Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/884376
82 / the tasting panel / october 2017 viewers to more than 16 million. The playoffs also set online streaming records for the third consecutive year in a row. Following on the heels of this trend, Dos Equis Lager outperformed the total beer category nationally by 8 percent and grew by 9 percent within the col- lege football bowl markets. November 2016 marked the brand's best month of sales in two years—thanks, in part, to the new partnership. But Dos Equis can attribute its suc- cess to more than aligning with the right sport. Crisp and refresh- ing, the Lager Especial was quickly embraced as an import of choice when it was first introduced to the United States in 1983. By 2009, it was declared the "fastest-growing import in the U.S.," and over the years it's become an American institution—an instant classic rooted in the marriage of German brewing ingenuity and a distinctly- Mexican individuality. An influx of German immigrants to Mexico in the latter half of the 19th century marked the arrival of Wilhelm Hasse, an enterprising brewmaster who founded the Moctezuma Brewery in Veracruz. Hasse's first commercial beer, aptly named Siglo XX, or "20th Century," was a full-bodied Vienna-style lager—and an instant success. One of the first lagers brewed in Mexico, it's crafted using Munich, Pilsner, and Vienna toasted malts. The result is an impeccably- smooth beer infused with mellow flavors of burnt sugar and caramel. `A Texas Thing´ The Siglo XX has long since been repackaged as the Dos Equis Ambar, but it's brewed today exactly as it was 120 years ago. Its counterpart, the Lager Especial, is a golden pilsner-style beer sporting earthy tones with a fragrant pinch of spice. Both beers have resonated deeply with American beer drinkers, especially those with an affinity for football. For Jeremiah Reagan, Director of Marketing for JJM Group, which owns