The Craft Beer Market
Buenaveza Salt & Lime Lager is brewed by Stone Brewing, a market leading craft brewer based in Southern California. The craft beer market has grown rapidly over the last 40 years after Congress legalized homebrewing in 1978. As a result, this inspired many beer enthusiasts to start their own small breweries. However, today the overall beer market is declining. While many small breweries are still opening, the number of breweries in the United States is trending down. Some industry analysts predict a “beer apocalypse.”
Stone Brewing
Stone Brewing was founded in 1996 in San Marcos, California with a pale ale as their first beer. Today they have four taprooms in Southern California and one in Virginia, two bistros, and a brewery with tours in Escondido, California. They brew a large selection of beers, most famously Stone IPA and Arrogant Bastard Ale.
Stone Buenaveza Salt and Lime Lager
Stone also brews Buenaveza Salt and Lime Lager, which it describes as “Ultra crisp and refreshing and very balanced. A slight tartness with light bitterness and a refreshing, drying character. Brewed with just the right amount of lime and sea salt, it’s everything a lager should be – crisp, refreshing and full of flavor.” Buenaveza Salt and Lime Lager has a 4.7% ABV. Stone does not provide any further information, but according to MyFoodDiary.com, it has 131 calories (we have also seen 134 and 140), 11g carbs, 0g fat, 3g sugar, and 1g protein. Several sources say it has a 13 IBU which seems about right. It has a “Good” rating on Beer Advocate.
Our Review of Stone Buenaveza Salt and Lime Lager
I was having dinner at Zaytoon, a Lebanese restaurant in Santa Barbara. It was my first time there and it came highly recommended. The food was excellent and not too pricy, and the location was spectacular, virtually all outside with fruit trees all around and fire pits at every table for chillier nights. They were not necessary that night. There were only five beers on tap, so I decided to try the Stone Buenaveza Lager. The menu did not mention “Salt and Lime.” I chose this beer solely based on Stone’s reputation for excellent beers and my personal preference for lagers.
Stone Buenaveza Lager was the perfect beer for a beautiful 70+ degrees summer night in an idyllic setting. It would have been fine to drink by itself, but it also paired well with the chicken kebab, rice and Mediterranean salad. It was smooth, not bitter and generally a great lager. I would absolutely order it again. I had no idea about the salt and lime until I looked up the beer later, but they worked well even though I didn’t taste them.
For another recommendation, see our review of Dos Topas Lager.
For beer nutritional information of all beers we have reviewed see Beer Nutritional Information.
