Cerveceria Mexicana, Tecate, Mexico
Imported by: Luneau USA
Westport, CT
Available: nationwide
California native Don Ed Hardy has been called “the godfather of modern tattoo.” He and French fashion designer Christian Audigier have collaborated to create the Ed Hardy lagers.
ABV: 3.74
ABW: 2.98
Color: 4.16
Bitterness: 10
Original gravity: 1043
At first sip—and taste—this seems to be a typical adjunct-style beer: Light in color. Fizzy. Not very interesting. Except … there seems to be a bit more mouthfeel. More flavor. At second glance, the color is a bit deeper than your average fizzy yellow burp-maker. Pouring clear as summer sunshine, and leaving a fizzy skiff of a snowy white head with a sweet aroma and a pleasing, clean flavor, this beer isn’t, nor will it ever be, a craft beer geek’s fantasy beer. But for an imported Mexican lager, it’s enjoyable enough. And you don’t even need a lime to enjoy it.
“Ed Hardy by Christian Audigier,” declares the label. As I flip the cap, I’m wondering what we have here: a beer or a fashion statement? Moments later I know the answer. I’m sure those who swig Mexican beer from the neck will look pretty cool holding this colorful bottle, but it’s not going to excite those of us who like our beer deep and interesting. The sweet, buttery flavours of lemon and tropical fruit just don’t take you anywhere. Served cold on a hot day, it’ll be welcome and refreshing, but style definitely wins over substance this time.
Lisa Morrison, aka The Beer Goddess, writes about beer whenever she can and also gets to talk about it on a weekly radio show in her hometown of Portland, OR.
Author of the Good Bottled Beer Guide and The Book of Beer Knowledge, Jeff Evans is an eight-time editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide and one of Britain's best-known beer writers.
