there is a very slight burnt character to the flavor that in no way is a bad thing, it almost helps to bring out the other flavors in this beer. The alcohol warming is mild, but noticable nonetheless.

This is the best beer, hands down, from Mexico, I have ever tried. I'm kind of sad I finished the bottle because I know it will be darn near impossible for me to get another bottle of this. One of perhaps the most interesting takes on a belgian strong dark that I've ever tried.