Baja Brewing Company

So this review is a little late, and I'm going from memory, so I'm just going to make a few comments about the beers I tasted from Baja Brewing Company in San Jose del Cabo. I didn't go to the brew pub, because we were about 30 miles away in Cabo San Lucas, but they had a couple of their brews on tap at our resort. After checking out their website I wish I had made it over to the brew pub, because it looks like it would have been a lot of fun and I would have been able to try all their beers.

The photo above is their Escorpion Negro, the Peliroja and a regular ol' Modelo Especial.

As you can see, the Escorpion Negro was very dark in color, but did not taste roasty or bitter at all. It definitely was chocolately in flavor, with little or no detectable hop bitterness or aroma. The body and mouthfeel was medium. It had a lot of residual sweetness, almost like a milk or sweet stout, although they call it a swartzbier on their website. One was enjoyable, but too sweet to have more than one.

The Peliroja immediately reminded me of an American IPA. Medium full bodied, full hop bitterness and aromas. Probably cascade hops, but maybe a touch of columbus and/or chinook. Redder in color than an IPA. Well balanced, it had a nice malty backbone to offset the hops. Definitely an enjoyable beer.

I will also comment on the pictured Modelo Especial. It is probably my favorite Mexican light (colored) lager. Full bodied yet refreshing, lightly hopped but balanced, leaning slightly toward malty. Much better than the other boring Mexican beers we had, Tecate (bad bitterness), Pacifico (watery), and Corona (blandly hopped). I have to say Modelo's other beer, Negro Modelo, is my favorite of the mass produced Mexican beers. I have read that it is the closest modern beer to a traditional Vienna lager, with some local corn added to the Vienna malt to make it slightly lighter in color and body than its European ancestor.

One last side note: the glasses pictured are actually plastic, perfect for enjoying poolside without fear of breakage. Furthermore, the bases of the glasses unscrew, allowing you to easily place them in the ice buckets provided.