The Craft Beer Market
Firestone Walker Brewing Company is a Southern California craft brewery that brews 805 Cerveza Beer. The craft beer market has grown rapidly over the last 40 years after Congress legalized homebrewing in 1978; however, more breweries are now closing than opening and the predicted “beerapocalypse” is upon us.
Firestone Walker Brewing
Firestone Walker was born in a humble shed on the back-forty of the family vineyard when two brothers-in-law who simply wanted to make the perfect beer founded the company. The story begins with Adam Firestone (a.k.a. The Bear) and David Walker (a.k.a. The Lion) debating the subject of beer. Their search for a decent local ale proved futile, and it wasn’t long before they had goaded themselves into brewing their own.
Their initial brewing efforts were made in a second-hand brewhouse with converted winemaking equipment, mostly with mixed results. When they attempted their first recipe for Double Barrel Ale, they set the hook. Today they have a large selection of beers, including IPAs, seasonals, 805 and lots more. They have a brewery with tours and a taproom in Paso Robles and taprooms in Buellton and Venice. Duvel Moortgat Brewery of Belgium owns the majority stake in Firestone Walker.
805 Cerveza
Firestone Walker describes 805 Cerveza as “Lager brewed with lime…A new light beer with a simple twist. Easy drinking -Lime included.”
805 Cerveza Beer has a 4.5% ABV and 110 calories. There is no other reliable nutrition information. It has a “Good” rating on Beer Advocate.
Our Review of 805 Cerveza
805 is one of my least favorite beers. If you live in California, you will see 805 everywhere. Their distribution is incredible. It is in bars, restaurants, supermarkets, convenience stores, liquor stores and more. I have tried it in cans, bottles and on tap, and every time I drink it I say to myself “I do not like this beer.” It has very little taste and a bad after-taste. Even the beer on tap was not good.
But I was willing to try 805 Cerveza. It was significantly better. Maybe the lime in it covers up the bad aftertaste. I would rate it a “3,” but if you think of it as a light beer, then it deserves a higher grade. It is significantly better than Miller Lite. It is also interesting that it has a higher rating on Beer Advocate than regular 805. However; its 110 calories are more than Lite’s 96 and we don’t know its carbs. This is a decent beer for relaxing on a hot day, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to drink it under other circumstances.
For a better light beer recommendation, see our review of Lagunitas DayTime IPA.
For beer nutritional information of all beers we have reviewed see Beer Nutritional Information.
