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"FacebookPinterest\n\nWelcome to Beer School, GQ's column on the knowledge you need to raise your beer I.Q. And, of course, the brews you should be drinking right now. This week's lesson: Mexican beer.\n\nSorry bro, the most popular imported beer isn't Heineken, or your beloved Stella. Hold the gold rim, add a lime: when Americans drink foreign, they drink Mexican. It's no surprise to demographers (the US has the second-largest Mexican population on earth), and our bordering beer cultures are simpatico too\u2014both, basically, German. Take Dos XX: founded in Veracruz by a Bavarian expat who missed the tawny gold lagers of his homeland, he called it Siglo XX, a modern beer to usher in the golden dawn of the 20th Century. Today it's the most popular dark import in the US. The most popular over all? Corona. (Modelo Especial is number two). In fact, we drink as much Corona as all craft beer combined.\n\nLike any good German lager, had fresh and cold, these are fine beers. Especially come summer's swelter. But there's a problem. Mexican beer doesn't just taste German, it looks it: that means impeccably designed (looking at you, Sol) but in dangerously clear or green bottles. And sunlight kills beer. When hop molecules vibrate on solar wavelengths, they shatter into pieces the same shape as those in skunk spray. Hence the lime. And salt, and hot sauce, and tomato juice... Anything to mask that taste. Bad Mexican beer is like a cheap burger\u2014a vehicle only for the condiments. Nothing wrong with meat on a bun, but like any summer grilling essential, a little tweak goes a long way.\n\nMade right, a michelada is a magical thing. Satisfying enough to quench, spicy enough to keep you coming back for more. But the pre-made canned stuff? Por Dios. Bud Lite Lime-a-Rita is blisteringly salty; Straw-Ber-Ita eyeball-buzzing sweet. The Clamato Chelada\u2014even extra spicy\u2014is nice, though a bit thin. You can make better at home.\n\nFirst, upgrade the brew for your michelada: here's four:\n\nNegra Modelo\n\nIf you must go Mexican, Negra Modelo is best. It's based not on a pilsner or Vienna lager like most bodega staples, but on a meatier, slightly darker Munich Dunkel. Plus, the brown bottle keeps it fresher when boozing outdoors\u2014though you'll be plucking bits of foil off your yard the rest of the summer.\n\nNew Belgium's Hoppy Bock\n\nBready and sweet but with a sharp kick of rye and hops \u2014 like a black-pepper water cracker \u2014 Hoppy Bock goes great with a michelada's savory salt and spice.\n\nMateVeza's Black Lager\n\nCocoa and coffee notes balance the salt, and yerba mate's minty edge works nicely with a dash of ginger or citrus to wake up those morning-after taste buds. And for your brain, of course, a little caffeine.\n\nShort's Cerveca de Julie\n\nMexican via Michigan, Julie is a classic pilsner brewed with lime. Just a spritz, though, balanced by sweet, bready malt and a light prick of grassy hops. You almost don't want to add anything. But you should.\n\nHere's a basic michelada recipe to get you started. Experiment with the beer and ingredients above and you'll have your new favorite summer drink.\n\n Salt\n\n Juice of 1/2 lime\n\n Preferred hot sauce\n\n Worcestershire sauce\n\n Beer\n\n Lime wedge\n\nSalt the rim of a chilled pilsner glass. Toss in the lime juice and a dash of the Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce to taste. Fill the glass with ice and pour the beer to the brim. Garnish with the lime wedge and take the rest of the day off.\n\nMore Beer School:\n\nEverything You Need to Know About Pilsner\n\nGQ's man at the taps, William Bostwick, is writing a history of the world in six beers, to be published by W.W. Norton. Follow him at brewerstale.tumblr.com"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.gq.com/story/beer-school-upgrade-your-mexican-beer-and-your-michelada>