Review: Shiner Tex Hex Desert Mirage, Agua Fresca, and Sea Salt & Lime

Review: Shiner Tex Hex Desert Mirage, Agua Fresca, and Sea Salt & Lime

Review: Shiner Tex Hex Desert Mirage, Agua Fresca, and Sea Salt & Lime

Our friends at Texas’s Shiner are back with three new seasonals, including the second release in the Tex Hex line (think Voodoo Ranger, but from the south).

Shiner Tex Hex Desert Mirage Hazy IPA – This hazy IPA, the second in the Tex Hex series, is brewed with cactus water. I can’t say that it tastes like cactus water, or that I know for sure what cactus water really tastes like, but it does have a classic, resinous IPA character that no fan of the style will find disagreeable. A bit thick and rich, the Strata hops here lend a ton of earthy bitterness to a beer that eventually finds its way to notes of mango, tangerine, and blood orange. And cactus, I suppose. 7% abv. B+

Shiner Agua Fresca – “Beer brewed with watermelon and lime, with natural flavors added.” Smells like watermelon, tastes like lager that has some watermelon dipped in it and a finish of Hubba Bubba. Definitely a beer designed for the seltzer fan, though the combination of wheat ale with undercooked fruit essences is unlikely to thrill anyone. 4.5% abv. C-

Shiner Sea Salt & Lime – A lager with a spritz of lime and some salt in it; this comes across like a Mexican-style lager and, well, it’s just fine. Who doesn’t squeeze a lime into their Pacifico, right? The salt seems superfluous but not unlikeable, the lime adding a slight edge to a beer that is otherwise innocuous with notes of corn tortillas, fresh nopales, and a hint of dried apple. 4% abv. B+

each $10 per 12-pack / shiner.com

Shiner Agua Fresca

$10
4

Rating

4.0/10

A veteran journalist, the author of four books, a published poet, and an award-winning winemaker, Christopher Null has more than 25 years of experience writing about wine and spirits. He founded Drinkhacker in 2007. He also writes regularly about the science of booze for WIRED and is an occasional contributor to ADI's Distiller magazine. He has been a judge for both the American Distilling Institute Judging of Craft Spirits and Whiskies of the World spirits competitions and often works as a consultant, developing formal tasting notes for spirits brands around the world.

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