6th Annual TJ Beer Fest

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Bufadora, calavera, Calavera American Pale Ale, calavera beer, Cervecería Primus, cerveza tijuana, cerveza tijuana bufadora, Cucapá, cucapá La Migra Imperial Stout, Cucapá Lowrider Rye, cucapá runaway ipa, Duff Beer, oskar blues brewing co., ryan brooks, tijuana beer festival, tj beer fest, tj beer fest pics, tj beerfest, Zona Norte, zona norte beer, zona norte tijuana beer

Welcome to Tijuana

The Sixth Annual TJ Beer Fest took place on Avenida Revolución this past weekend. Much smaller (and cheaper) than any beer festival I’ve ever seen in the US, the quality of beer wasn’t on par with what we’re used to in San Diego, but a good time was had by all.

A few of us decided to ride the 20 miles from North Park to Tijuana on our bikes, a slow paced, scenic ride in the 80+ degree heat made the much anticipated first beer all the more worth it. Admission was $8, which included 3 tasters and a TJ Beer Fest pint glass with a fill line to mark sample pours.

On hand were festival organizers Cerveza Tijuana and Stone Brewing Co. as well as Mexican breweries Cervecería Primus, Cucapá, Zona Norte, and Duff Beer. The Beer Box was also on hand pouring a few Mexican beers (including Calavera) as well as some European imports, cans of Oskar Blues and some of their employees own homebrews.

I started with Calavera American Pale Ale, it was unfiltered which seemed unusual but tasted ok. It in no way compared to the best American pale ales, but it wasn’t a bad beer. Next I tried was Cucapá’s Lowrider Rye. This beer was hard to classify, another unfiltered beer it used rye and wheat, German hops and a Belgian yeast strain. It tasted like a heavier bodied hefeweizen with the rye malts. This was probably my favorite beer of the day.

I sampled Cucapá’s La Migra Imperial Stout which was ok and their Runaway IPA as well. I had tasted the Runaway IPA a few month back and thought it was ok, but hard to compare to even the most average IPAs coming out of American breweries. This sample was bottled in a 750ml bottle (my previous tastes were 12oz bottles), I’m not sure if this was a bad batch, old beer or what but this beer was almost undrinkable. It was incredibly sweet with almost no hop presence.

I sampled a porter from Zona Norte which was pretty good but overly sweet. Zona Norte is a new brewery in Tijuana that is currently transitioning from a homebrew operation to a small brewery. Bufadora, a maibock from Cerveza Tijuana was nice and refreshing. Unfortunetely I didn’t get to try anything from Cervecería Primus although I heard good things. I also didn’t try anything from Duff, The Simpsons knock off beer.

Click below for more pictures from the festival. And check out The Farm and the City for Jay Porter’s take on the festival and more pictures.

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TJ Beer Fest This Friday and Saturday (Oct 8th and 9th)

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tijuana beer festival, tj beer fest, tj beerfest

Just a reminder that the much anticipated TJ Beer Fest is happening this weekend. Friday and Saturday from 11am until well into the night, craft beer from Mexico and the United States will be pouring on Avenida Revolución between 1st and 3rd Steets just minutes from the border in Tijuana.

Admission is $8 but we’re not quite sure how many tasters that includes. As this is Mexico it’s 18 and up.

The list of breweries on hand can be seen here. In addition to the breweries listed we’ve been told that the folks at The Beer Box TJ will be on hand pouring Calavara in addition to some of their own homebrews.

Beer Review: Cucapá Imperio

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Cucapá, Cucapá brewery, imperio, mexicali beer, mexican ale, the beer box tijuana

I knew only three things about this beer before I opened it:

1. It’s from Cucapá, the brewery in the Mexicali
2. It’s 9.2% ABV according to the label
3. I’m told it is sold exclusively at The Beer Box

It’s rare for me to know so little about a beer before drinking it. Usually if I’m drinking a beer it’s been recommended by a friend or bartender, or I’ve read something about it. Or I at least know what style it is before drinking it. Not with Imperio. While paying a visit to The Beer Box in Tijuana earlier this month I picked up a few beers from Cucapá that aren’t readily available in the US. I was told this beer was exclusive to The Beer Box, and the label says it’s 9.2%, but that’s about all I know.

Appearance: Red with a small tan head that dissipated rather quickly in this standard pint glass. It’s a dark red, but when held up to the light it is the color of cranberry juice.

Smell: Boozy. The 9.2% ABV gives it away that this is going to be a strong beer, and that is apparent in the smell. Not much malt but some hop smells come through.

Taste: Boozy again. Also a bit hoppy. Far less malt than I expected. The alcohol and the hops are what stand out. It’s bitter, after a few minutes a bit of sweetness comes through from the malts as it warms up.

Mouthfeel: Good carbonation but slightly cloying because of the sweetness.

Drinkability: This isn’t an easy beer to drink. The high alcohol content makes it up front and aggressive.

I would give Imperio another shot when the weather gets cooler, I’d also like to try it with a bit of age on it to see if the alcohol mellows out a bit (unfortunately this bottle isn’t date coded so I’m not sure how old it is).

