Tres Amigos
A goblet of our Tres Amigos, a spicy Mexican Style Ale, rimmed with lime juice and Tajín.
You walk into Fat Pants Brewing Co in early May. Springtime is in the air, as well as your step, as you approach the bar for a celebratory pint. Some small chit chat with the bartender ensues, and you decide you want to drink something special, different than what you can find at the muni or corner bar—you made the trek to your local brewery, after all, may as well make it worth the miles.
The bartender nods, and following a moment of hesitation, turns toward the rail and reaches for a handle on the far end of the line. Before pouring your long awaited pint, they turn once more towards you and bluntly ask…
“Do you think Ketchup is spicy?”
“What? Of course not! I mean, sriracha ketchup is a thing…”
“But do you handle spice? Can you handle it hot?”
You respond saying that spice is nice, but you don’t like to overdo it. With a wry smile, the bartender turns back to the draft and begins pouring. The glass is rimmed with lime and a spice mixture that looks like it belongs on a Bloody Mary. The beer is golden, but the fixings give it away that this isn’t your run of the mill, all-day drinker.
What you’re handed is called Tres Amigos. It’s the only spicy beer you can find in Eden Prairie, and it might be the spicy beer of Minneapolis. Following a trepidatious first taste, you explain that you’re not quite sure how to feel…
“It’s… interesting…” you say out loud, in typical Minnesotan fashion when faced with something yet to be labeled as good or bad in your midwestern mindset.
“Wait a few seconds and give it another go. You won’t be disappointed” hails the reply from the bartend.
Indulging the person pouring the pints, your eyes are opened at your second meeting of Tres Amigos. What begins as a shocking amount of spiciness has suddenly found itself tamed, tempered by the sweet aftertaste of an easy drinking ale. The salt, lime, and chili around the rim at once brace your pallet for what’s to come, as well as tantalize your taste buds to fully receive the bold flavors pouring from your pint glass. It’s flavorful, unique, spicy, and surprisingly enough… this new craft beer experience seems refreshing!
And so it begins, a new obsession with a new style of beer. A Spicy Mexican Inspired Ale. When we first brewed this beer, all the way back in quarantine 1.0, 2020 edition, we had no idea how popular it would become. Sure, micheladas are popular and well known in, say, San Diego, but all the way up in the bold north? We weren’t so certain this spicy beer could succeed in the land of Minnesota Spice.
Yet every year, we have folks coming all the way from Duluth just to ask if we have this beer on tap yet. And it isn’t limited to Duluth, as craft beer lovers from Minneapolis, St. Paul, the southwest metro, and every where else around the twin cities seem to know that come time to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, they better make one trip out here to fill up on a fresh batch of Tres Amigos.
So… what exactly is it? Great question, highly regarded reader of this blog. Allow me to break down what all goes into this beer to make it special.
We start with a Mexican Style Ale. Easy to drink, no fuss stuff. While it isn’t a corn based lager like many of the Mexican beers you find yourself familiar with, it is a light, crisp base to start making this specialty beer.
Enter: The three amigos. Lime, Salt, Chili. The staples of Mexican cuisine, this pairing is potent, powerful. We infuse these flavors directly into the beer as it brews, and finish a pint off with the same beautiful combination covering the rim of your glass, with Tajín seasoning and a slice of lime.
Why this works so well…
Even those among us who are marked with the unfortunate aversion to spice and all the nice things it brings to food and drink can enjoy this beer on a completely new level. Fans of Tres Amigos often report a heightened sense of happiness as they put a pint of this spicy beer down. And there’s a cool, science informed reason why.
Spicy foods, drinks, and flavors trigger a small release of endorphins, partially to deal with the ‘pain’ that spice can introduce to your palette as you eat or drink. Paired with the standard happiness that you experience whilst drinking a tasty craft beverage, these endorphins make for an elating experience beyond simply drinking.
And that’s what keeps this beer coming back every year, making it Fat Pants’ own Cinco de Mayo tradition!
Three carnitas tacos, one of our seasonal specialties returning to the menu right in time for Cinco de Mayo, and a perfect pairing for Tres Amigos.
If your taste buds are tantalized, know now that this beer will be on tap in just a few weeks!