The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias – Mexican Style Lager and More on Beer – 2021Ep7

On this edition of The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias, we welcome back our “unpaid beer correspondents” Sal Mortillaro and Matt Horney. Both are certified beer judges and walking encyclopedias of beer. Matt is also the brewmaster – a tremendous one – at Old Rail Brewing Co. located in Old Mandeville. We talk about Mexican/Central American style lagers and a whole lot more!

Pictured above from left – Bryan Dias of The NOLADrinks Show, Matt Horney of Old Rail Brewing Co., and Sal Mortillaro of the Beer Judging Certification Program.

The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias – Mexican Style Lager and More on Beer – 2021Ep7

We’re back at one of our favorite beer spots in the Greater New Orleans area – Old Rail Brewing Co. in Old Mandeville! And, as we usually do when talking brews, we bring on our “unpaid beer correspondents,” Matt Horney and Sal Mortillaro.

Both Matt and Sal are certified beer judges with the Beer Judging Certification Program (BJCP) with Sal being one of just a few dozen “Grand Master” judges on the planet. He is also the South Regional Representative for the organization. In addition to judging for the BJCP, Matt is the brewmaster at Old Rail.

On this edition of the show, we talk about Mexican style lagers and, by extension, the similar styles seen throughout much of Central America. We touch on the history and the influence of German and Austrian beer making on the region.

Also, we discuss aspects of how the beer is made and what makes it different, in general, from American-style lagers. We highlight the influence of Vienna dark-style lagers on some of the darker beers found in the region.

Beyond that, we touch on a few other topics and ideas and including sampling Matt’s new Czech dark lager (similar in style and approach to the Vienna version) and a terrific Belgian “quad” ale. In the case of the latter, we taste Matt’s upcoming expression from the tanks, too!

The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias – Mexican Style Lager and More on Beer – 2021Ep7. Bryan Dias of The NOLADrinks Show, Matt Horney of Old Rail Brewing Co., and Sal Mortillaro of the Beer Judging Certification Program at Old Rail Brewing Co. in Old Mandeville, Louisiana.

We close things out with our podcast-only segment, “Another Shot with NOLADrinks,” where we throw some predicted trends for beer in 2021 at Matt and Sal and get their take on them.

As always, you can subscribe to, stream, and download The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias podcast using the links and player at the top of the post.

Cheers and Be Well, You All!

~ Bryan