Even non-drinkers are likely aware that in the world of mass produced beer, this was the Summer of Lime. It started around Victoria Day with the introduction of Bud Light Lime into the Canadian market, ostensibly due to online petitions and email campaigns from beer drinkers across the country begging Labatt to bring the American brand across the border. Supported by a massive marketing budget and lazy media reports that did little more than regurgitate glowing press releases, the beer was a quick hit, with supply shortages causing Krusty Ribwich style pilgrimages to find an LCBO or Beer Store outlet that had stock available.
As is inevitable with such instantly successful mainstream beer trends - ice beer, dry beer, bottled "draft" beer, etc. - it didn't take long for the knock-offs to hit the shelves, which is a somewhat ironic development considering that Bud Light Lime was itself a knock-off of Miller Chill, a lime lager introduced in the States a full year before the Bud version was unleashed. Both beers are said to be influenced by michelada, a Mexican drink made by mixing beer with fresh lime juice, hot sauce and other flavourings. Although it's worth noting that before formulating and releasing Bud Light Lime, Anheuser-Busch took on the Miller product with Bud Light Chelada, a version inspired by a regional michelada variation that includes Clamato juice. And yes, from all accounts, it's just as disgusting as it sounds.
But I digress, as the point of this piece is to look at two of the lime beers that have come out from Canadian breweries since the foreign interloper (developed in the US, brewed in the UK) invaded our shores and stores. The first was Moosehead Light Lime from New Brunswick's Moosehead Brewery, released in the Maritimes back in June, and arriving in Ontario just last week (LCBO 156133 - $12.25/6x341 mL). The more recent contender is Red Baron Lime from Brick Brewing in Waterloo, available at the Beer Store ($9.95/6x341 mL) since August. (Two brands from out west, Russell Cactus Lime and Big Rock Lime, aren't available in Ontario.)
Right from the get-go, it's blatantly obvious that these beers are aimed at taking a slice of the Bud Light Lime pie. Aside from the obvious flavour similarity, both are 4% lagers, and both feature labels and packaging that have a similar green and silver colour scheme to the Bud brew. Anheuser-Busch and Labatt have even gone so far as to file a lawsuit against Brick for what they view as trademark infringing similarities, although the suit is considered by many to be a nuisance filing that has more to do with the fact that current Brick president George Croft used to be a Labatt executive.
Now, it's probably pretty obvious to anyone who has read my previous Beer of the Week columns, my blog, or any of my other beer writing that I'm not really in the target demo for these beers. And as for Bud Light Lime, while I have tried it, I decided to take a partial "if you can't write something nice..." approach and limited my published thoughts to a short review on RateBeer. That said, I always approach every new beer with as open a mind as possible, and sometimes, I'm pleasantly surprised.
Red Baron Lime was one of those surprises. It looks just as I expected - a highly carbonated golden body with a thick, creamy head that fades to nothing very quickly - and I was pleased to find the aroma to have a very natural lime essence, with a mild malt graininess hanging around the edge. The body is very crisp and clean, and the flavour features natural tasting lime with a faint hint of beer lurking in the background. Personally, I could go for a bit more beer character (assuming it was decent tasting beer, of course), and I'd be tempted to add another squeeze of lime to pump the flavour up a notch. But otherwise, this is a perfectly acceptable refresher.
Moosehead Light Lime, however - not so much. It looks pretty much identical to the Red Baron, but the lime notes in the aroma and flavour don't seem anywhere near as natural, coming closer to the Sprite/green Kool-Aid character that I found in Bud Light Lime. There's also a bit more beeriness going on, but that's not really a good thing, as it smells and tastes of the sort of mass brewed lager that I generally make a point of avoiding. Like Cracked Canoe before it, I afraid I have to give a thumbs down to another Moosehead product.
If we're looking at this as a taste test challenge, I guess Red Baron Lime would be the winner. It's hard to say how much good that'll do, though, considering that the prime season for this sort of beer has come to an end. But in the unlikely event that the craze manages to survive through the winter, those who like the taste of lime in their beer but are too indifferent and/or lazy to buy and slice a real lime and squeeze it into their lager of choice can take this under consideration.
Citrus in beer goes back decades in Europe...at least. Why the constant reference to Mexico is beyond me. The speculation of a lime in Corona is always an interesting story coming from the consumers (read non-beer-drinkers).
So it just goes to show how much marketing plays in all this, because brands like this pop out of the woodwork. Noting that the market might be more ignorant than what might be considered optimal, is there an opportunity for brewers who respect style and offer something significant?