I remember when a case of Hank's was $10. I simply do not see the value in buying large quantities of any Mexican beer. Sure, I might order one in a Mexican eating establishment.
If it isn't in a corked and caged 750, I'm not spending over $10 for a single retail beer. I'm aware of liquor barrel aged stuff. I'm no longer biting.
I was never too concerned with prices in the past, if a beer was good I would pay for it. I have come to realize that 9/10 an expensive beer isn’t “that” much better than affordable beers. Today while shopping in Ohio, I found a 4/16 of TG Mexican lager for $15. There is no way possible that is $5 better than any local or Mexican made lager.
The craft "Mexican" and AAL thing is mainly just a way for you to support your favorite breweries. If they're not making a CAP (@JackHorzempa can speak on this), I don't need to spend craft prices on a beer that is nominally better in the situation I'd want it in than High Life.
Well, a CAP if brewed to style is more expressive in hoppy aspects (bitterness, flavor and aroma) than a contemporary AAL beer (e.g., Megabrewery beers, Mexican lagers, etc.). I suppose it is a choice if we are willing to pay more for a CAP beer. I can state that I am willing to pay more for a flavorful CAP beer; I did so last evening for Von C OG Pils at the brewery's taproom last evening. Cheers! @jonphisher
I'll pay more for a CAP than I would for a Helles. German/Czech pils, depends on the producer. Definitely versus a Mexican/Euro/AAL. Even then, I have my limits.
Good point, I’m honestly not all that familiar with scores, I just remember that 69 was a “D” and not a good score, maybe you even had to repeat or take summer school? I never did a side by side, but Estrella is way more in line with a real pils than Hamms. I don’t get all of the Hamms praise though, it’s no better than all of the other AALs to me.
69 is not a particularly high score (it equates to a poor score on BA), but is actually pretty good for an AAL. AALs don't generally get very high scores (for various reasons), so 69 is actually a relatively decent score. It's a considerably higher score than the scores bud, Miller and Coors garner.
FWIW there are beers in the BA AAL category that have high scores. For example, Live Oak Pre-War Pils has a score of 90 (Outstanding). And the beer Rupee Indian Lager also has a score of 90 (Outstanding). I discussed this beer in a NBW thread: “Overall: This is a very good AAL beer. It is very cleanly brewed & tasty beer.” https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-weekend-193.676739/#post-7957503 And other examples beyond the two above. Cheers!
For what it’s worth Estrella Jalisco is probably my favorite Mexican lager. I haven’t had it in 2-3 years at least, was an inexpensive single can back then. Now I’ve seen it in stores priced a little higher than the others. I guess because it’s a better beer? Who knows.
Thanks for confirming my memory of EJ compared to other Mexican/ US macro beers. I’ve always bought the big 24 oz cans at 7-11 or a gas station, they usually price all of the Mexican beers the same, but at least it’s stored cold and probably sees a pretty high turnover.
