Pachanga! Norte
Matanuska Brewing

for the love of god we need a mexican lager category here on BA, how has that still not been added? anyway, this is a good one, among my favorites i had from these guys in my alaska trip, its clean and crisp, a little lime thing to it, the classic mexican lager yeast fruitiness, and a slight german element in the mix as well, likely from the grain, some corn seems likely too, and this just hits as a simple, brisk and refreshing warmer weather refresher. i like the art on the label too, colorful and catchy. the beer is pale yellow in color, a light glow to it but not super radiant, short but lasting white head, off from perfectly clear but not messy looking in the least, especially with all this carbonation firing. it smells and tastes about the same, a suggestion of lime zest through most of it, and with some earthy, slightly starchy sweetness which is why i suspect some corn in the mash. the yeast is crisping and familiar, not at all irrelevant here, and i like the little bit of dusty european pils character that comes through too, a little more malt depth than most of these without being more heavy in any way at all, and staying well away from vienna lager range. brightly carbonated, dry at the end, good citrus profile from the hops is complimentary too, and overall i was pretty impressed with this, would have had several if i had my way. very solid take on the style here from about as far from actual mexico as you can get!