Fairly clean and crisp, notes of honey and toffee. Bitter finish is a bit strong, but the earthy and pithy flavor isn’t unpleasant. 3.5/5 stars.
What an interesting name for a beer. Translating roughly as “two foreigners” (although it definitely has many other contexts and translations), it evokes a lot of the history of this style of beer. The typical name for the style of this beer is Vienna lager. The more “accurate” name for the style is probably Mexican amber lager. I know, you’re thinking, “how can the same style be from Austria and Mexico?” Well, hold on to your hats because I’m going to take you on a ride.
To avoid directly quoting the Oxford Companion to Beer when you could just read it for yourself here, let me summarize the interesting points. The style was created in 1841 in Vienna, and is characterized by using mostly Vienna malts (a particular style of malted barley). The story goes that, when Mexico gained its independence, Maximillian I (of Austria) declared himself emperor from 1864-67 and probably encouraged a familiar and popular style to be produced in the country.
Andreas Krennmair, in his recent book on the style, argues that probably wasn’t the case. After all, Mexico is a tropical country and didn’t have access to refrigeration at that time. How would they make cold-conditioned lagers? Kevin Kain further argues in his blog that the beer instead made its way through the United States and traveled into Mexico toward the end of the 19th century along with the raw materials and technology needed to make the style. Of course, he makes a good point that what was being made in the US (and therefore Mexico) was just amber lager and not truly Vienna lager due to the amount of adjuncts used and lack of Vienna malts.
Back to the name, Dos Gringos. Two foreigners. Two people who don’t understand the culture. One foreigner, who may or may not have had influence on the style’s introduction to Mexico, is the Austrian archduke who wanted to rule the Latin country. Gringo. Perhaps the other is the North American brewer who claims the Vienna lager label while not using traditional methods, seeking to capitalize on the name without making an effort to understand the history. Gringo.
Regardless of the brewery’s intent when naming the beer, it makes an interesting study. Plus it makes an easy comparison to another Mexican amber lager whose name starts with “Dos.” Genius.
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A Beer a Day 