Negra Modelo

So I know I was kind of in the middle of recounting my Malaysian experience, but it seems I’m taking a bit of a break from my blogging duties during semester. Come to think of it, apart from a couple of pieces which I am yet to edit, there is still a lot I want to write about – but at this point the only way I can it is to go back through photos and do a sort of blog commentary. Not necessarily a bad thing; it’s just not the way I wanted it to be. It lacks my spontaneous charm. When I make some free time for it, I’ll work on it.

Until then, I’ll leave you with a little post about a delicious Mexican beer which isn’t Corona. Negra Modelo is a dark ale, but it’s lighter flavoured than most and is almost, well, sweet. The only downside is that it’s a bit hard to find. It used to be imported by Foster’s, along with Corona, from Mexican producer Grupo Modelo. When SABMiller took Foster’s over, Grupo Modelo decided to terminate their contract with Foster’s, leaving Lion Nathan (the other half of our local duopoly) to pick up the slack and bring in The Corona. Not that Foster’s need to be particularly concerned, through SABMiller they’ll now be peddling Peroni, Miller Draft and Grolsch. They’ll be fine.

But what about poor Negra Modelo? Well, that’s where things get interesting. If you thought that Lion Nathan would jump at the chance as quickly as they did for Corona, you’d be right. Or at least on the right track. Lion Nathan’s website actually has Negra Modelo listed as one of their imported brands, right alongside Corona, but I haven’t seen it at the bottleo. Or in venues. It isn’t even in the Dan Murphy’s online store - and they have everything. The only place I’ve seen it is in a small boutique bottle shop in St Kilda, called Acland Cellars. But theirs is nothing new – the label states the beer was imported, not Lion Nathan, but by Foster’s. Seems they’re just getting rid of old stock.

Oh well, some food for thought to accompany such an enjoyable brew.