Victoria

Victoria has been brewed since 1865, which makes it one of the oldest beer names in Mexico — and unlike its pale stablemates, it is an amber Vienna-style lager, the toasty style that faded in the Europe that invented it and found its lasting home in Mexico.

It started in Toluca, the high-altitude city west of the capital, in the very years when Austrian influence ran through Mexico and amber lagers were putting down roots. While later Mexican mega-brands went pale and light, Victoria kept its copper tint and toasted-grain flavor, and Mexicans kept drinking it — a century and a half on, it remains one of the country's favorite beers.

Its ownership chart is good bar trivia: in Mexico, Victoria belongs to Grupo Modelo, part of AB InBev; in the United States, antitrust rules placed the brand's rights with Constellation Brands. The world's biggest brewer, in other words, competes against its own beer north of the border.

Amber leaning copper in the glass, with a gentle toasted-tortilla and caramel maltiness that pale Mexican lagers never attempt. The body stays light and the finish stays clean, so the toastiness reads as flavor, not weight. Try it slightly less than ice-cold, when the malt opens up alongside tacos al pastor.