A couple buddies and I were going to watch the Astros play one afternoon, and we decided we’d meet up early for a beer at Home Plate Grill. We arrive, and the craft selection isn’t too impressive. Mind you, this was almost 6 months ago, so their selection may have grown. I asked for a Hopadillo – it’s all foamy, they’re about to stop serving it, just like the Amber Ale beside it. SMH. “How about those Texas Beer Refinery handles,” – I ask again, halfway shouting over loud music and bar noise. “It’s a Texas Beer Refinery IPA,” she shouts back.
Maaaaan, I really like this beer! The tap handle is generic, so I had to ask the bartender what kinda beer it was, and when she said Texas Beer Refinery Mexican IPA, I was definitely intrigued and searching in my phone furiously. When I saw the bit about key limes, the intrigue turned into conviction, and I had to have one.
It starts off with a mild bitter flavor, and the bitterness and citrus notes develop as it goes down. There’s an extra citrus note that kicks in just as the hop aftertaste begins to develop, both of them linger together for a smooth, bitter, long finish.
This beer is one of a kind – no direct comparison yet. I’d love to see folks doing a bit more with Mexican yeasts – not too many Mexican-inspired craft beers, and considering all the Dos Equis and Corona drinkers, you’d think a few more breweries in town would try something.
I gave Texas Beer Refinery Mexican IPA a 4 because it tastes great and it’s pretty creative, and the aroma and flavor are great. It’s so good, it made it into phase 1 of our (blind tasting) Top 5 IPAs of Houston list! Check it out.
Texas Beer Refinery Mexican IPA has a dark golden color, a bit more brown than IPAs with this citrus juiciness. It had a medium-creamy mouthfeel and a thick, creamy, off-white head. The lace it left on the cup was enough to make a 15 year old girl jealous as she shopped for her Quince dress – faaat lace.
Like I said, I was intrigued, but I didn’t really know what to expect. The Mexican part made me think it’d be really light and low on flavor, but I was wrong!
Texas Beer Refinery has generic wood handle taps with their logo at the top. You’d have to ask the bartender what it is because there’s no way of telling, just at a glance. The label art for Texas Beer Refinery Mexican IPA is similar to all their labels. Very painterly style with an illustration of a single person embodying the name. Here, a Mexican woman with a key-lime hat and bright red/green dress seems to be dancing through a lime field with a glass of beer, squeezing lime into it.
Texas Beer Refinery Mexican IPA is delicious and uniquely creative. I want to see this bad boy (or bad girl) canned and in my HEB, so it can become part of my regular rotation. Have you hadTexas Beer Refinery Mexican IPA yet? Did it make you wanna dance or run for the border? Let us know below. Beers to you, Houston.
Anthony's a Houston native, a Creative Strategist at https://ledgeloungers.com/, an adjunct instructor of Visual Communication at Lone Star College, and a UH Coog that loves good beer almost as much as he does his city. Anthony lives to help others and that's found a home helping some of the coolest breweries on earth with creative and marketing projects that can be seen on our Portfolio page. Fueled by hoppy lagers, sessionable IPAs, and gangster rap, he's ticked his way through H-Town, rocking the most unusual Nikes he can find. When he's not writing for us, he's with his family or very patiently rooting for the Rockets.
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