Mexico's Best Kept Secret Now Available at Sun Singer

Victoria beer, touted as "Mexico's best-kept secret," makes it debut in central Illinois this week, a year after its first stateside release in Chicago. While Victoria hasn't yet cracked the beer aficionado market, it's immensely popular with immigrants from Mexico, where the beer's been sold since 1865. Described as "a Vienna-style lager beer that combines a unique copper color with a perfectly balanced taste and a smooth, crisp finish," Victoria was available only on the black market until last year.

In Illinois's ever-expanding beer scene, this newest kid on the block is actually an old-timer hoping to become as familiar as Corona or Dos Equis. Victoria is a brand that resonates in the Hispanic community primarily because of its long history in Mexico where it's been one of the most popular beers in for decades.

Shortly after the American Civil War, the Victoria brand launched its brewery in Mexico about 165 years ago - much older than Corona or Dos Equis. Cesar Martinez, Victoria beer brewmaster, says part of the reason ex-pats will be clamoring for it is due to the beer's exceptional malt and its balance.
"In Mexico it's a very important beer, because it's very traditional and historic because this is the oldest beer brand in Mexico," said Martinez.