Moniker Brewery does not chase the hazy IPA crowd. Walk into their West Side taproom in Providence and the tap list leans hard into lagers, pilsners and kellerbiers, the kind of beers that punish sloppy brewing because there is no dry hop or barrel character to hide behind. El Rhodeo is their take on the Mexican-style lager, a rodeo-themed can built for the exact moment a Corona or Modelo would normally show up: tacos, a cookout, a hot afternoon when you want something crisp instead of complicated. I went in expecting a straightforward copy of the style and came away thinking it is one of the more honest versions of it I have had from a small brewery.
El Rhodeo at a glance
| Style | Mexican-Style Lager / International Pale Lager |
| ABV | 4.5% to 4.6% (sources vary slightly) |
| IBU | 15 |
| Brewery | Moniker Brewery, Providence, Rhode Island |
| Hops | Saaz, Tettnang |
| Malts | Flaked rice, Cara-Pils, Vienna |
| Community rating | 3.77 out of 5, from more than 600 ratings |
| Best served | Cold, straight from the can into a chilled glass |
How it tastes, by the numbers
This is a light-bodied lager built for drinkability rather than intensity. The low 15 IBU and flaked rice in the grain bill keep the bitterness and body both in check, which is exactly the point of the style.
The full review
It pours a clear, pale straw gold with a thin white head that does not stick around long, which is normal for the style and not a flaw. The nose is quiet: light grainy malt, a touch of corn sweetness from the flaked rice, and a faint floral, herbal note from the Saaz and Tettnang hops. Nothing about the aroma is trying to impress you, and that is the entire strategy.
On the palate it is crisp and light-bodied with high carbonation giving it a slight carbonic bite on the tongue, the kind of sharp little fizz you get from a well-made lager fermented cold and clean. There is no alcoholic warmth at 4.5-4.6% ABV, which makes sense at that strength, and the finish is dry and quick rather than lingering. Compared to a straightforward Carta Blanca or a mainstream import, El Rhodeo drinks a little cleaner and a little less sweet, closer to a German-influenced pale lager wearing a Mexican-style label than a straight adjunct lager.
“An easy-drinking beer that fits the international pale lager style guidelines almost perfectly, the kind of beer that would be popular wherever it is poured,” per The Beer Connoisseur.
What stands out to me is the restraint. A lot of small breweries dabbling in Mexican-style lager either oversweeten it or dry hop it into something that is not really the style anymore. Moniker, being a brewery that leans on lagers as its whole identity rather than a side project, treats El Rhodeo like an actual lager: patient cold fermentation, a clean grain bill, and hop additions that stay in the background instead of announcing themselves.
- Genuinely clean, well-made lager with no off flavors
- Low 15 IBU keeps it easy to drink through a whole session
- Comes from a brewery that specializes in lagers, not a hazy IPA house doing one for variety
- Sensible 4.5-4.6% ABV for all-day drinking
- Rodeo can art makes it an easy conversation starter at a cookout
- Distribution is mostly limited to Rhode Island and nearby New England
- IBU and low hop character mean it will not satisfy anyone chasing a hoppier lager
- Less widely available than the big-name Mexican lagers it is compared to
Is El Rhodeo a good beer for tacos and cookouts?
Yes, and this is really the whole reason a beer like this exists. Light Mexican-style lagers are built to disappear next to spicy, fatty, citrus-heavy food rather than compete with it, and El Rhodeo does that job well. A few pairings that actually work:
- Tacos al pastor, the classic match for the style. The beer’s clean finish resets your palate between bites of pork, pineapple and cilantro.
- Grilled fajitas, where the beer’s high carbonation cuts through charred meat and peppers without adding more heaviness.
- Elote (Mexican street corn), the corn-adjacent sweetness in the malt bill actually echoes the dish instead of fighting it.
- Fried fish tacos, the crisp carbonation and light body work the same way a squeeze of lime would.
- A backyard cookout spread, burgers, chips and salsa, anything where you want a beer that will not fill you up after two cans.
If tacos and cookout food are your main use case for a beer like this, our guide to the best beers to pair with tacos covers more Mexican lagers and other styles worth keeping in the cooler alongside El Rhodeo.
Moniker Brewery: a Providence brewery built around lagers
Moniker Brewery opened its taproom and beer garden on West Fountain Street on the West Side of Providence in December 2020, after nearly two years of planning through a former auto body shop build-out. The brewery was founded by Bryan Benedict, Jeff Goodno and head brewer Ben Estes, three partners who described themselves upfront as “lager lovers” who would “always have some sessionable, crisp lagers available.” That is not just marketing copy. Estes previously brewed at Proclamation Ale Company and The Guild in Pawtucket, and Goodno spent more than fifteen years opening breweries and building recipe programs at places like Victory Brewing and Taproot Brewing Company before joining Moniker as director of operations.
