El Caballito
Hard work, rewarded.
As part of our collaboration with Penrose Brewing, we came up with two different beers to be revealed at our Annual Advisor Dinner in March. El Caballito was the beer crafted by “Team Justin.”
Prompted by our love of tacos (we really love tacos), we felt compelled to craft a beer that paired well with Mexican food, but could also stand alone as a simple refreshment after a long day of work (whether it be tilling the fields or working all day at the office).
The recipe of this beer was crafted to be a hybrid style inspired by Mexican Lagers and German Gose’s. Gose’s typically are brewed with salt and have a faint acidity – both attributes play to the mouthfeel of the beer. We kept the ABV and IBU low so that the beer would remain drinkable and refreshing. For the final flavor additions, we chose to add oak cubes so that the flavors would be fresh and true to the desired affect.
In choosing the name for El Caballito, we relied on our limited Spanish abilities and a few childhood stories of our team member, Adrian. El Caballito translates to English as “The Little Horse.” The name stems from Adrian’s fond memories of visiting his great grandparents’ ranch in Mexico. They didn’t have a lot, but hisbisabuelito (great grandfather) had a favorite horse that would help him with all of his everyday jobs. Though it was a little horse, it worked very hard and was a favorite of the family. The name “El Caballito” aims to convey that this beer, though seemingly unassuming, packs a lot of flavor and an unexpected punch.
For the logo we chose a very stylized, traditionally ornate look that is indigenous to Mexico and the West. For the overall look and feel of El Caballito brand, we decided that bold, vibrant colors would best convey the sense of hard work and reward that was at the heart of the experience of drinking the beer.
To flesh the sentiment out more, we created a poster that (we imagine) would hang on the adobe walls of your local bar, complete with bold imagery of workers in the field, the hot Mexican sun and, of course, our favorite little horse, El Caballito. Ultimately, we feel that our decision to can the beer (instead of bottle) was the best representation of what El Caballito was all about: it’s a beer without the frills but with the flavor and the kick to satisfy.
At the Advisors Dinner we paired El Caballito with “mini” pork tacos, compliments of our friends at Blackberry Market, to give the crowd a taste of what the full El Caballito experience was all about.