Cucapá Tequila Barrel-aged Barleywine at El Take It Easy

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Cucapá barleywine, jay porter, tequila barrel-aged barleywine, tequila barrel-aged beer, tequila beer

Barrel-aged beers aren’t rare these days. Many brewers are aging beers in oak barrels, often old whiskey or bourbon barrels, or old wine barrels. This can impart all sorts of wonderful flavors on the beers that can’t be achieved with the usual method of fermentation in a glass or metal tank.

Mexicali based Cucapá is the first brewery I’ve ever heard of to age beer in tequila barrels, and lucky for us El Take it Easy in North Park had a cask of it last Friday night.

I’ve never had Cucapá’s Barleywine but it has a solid B+ rating on Beer Advocate. It was served in a wine glass, chilled but certainly not cold and with no head. The tequila was apparent from the moment I smelled it with an earthy smell. I’m far from being a tequila expert, but I was reminded of a mezcal I once had. It was good, but one of the only ways I knew how to describe it was like the smell of fresh soil. Writing this now I understand this might not sound appetizing at all, but it was quite good. The Barleywine had a similar smell, and while the taste wasn’t that of soil or dirt, it did have some elements of the smell.

This was a big, strong beer, which took me quite a while to drink, and the tequila notes got even more apparent as it warmed up. It’s not something I would drink often, but definetly something to search out. Cucapá is said to be aging Barleywine in tequila barrels for a winter seasonal, and Jay Porter of El Take it Easy told me this was a little preview cask of that. I’m unsure if this beer will show up again in the next few months, but it should be around a bit this winter.

As of yesterday the cask had been moved down the street to El Take It Easy’s sister restaurant The Linkery and was still flowing. No word on how long it will last though.

And a few word on El Take It Easy. They don’t have the most extensive beer list, but they do have good beer. I think they have five taps and an occasional cask, and everytime I’ve been they have had at least one Cucapá beer on tap. They have a decent bottle list as well. The front patio, right on 30th Street, has to be some of the best people watching North Park has to offer.

Upcoming Event: TJ Beer Fest 2010, October 8th and 9th

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cerveza tijuana, lowrider rye ale, mario garcia, runaway ipa, tijuana beer fest, tijuana beer fest 2010, tijuana beer festival, tj beer fest, tj beer fest 2010, tj beer festival

Click the Flier to See the Full Image

UPDATE 3: New dates have been set, Tijuana Beer Fest is scheduled to happen October 8th and 9th.

UPDATE 2: According to Cucapá’s Twitter account, the festival has been postponed until October.

UPDATE: According to Brewery Rowe blogger Peter Rowe, the 2010 TJ Beer Fest has been delayed again. Rumor has it the new date will be September 17th and 18th 2010. I’ll post more information as it becomes available.

Getting event details and confirmation for events south of the border can be excruciatingly hard. Dates change and emails and phone calls go unreturned, leaving one to wonder if the event is happening at all. After a few false starts it appears as if the 6th annual TJ Beer Fest is happening this year after all. The TJ (Tijuana) Beer Fest will be happening Friday August 13th and Saturday August 14th, 2010 on Avenida Revolucion between 1st and 3rd  in downtown Tijuana just minutes from the border. Details are sparse, no word on the time of the event (but based on last year I expect it to be at night on Friday and starting in the afternoon and stretching into the night on Saturday. Cost is up in the air, but expect it to be cheaper than similar festivals north of the border).

Cerveza Tijuana and Stone Brewing Co. appear to be the primary sponsors of the event, so expect them to be pouring beer. According to the flier the festival will feature over 100 craft beers. Emails to both Stone and Cerveza Tijuana asking for more detail about the festival have not been returned.

I was able to confirm with Mario Garcia of Cucapá that they will be on hand at the festival. He says they’ll be pouring their new Runaway IPA and possibly Lowrider Rye Ale if time permits. I don’t know what other breweries to expect at the festival, last year’s festival brought mostly breweries from California and Baja California, with a few others from farther off.

Check back for more details as the festival nears, or just show up and be surprised.

Mexicali Brewery Cucapá profiled in Union-Tribune

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Chupacabras Pale Ale, Cucapá Honey, Cucapá Obscura, green card barleywine, la migra imperial stout, lowrider rye, mexicali, mexican ale, mexican beer, runaway ipa, tequila barrel barrel-aged barleywine, tijuana international beer festival, tijuana international beer festival 2010

Peter Rowe wrote a great piece on Cucapá, a small brewery in Mexicali for the Union-Tribune recently.

The article profiles the brewery and describes some of the problems they face due to Mexico’s beer culture. I’ve seen Cucapá’s beers in the US far more often than I have seen them in Mexico.

It’s not too hard to find Cucapá Obscura, Cucapá Honey or Chupacabras Pale Ale in San Diego. And the article mentions some new beers the brewery recently release or will release soon: La Migra Imperial Stout, Runaway IPA, Lowrider Rye Ale, Green Card Barleywine, and Tequila Barrel barrel-aged Barleywine.

Many of these beers will be available at the Tijuana International Beer Festival, happening July 16th and 17th (more on that soon).

Photo: Creative Commons flickr user gabofr