Belching Beaver off to the races

Oceanside’s Belching Beaver Brewery has been named the official craft beer of The Mint 400, a 400-mile off-road race for cars, trucks, motorcycles and utility task vehicles (UTVs) that has been held in Las Vegas since 1968. The Mint 400 CEO Matt Martelli and Belching Beaver co-founder and CEO Tom Vogel made the announcement.

Belching Beaver is re-releasing its Mexican-style lager, Buenos Tiempos, as The Mint 400 Buenos Tiempos Cerveza for the event, which is often referred to as “the great American off-road race”, and features 500 racing teams from across the U.S. and around the world competing in various divisions. Buenos Tiempos, which translates to “good times”, is 4.8% alcohol by volume and will be served on draft and in 12-ounce cans during the festivities, which will take place March 8-12.

Belching Beaver’s quartet of tasting rooms in Oceanside, Vista and North Park have Buenos Tiempos available on draft and in six packs of 12-ounce cans while supplies last. Online preorders of the limited-release beer have already sold out.

“I love off-roading,” said Vogel. “My winters are all about desert riding, so marrying two passions of mine–beer and off-roading–is just awesome for me. I am so grateful to be a part of this. Each Belching Beaver beer release carries its own individual style and personality. We are proud to add The Mint 400 brand to our limited releases and we look forward to seeing everybody out there having a good time.”

The collectable Buenos Tiempos can features artwork of Nick Isenhouer’s Ford #205 truck jumping through the flames at The Mint 400 finish line to win the 2022 Unlimited Truck SPEC division race. More than 60,000 off-road racing fans attend The Mint 400 each year.

“Beer is a part of the DNA of off-road culture,” said Martelli. “We are excited to partner with Belching Beaver as our ‘official craft beer of The Mint 400.’ Climbing out of your race car and celebrating your finish by having beers with your team is the way to celebrate after a grueling race. The best beer in your life is the one you have after crossing the finish line, and cold Buenos Tiempos beers will be waiting for all of our finishers.”

Belching Beaver beers are distributed to 12 states outside of California, including as far away as Wisconsin and Texas. Head of Production and Quality Manager Thomas Peters, who joined the brewery in 2013, oversees all beer production at the company’s Oceanside manufacturing facility and four brewery/retail locations.

“Buenos Tiempos is consistently our best-selling beer in our tasting rooms,” said Peters. “I attribute this to the care our brewmaster, Troy Smith, took in crafting it and the attention to detail our team has in making sure a delicate style like Mexican lager comes through clean, crisp and consistent.”