That lager-first philosophy shows up across Moniker’s whole lineup, not just El Rhodeo. They also can Get Rich Slow, a 5.1% international pale lager, Pickerel at 5.7%, and State of Flow, another pale lager in the same family, alongside a rotating list of pilsners, kolsch and kellerbier. If you like El Rhodeo’s clean, patient approach to lager brewing, the rest of Moniker’s lager lineup is worth seeking out on your next visit or delivery order from Rhode Island.
Understanding what actually separates a lager from an ale, and why that cold, patient fermentation matters so much for a beer like El Rhodeo, is worth a quick detour if you have not read it: our Ale vs Lager guide breaks down the yeast and temperature differences that make lagers this clean possible in the first place.
Where El Rhodeo fits next to the big Mexican lager brands
Mexican-style lager is a crowded category dominated by huge, familiar names, and it is worth being honest about where a small-brewery version like El Rhodeo sits next to them. It does not try to out-hop or out-flavor Barrilitos or the classic imports. What it offers instead is freshness and a shorter supply chain: a can that was brewed and packaged locally in Rhode Island rather than one that traveled thousands of miles before it reached a cooler. If you are the kind of drinker who tracks IBU and grain bills before buying a case, our What Does IBU Mean explainer covers why a 15 IBU beer like this reads as so much softer than a 40+ IBU IPA.
For a broader look at how craft and mainstream lagers stack up against each other in general, our Best Lager Beers ranking is a useful reference point, and if you like the salt-and-lime style of drinking this beer is built for, our Best Salt and Lime Beers roundup covers more in the same lane.
Where to buy El Rhodeo
El Rhodeo is a Rhode Island-focused release, sold through the Moniker Brewery taproom and a handful of local package stores and bars around Providence, and it is not currently listed for delivery on Saucey. If you cannot get your hands on it, these five Mexican-style lagers cover the same easy-drinking, food-friendly lane and are all available for delivery.
Is El Rhodeo good for a home lager night?
If you are putting together a side-by-side tasting of Mexican-style lagers, El Rhodeo is worth including specifically because it is not one of the mainstream imports everyone already knows. Set it up next to a Modelo Especial, a Carta Blanca and a Tecate, ice cold with lime wedges and chips, and you get a genuine comparison between a small, lager-focused craft brewery and the industrial-scale versions of the same style. My money says most tasters will not be able to tell El Rhodeo apart from the imports on flavor alone, which is exactly the compliment a beer built to this style is going for.
Who it is for
If you like a clean, low-bitterness Mexican-style lager and want to support a brewery that treats lager brewing as a craft rather than an afterthought, El Rhodeo is worth tracking down on a Rhode Island trip or a Providence bar crawl. It is not going to convert anyone chasing hop intensity, but that was never the point.
The verdict
El Rhodeo is a well-made, honest example of the Mexican-style lager from a Providence brewery that has built its reputation on getting the basics of lager brewing right. It will not out-hop or out-flavor the big import names, and it was never trying to. What it offers is a clean, crisp, food-friendly pour with a fun rodeo-themed can, brewed close to home rather than shipped across a border.
FAQs
What style of beer is El Rhodeo?
El Rhodeo is a Mexican-style lager, classified by the BJCP as an International Pale Lager (Category 2A). It is a light, crisp, low-bitterness lager built for easy drinking.
What is the ABV of El Rhodeo?
Sources list El Rhodeo between 4.5% and 4.6% ABV, a sessionable strength typical of the Mexican lager style.
What is the IBU of El Rhodeo?
El Rhodeo comes in around 15 IBU, which is on the low end even for the style, keeping bitterness very much in the background.
What hops and malts are used in El Rhodeo?
El Rhodeo uses Saaz and Tettnang hops for a light floral and herbal character, with a grain bill of flaked rice, Cara-Pils and Vienna malt that keeps the body light and adds a touch of corn-like sweetness.
Where is El Rhodeo brewed?
El Rhodeo is brewed and canned by Moniker Brewery on West Fountain Street on the West Side of Providence, Rhode Island.
Is El Rhodeo available outside Rhode Island?
Distribution is mostly limited to Rhode Island and nearby parts of New England through the Moniker Brewery taproom and local package stores and bars, rather than national retail or delivery.
