Beer with Mexican food from tacos to mole

Mexico already has a beer culture

Mexico has brewed lager since the nineteenth century, helped along by German and Austrian brewers. That is why some Mexican beers are in the Vienna lager tradition: amber, lightly toasty and smooth. Most of the beer people know today, though, is pale, light lager, often brewed with maize as well as barley.

Pale Mexican lager is refreshing with food that is hot and fresh. Amber lager suits food that is browned, smoky or rich. That simple split covers a surprising amount of the menu. The rest is about chilli, smoke and sauce.

Tacos al pastor and carnitas

Tacos al pastor use pork marinated in dried chillies and achiote, cooked on a vertical spit and served with pineapple, onion and coriander. The technique came with Lebanese migrants and their shawarma. Carnitas is pork slowly cooked in its own fat until tender, then crisped.

For al pastor, a Vienna lager is our first choice. Its toasty malt matches the chilli marinade and the caramelised edges, while its 18 to 25 IBU stays friendly to the pineapple. Carnitas, rich and fatty, likes the carbonation of a crisp pale lager or a Pilsner. A squeeze of lime on the taco does the rest.

Fish tacos and ceviche want something light

Baja style fish tacos use battered, fried fish with cabbage, crema and lime. Ceviche is raw fish cured in lime juice with onion, chilli and coriander. Both are bright, fresh and sharp.

A light lager or a Kölsch is the easy match with fish tacos, where fried batter and crema need bubbles. A Belgian witbier is our pick with ceviche: its citrus and coriander mirror the dish itself. A gose, tart and slightly salty, is another good choice for those who like sour beer.

Chipotle, smoke and the darker beers

Chipotle is a smoke dried jalapeño, often sold in adobo sauce. It brings smoke, heat and a little sweetness to dishes such as chipotle chicken, tinga and barbacoa style meats.

Smoke suits beers with roasted or smoked malt. A porter at 4.5 to 5.5% ABV is a good match for smoky braised meat. A schwarzbier is lighter but still has that roast. For the adventurous, a smoked beer doubles up on the chipotle. Keep bitterness modest if the dish is hot.

Mole is the hardest and most rewarding

Mole poblano, from Puebla, is a dark sauce made with several kinds of dried chillies (often ancho, mulato and pasilla), nuts, seeds, spices, dried fruit and a little chocolate. It is cooked for hours and served over chicken or turkey. It is complex, rich and only gently hot.

Mole is one of the few savoury dishes where a dark beer is the clear winner. A sweet stout, a milk stout or a brown porter picks up the chocolate and roasted chilli. A Belgian dubbel, with dried fruit and caramel, matches the raisins and spice, though at 6 to 7.5% ABV it should be a small pour. Pale lager simply disappears next to mole.

Enchiladas, guacamole and the everyday plates

Enchiladas with red chilli sauce suit an amber lager. Enchiladas verdes, with tomatillo sauce, are sharper and suit a crisp Pilsner or witbier. Guacamole with tortilla chips is fat and salt with lime, so almost any pale lager works.

In Indian cities, Mexican style food often arrives as nachos, burritos and quesadillas heavy with cheese. Rich cheese loves carbonation, so a crisp lager or a pale ale at 30 to 40 IBU is a good partner. Our beer and food pairing basics explain how carbonation cuts fat.

Watch the salsa. A fresh pico de gallo is mild and bright. A salsa made with habanero is a different matter, as hot as many Indian chillies. With the hot salsas, keep bitterness under about 20 IBU and alcohol under 5% ABV, because both make chilli heat feel worse. A hefeweizen or a light Mexican style lager is the safe pour.

About the lime wedge

The lime wedge in a bottle of pale lager adds acidity and aroma to a very light beer. It is a habit, not a rule. Squeeze lime on the food rather than in the beer if you want to taste the beer as it was made. With a Vienna lager or a stout, skip the lime altogether.

Serve pale lagers at 3 to 6 °C, Vienna lager at 6 to 8 °C and stouts at 10 to 13 °C. Try this test: taste mole with a pale lager, then with a stout. The lager vanishes. The stout makes the chocolate and chilli come forward. That contrast teaches you how intensity matching works.

Your first step: order tacos al pastor and pour a Vienna lager or an amber lager alongside the usual pale one. Taste them back to back and decide which suits the pork.

Common questions

What beer goes best with tacos al pastor?

A Vienna lager. Its toasty malt matches the chilli marinade and caramelised pork while staying friendly to the pineapple.

What beer suits mole poblano?

A sweet stout, milk stout or brown porter picks up the chocolate and roasted chilli. A small glass of Belgian dubbel also works.

Should you put lime in Mexican beer?

It is a habit, not a rule. Lime adds acidity to a very light lager, but it hides the flavour of fuller beers.