Pacifico

It’s not surprising that Pacifico was voted Best Beer: it’s been a local favorite for more than 100 years. Pacifico Clara was first served in the Cerveceria del Pacifico brewery that opened in March of 1900. The brewery was built and run by three German immigrants possessing veritable vats of knowledge on the art of brewing beer. The partners pooled $300,000 pesos and built a state-of-the-art brewery capable of producing 175,000 liters per month. (Way to go, guys!) One of their original copper brewing vats stands proudly along the malecón and is kept meticulously maintained by brewery personnel. Since Pacifico is brewed locally, it’s always fresh, with a crisp taste and abundant carbonation. This pilsner is best enjoyed on a hot day, served ice cold in a chilled mug while sprawled in the shade of a beachfront palapa. Actually, straight out of the bottle, whilst sprawled in a dimly lit back-street cantina, isn’t bad either.

Negra Modelo – a close second - certainly deserves an honorable mention. This dark, Munich-style lager was first brewed in Mexico by Austrian immigrants in 1926 and is available in bottles or draft. Of note is the fact that Negra Modelo - a smooth beer with a rich malty, slightly sweet flavor - has an alcohol content of 5.4%. That means it’s 11-proof, and also means that it doesn’t take many of these bad boys to, umm, alter your reality. Have at it, folks! –BK