Beer of the Week: Celebration Cerveza

From the Beer Writer: There are some nights one never forgets, like the evening that Doug Hasker, longtime San Diego brewmaster and local lager oracle, released his first-ever Mexican-style lager. It came more than three decades into his career crafting beers—mostly lagers—for Gordon Biersch’s Mission Valley brewpub, and might never have happened were it not for the playful prodding of his collaborators for that first, the crew at Chula Vista’s Thr3e Punk Ales Brewing. The night of the release, Hasker was fronting his band, The Barnacles, from his brewpub’s outdoor courtyard. Between songs he shared with the crowd that he’d previously vowed never to brew a Mexican-style lager. Sitting there, tasting his initial stab at the style—a highly drinkable refresher with light earthen sweetness—I was glad he’d relented and wondered what it would be like to see him craft his take on south-of-the-border archetypes like Bohemia and Modelo Negro. Fast forward several years and Gordon Biersch is no more. The local link in that hospitality chain shuttered in 2019 and its longtime combo restaurant and brewery location was quickly snatched up by the Puesto family of Mexican eateries. That San Diego-borne institution has changed everything about the Mission Valley mainstay—menu, bar program, décor—but knew keeping Hasker would ensure their in-house beer program would be of tip-top quality. It’s one of the many smart moves this group has made, and that type of savvy decision-making that has led to Puesto becoming such a success in San Diego beyond. The company is celebrating its ten-year anniversary in 2022 and commemorating the milestone with this week’s featured beer, Celebration Cerveza. A Vienna-style lager, the beer pours a light amber hue with a fluffy head composed of tightly compacted bubbles. On the palate, it’s crisp and clean with a mild sweetness and a finish marked by sharp yet fleeting hoppiness followed by a pleasant cereal-like aftertaste. Like most of Hasker’s lagers, it’s seemingly simple yet meticulously conceived and expertly executed; a testament to why he’s so well respected by his fellow brewers and why keeping him aboard was such a shrewd move by the Puesto team.

From the Brewer: “We thought it important to create a traditional (Mexican) Vienna-style beer which would have been made at the dawning of the Mexican beer movement. Vienna lagers range from copper to reddish-brown in color. The beer is characterized by malty aroma and slight malt sweetness. The malt aroma and flavor should have a notable degree of toasted and/or slightly roasted malt character.  A beer made from all Vienna malt (ours is about 50%) has a malty character with a slight biscuity or nutty aspect. Hop-bitterness is low to medium. The Vienna-style lager beer, which is named after the city it originated in—Vienna, Austria—introduced most of Europe to what modern-day bottom-fermentation is. The Vienna lager’s history began when it was brought to the market in 1841 by Anton Dreher, the owner of Schwechat Brewery near Vienna. Our Puesto Celebration Cerveza is a salute to the original brewers who came over from Germany and Vienna to brew for Maximillian I, and stayed after his demise. It’s patterned after what would have been made in the 1860s in Mexico, using Vienna malts and a little more hops—we used Sterling and Magnum, which were a perfect match for this beer—than our other Mexican lagers.”—Doug Hasker, Head Brewer, Puesto Cervecería