Bluejacket's Mexican Radio

The lyrics go something like this, "I feel a hot wind on my shoulder / A touch of the world that is older / Turn the switch and check the number."  If you can imagine Stan Ridgeway singing those words, then you would have the opening to the 1982 hit, Mexican Radio by Wall of Vooodoo.  The song was inspired by the unregulated Mexican AM stations

Those lyrics went through my head when I first encountered the Mexican Radio beer brewed by Bluejacket Brewery in Washington, D.C. The Mexican Radio is a sweet stout, brewed with not only oats and milk sugar, but also ancho chile peppers, vanilla beans, cinnamon and cacao nibs. In other words, it is brewed in the style of a chile beer. In some respects this beer is a lot like the song, an offering inspired by a "style" of beers that is not very well regulated.

There is a Beer Certification Judge Program ("BCJP"), which has extensive notes about different styles of beer: what they should look like, what their aroma should smell like, what are the expected taste elements of the beer.  When it comes to a chile beer, the most the BCJP has to offer in terms of guidelines is "30A. Spice, Herb or Vegetable Beer" or "SHV Beer."  This category does not provide much in the way of guidelines, leaving the style open for interpretation and experimentation.

I have reviewed quite a few chile beers in the past (because they are one of my favorite beer styles). These beers include 5 Rabbits' 5 Vultures, New Belgium's Cocoa Mole, Ska Brewing's Mole Stout, New Holland's El Mole Ocho, and both Stone Brewing's Crime and Punishment.  There are common threads in these beers.  First, the beer either is a variation of a pre-existing beer, that is, a beer already brewed but now with chiles added (like the Stone beers) or it is a new beer usually based on a preexisting style, such as a stout.  Second, the chile typically used in the beer is the ancho chile or chipotle chile, probably because of the heat and smoke characteristics of the peppers.  When it is a new beer, the brewing typically includes other spices, such as cinnamon, cardamom, cacao, etc.

Bluejacket's Mexican Radio stands as one of the best, if not the best, chile beer that I have ever had.  I had it a couple times when I ate at The Arsenal in Washington, D.C. However, Bluejacket now has a tasting room adjacent to the restaurant and four packs of the beer are available for carry out. 

The Mexican Radio pours a pitch black, which one would expect with any stout.  However, unlike some stouts, the beer does not have a viscous appearance, having a medium body that is masked (perhaps Lucha Libre style) by a thin cinnamon-colored foam.  The aromatic elements suggest some of the ingredients other than the chiles, such as the vanilla and cinnamon.  The sweetness of the oats and milk sugar help to soften the aromas.  As one sips the beer, the ancho chiles make their presence known upfront, but the taste is rounded out by the cinnamon and the cacao nibs.  The vanilla and the milk sugars round out the flavor, providing a softness that blunts a little of the heat from the chiles.  Overall, the Mexican Radio presents perhaps the most balanced chile beer that I have ever had. 

With an ABV of 8%, the Mexican Radio is a very drinkable beer, that is best experienced while sitting and relaxing on one's deck. The beer has limited availability, either at the Arsenal restaurant or the adjoining taproom.  If I recall correctly, it sells for about $15.99 for a four pack.  Until next time ...

ENJOY! 

5 Rabbits 5 Vultures

5 Rabbit Brewery boasts of being the first Latin American micro-brewery in the United States.  According to their website, they approach the brewing of beer with a "Latin style."  So, that got me to thinking, what is the history of brewing beer in Latin America.  

The one Latin American country with the most well known history of brewing beer is Mexico.  Every store that sells beer has Mexican beers on its shelves.  Corona, Modelo, Dos Equis and, if it is a little more expansive, may some Bohemia or Carta Blanca.  I had always thought that the brewing of beer was spurred by German immigrants.  However, I was fascinated to learn that the basic process brewing beer -- brewing a grain based beverage -- predated not only the German immigrants, but the Spanish Conquistadors.  

Both the Maya and the Aztecs brewed grain based beverages.  In These indigenous peoples used what was most readily available to them ... corn.   In what the northern part of modern day Mexico, the indigenous peoples brewed a beverage known as tesgüino or izquiate.  It was a light amber-colored beverage that had to be whisked before drinking.  Some people still make tesgüino today in Sonora and Chihuahua.  By contrast, in modern day central and southern Mexico, the people brewed another beer-type beverage, pozol, is brewed with corn and cocoa beans in Oaxaca, Chiapas and Tabasco. Other ingredients, such as honey and chile peppers can be used in the making of pozol.  

Although they are not brewing pozol, 5 Rabbits draws its inspiration from Oaxaca for a beer, aptly called 5 Vulture.  The brewer describes the beer as a "Oaxacan-Style Dark Ale."  The one thing that 5 Vultures shares with Oaxacan pozol is the use of chiles.  5 Rabbit Brewery uses roasted ancho chiles, along with some brown sugar, to brew this the 5 Vulture.

The brewer describes the beer as being an "amber colored with caramel aromas and toasted sugar notices ad a long, elegant spicy finish."  The beer is reddish brown in color, a little darker than amber.  Its aromatic elements do include a little caramel, along with other flavors one would expect from a malt-driven beer.  The use of the roasted ancho chiles is supposed to add depth and complexity to the beers, without the heat or strong chile flavors.  The ancho is clearly present in the taste of the beer and it lingers long after each sip.  In this regard, ancho chiles are prefect for a beer because they do not have a lot of piquancy (they have between 1,000 and 1,500 Scoville Heat Units, which is relatively little when one considers that an average jalapeno can have up to 5,000 SHUs).  The ancho chile flavors are carried on a light pilsner-style body, which was a little lighter than what I expected for a dark ale, and those flavors were tamed a little by the sweetness from the brown sugar.   .

Finally, as I have noted for other Oaxacan style mole beers, such as New Holland's El Mole Ocho and New Belgium's Ole Mole, these beers can be paired with chicken dishes, red meat and dark chocolate.  The 5 Vultures would also pair very well with any kind of chile.  The heat and smoke flavors of the roasted ancho chiles would complement the flavors of any vegetarian or meat chili.

5 Rabbit is a brewery based in Chicago, Illinois and, if you are in the Chicagoland area, you can probably find their beers.  I have not seen any of their beers in the stores around where I live. Hopefully that will change in the future. 

ENJOY!

For more on the history of brewing in Mexico, check out MexInsider and Wikipedia.