DOA IPA - Cervecera Mexicana S.A. De C.V.

    DOA IPA is an India Pale Ale brewed by Cervecera Mexicana S.A. De C.V. located in Pénjamo, Mexico. This beer's vibrant colors and Día de los Muertos themed label attracted my eye as soon as I arrived in the beer aisle. The only other beers I've had from Mexico don't exactly fall under the "craft beer" label, so I was excited to give this one a try.

    DOA is a clear, amber color with tons of carbonation bubbles rushing to the beer's surface. A half-finger, off-white head forms at pouring and remains for an amazingly long time. The head leaves a thick layer of foam on the glass as the beer is enjoyed.

    The beer smells of sweet caramel malts behind a mix of hops scents such as orange peel, pine, and a tiny bit of a smell that reminds me of kitchen cleaner. I'm surprised at the lack of hops strength in the smell as this is an IPA.

    DOA IPA is medium bodied with a medium-high level of carbonation. The beer has a slight syrupy feel to it. DOA has an alcohol content of 6.8% ABV.

Poor guy's waitress took forever!

    The IPA is surprisingly sweet. Bready malts and what I swear is agave nectar make up the sweet background for the hops. For an IPA, DOA is not very hoppy. Citrus and pine flavors are definitely there, but not as pronounced as you might expect. The almost honey-like sweetness of the beer takes away from any hop bitterness that might have been present otherwise.

    I'm excited to see that there is a craft beer movement in Mexico. I can't wait to see what new plays on old styles, and even new styles, are created by Mexican brewers! I can see a lot of promise in beers created with traditional Mexican flavors and look forward to trying as many as I can find! On a similarly related note, have you ever noticed that all Mexican breweries have extremely long names, even with the abbreviations in them?

    DOA IPA is a relatively average India Pale Ale with an apparently dead-on-arrival hops bouquet. I have to say that I am intrigued by the almost tequila-like flavor in the beer, which I suspect is from agave nectar. I would definitely like to see more ales like this one become available in the USA!

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