A limeless classic from Mexico

I came over all nostalgic when I saw a double-page advertisement for Sol in last week's MA. In the early 1990s, when Sol and Corona were all the rage in Britain - lager beers drunk straight from the bottle with a wedge of lime in the neck - I was invited to Mexico by the Modelo Brewery in Mexico City to see the beer being brewed.

Last week's ad brought back memories of searing heat, pungent cooking smells, tree-lined boulevards and the knowledge that tequila can quickly become an extremely addictive drink.

I was not a fan of the beer style but was told by a PR woman for Modelo in London that the company brewed many other beers, some of which I might find interesting. Who in their right mind would pass up a trip to Mexico?

I kept further doubts to myself and dutifully turned up at Heathrow for the long journey to the south.

It was a fascinating visit. I learned that such beers as Corona and Sol are bottom-of-the-range in Mexico and are made cheaply for poor peasants and agricultural labourers who can afford only a few pennies when buying their beer.

As I was shown round the enormous Modelo brewhouse in Mexico City I saw a conventional mash tun, where malted grain is mixed with hot water, and standing next to it a much smaller vessel.

"What happens in there?" I asked. "That's where we cook the rice," I was told. In order to keep costs down, Corona is brewed with about 40% rice added to the malted barley. It means that the beer is rather low on flavour as a result.

I noticed from last week's ad for Sol that the beer is still presented with lime in the neck of the bottle. I discovered in Mexico that the habit was not a local one.

Young Americans who went to Mexico on holiday had adopted Corona and Sol and taken samples back home with them. They became cult beers in the United States and it was drinkers there who had adopted the curious business of putting lime in the

bottle.

The PR woman back in London had been right when she said Modelo brewed rather more inspiring beers than Corona. While the first brewers in Mexico were Spanish, the main influence is a Germanic one. Some of the first commercial lager breweries were established by Bavarians, Swiss and French from Alsace.

When the country was briefly part of the Austrian empire, a beer style known as Vienna Red made the long journey to Latin America. This was an early type of lager developed by the great Austrian brewer Anton Dreher in the 19th century.

Unlike the golden lager from Pilsen in Bohemia, Dreher used some slightly darker malt in his beer that gave it a deep bronze and almost red colour. It was a style that influenced the famous Oktoberfest beers in Munich, and survives today in Mexico.

Modelo produces a beer called Negra,

which means "black", but the beer is actually russet red and is close to the Viennese style. Sol, Modelo's arch rival, produces a similar beer called Dos Equis, which means "two crosses".

It's a tad paler than Negra Modelo and is closer to a true Vienna Red - purists might argue that Negra is a cross between a Vienna Red and a Bavarian Dunkel or black beer.

Both beers are widely available outside Mexico and can be found in specialist beer retailers in Britain, though they enjoy nothing like the promotion given to Corona and Sol.

That is always the way with giant

brewers. If you visit Amsterdam or Copenhagen, you will find that the likes of Heineken and Carlsberg have large portfolios of beers, many of them more interesting than their major brands.

In between feasting and drinking, I was able to take in some of Mexico's rich culture and will never forget the Presidential Palace with the astonishing murals by the acclaimed artist Diego Rivera, portraying the country's struggle for independence.

But most fascinating of all was to make a long journey and find such a rich brewing culture. I have kept an affection for Mexican beer - but hold the lime.

www.beer-pages.com