Cucapá's Chupacabras Pale Ale - Beer of the Week

by Joshua M. Bernstein, Posted Dec 7th 2009 @ 5:00PM

Photo: Jenene Chesbrough.

While tequila has assumed its perch as a respected spirit, Mexican beer mostly remains a lime-juiced joke: a cool thirst-quencher to slurp while browning on a beach.

"In Mexico, 99.9 percent of the beer offerings are pale lagers," explains Mario García, CEO of Mexicali, Mexico's Cucapá Brewery. "Clear-bottle beer is not craft beer. That's why they make you shove a lime in it."

But against daunting odds, García and Cucapá are trying to rewrite the rulebook for Mexican beer. Since 2002, Cucapá (located in the Mexican state of Baja California) has crafted full-bodied, full-flavored brews such as the Obscura, a dark, nutty ale with chocolaty undertones and a burly barelywine redolent of citrus and molasses.

South of the border, though, the most puzzling release has been the Chupacabras pale ale. "We brought this to several festivals, and people said, 'This beer is rotten. It's bitter.' They associated bitterness with the beer being bad."

Compared to most American hop Godzillas, however, the Chupacabras is delightfully restrained. The ale (5.8 percent ABV, 45 IBUs) pours out a clear copper, with a tan head that lingers like a welcome house guest. An assertively citrusy scent is leavened with a little caramel, roasted nuts and toaster-fresh bread, carrying into a lusciously sweet-bitter taste.

"We love beer, and we love making beer," García says. "We just happen to be in Mexico."

Would you ditch a Corona for a beer from Cucapá? Spill it in the comments sections.

Joshua M. Bernstein has written about brews, bars and booze for New York Magazine, Time Out New York, ForbesTraveler.com and the New York Times.

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

12-23-2009 @4:12AM The Real Tijuana said... You could have spent several paragraphs explaining where the Chupacabras name comes from. And what fun you would have had.

The beer itself is very good but, as Mr B said, somewhat restrained. It is lighter, sweeter, and less hoppy than the Bufadora of Cervecería Tijuana. Both are in the style of Arrogant Bastard Ale by Stone Brewery.

When tasted alone, the Chupacabras is clearly reminiscent of the other two. When tasted all together, The Chupacabras places a distant third while the Bufadora a very close second to Arrogant Bastard.
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1-26-2010 @11:23PM Baja Joes said... Please, Tell us where we can get Chubacabra Beer in the U.S.? Or can it be ordered from Baja to California? We live far enough North in Calif. that its not easy to drive to Mexico but if we can order it WE WILL! Is it easily available in Baja?
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