Barley wines from Mexico?
Posted by Jeff Barber
And pigs are flying too!
Actually, it’s true. While at Chef’s Table for my usual Wednesday night visit, Chef David pulled a very interesting looking bottle of beer out of his refrigerator. Bottled and corked in the larger 750ML bottle, it was a Barley Wine from Cucapa Brewing in Baja, Mexico. Opened in 2002, this brewery was one of the first real microbreweries in Mexico and if this beer is a typical example, they are off to a great start. We poured it into red wine glasses and I let mine sit for about 10-15 minutes to let it warm up a little. A dark reddish-brown in color, it had lots of roasted malt aroma and noticeable molasses in the flavor. It was well balanced by the hops so that the sweetness didn’t overwhelm. Full bodied, sweet but balanced, and strong; this was a very good barley wine.
I couldn’t help but think how well this would have fit in with our other selections at the annual S.O.B.E.R Barleywine tasting event. But Chef was even sure who dropped it off for him and according to their website, the farthest north it’s sold in Califonia is Turlock.
It is distributed widely in the LA area so if you are there and see this beer, grab one. You won’t regret it.
