Two lost gauchos

When I visited Argentina in 2011, I encountered the Patagonia beers, brewed by AB InBev as their arty premium brand.  A lot has changed in beer since then, but Patagonia is still going, and largely unchanged, with the flagship Bohemian Pilsner and Amber Lager. They can also be found in Brazil, brewed locally, and there are a couple of additions to the range.

I thought Patagonia Weisse was rather off-style for a weissbier, coming in a 355ml bottle, only 4.2% ABV and, most damning of all, having zero head retention. If I had paid better attention to the label I would have seen that it's actually a Belgian-style witbier. It works much better as one of those, even if it's still a little light. There's a proper pale yellow haze and a decent body, although it's somewhat lacking in fizz. I couldn't detect either the coriander or orange peel which I'm assured are in here, but instead there's a bright and fresh zesty lemon kick, flashing briefly in the foretaste, then fading away, leaving a very slight peppery spice. As a warm-day refresher, it does its job competently, and I'm happy with that.

How would they fare with an IPA, however? Here's a style where technically competent brewing will only take you so far. Patagonia IPA is 5.8% ABV and an attractive clear amber colour. It's very much aiming at the west coast, from both the appearance and an aroma mixing caramel malt with resinous American hops. The flavour is less bitter than the aroma suggested, presenting floral perfume notes instead of oily pine. The malt sweetness is still there, although the mouthfeel is thinner than the ABV led me to expect. Like its shelfmates, this is decent and workmanlike, though I will say it does have a certain amount of individual character and isn't just a basic big-brewery take on IPA. A lighter touch on filtration and pasteurisation would assist it, but I'm sure that was never an option.

That felt a bit like catching up with an old friend. There's something heartening about Patagonia beer remaining untouched by trends or market forces after all these years. If I lived on their patch I would happily have them as regular fridge fillers.