North East Beer Review

This was brew in the latest Beer52 box which is themed around Mexico, just in time for the 2026 World Cup. Today’s beer is called Lúdica Fanfarrón which is a 3.4% Session IPA brewed with the purpose of being juicy but also light. Hailing from Baja California, Mexico, for my first review of the Beer52 box I will cover the history of this beer and brewery, the pour, the taste and aroma and finally my verdict.

From Tijuana to Baja California

Lúdica Cervecería is an independent craft brewery founded in 2014 with a story that began as early as 2010. In Tijuana, founders Iván García and Gustavo del Castillo started brewing beer at home, which eventually led to them establishing the Tijuana Homebrew Club in 2012. This helped them grow the local brewing community before launching their own commercial brewery.

Lúdica focuses on producing approachable, high-quality beers inspired by the relaxed lifestyle of Baja California. Their range includes traditional ales and lagers alongside more experimental releases such as Grape Ales. The brewery gained national recognition in 2019, when it was named Best Small Brewery in Mexico at the Copa Cerveza México, while also earning awards at the Aro Rojo International Beer Competition.

Today, Lúdica has become one of the most respected independent breweries in northern Mexico, known for balancing innovation with drinkability while drawing inspiration from both Mexican brewing culture and neighbouring Southern California’s influential craft beer scene.

Fanfarrón is a session IPA and is one of Lúdica’s modern low alcohol hop forward brews. The aim of Fanfarrón is to be juicy and full flavoured without the high ABV. It’s ABV is 3.4% and is brewed with Citra, Mosaic and Mckenzie hops to produce a tropical and citrus forward drink. This was also be smooth due to the malt bill containing malt, flaked oats, white wheat and dextrin malt. Lúdica markets Fanfarrón as an active lifestyle beer, suggesting it’s ideal after cycling, hiking or other outdoor activities where refreshment is more important than high alcohol content. The name Fanfarrón translates roughly to “show-off” or “braggart” in English, adding a playful character that fits the brewery’s fun, relaxed branding.

A hazy pour

Fanfarrón pours a pale straw to light golden colour which is has unfiltered hazy appearance, very much the style of a modern session IPA. A foamy white head forms which is about 1-2 fingers thick which lasts the duration of the session. Rings of lacing coat the glass. The carbonation is fine with consistent streams of bubbles travelling up the glass. Overall, a modern, bright and hazy pour.

Low ABV Big Flavour

Aroma

The aroma opens with bright tropical and citrus fruits such as mango, pineapple, passionfruit, grapefruit and lime. This is followed by subtle aromas of peach and stonefruit as well as a floral note. Beneath this is a light cracker like sweetness to give this brew a nice and well rounded aroma.

Taste

The first sip of Fanfarrón delivers a juicy tropical fruit led experience with flavours of pineapple and passionfruit. This followed by citrus notes of grapefruit and orange. Mid-Palate a gentle sweetness rises from the pale malts and oats which also offers a smooth mouthfeel. The finish is crisp and clean with a restrained bitterness for that session IPA feel. Overall, Lúdica Fanfarrón did actually achieve its goal of providing a light but full flavoured drinking experience.

Time for my verdict

I went into trying Lúdica Fanfarrón quite sceptical seeing the 3.4% ABV and not really expecting much of everything. In actual fact, this pleasantly surprised me as it had quite a lot of tropical juicy flavour for that somewhat lowered guilt experience. I would honestly recommend this as I have had brews twice Fanfarrón’s ABV have less flavour. For this reason I would rate this a solid 4 out of 5.

How to get this beer?

If you would like to try Lúdica Fanfarrón or receive the latest Beer52 subscription box you can for free. In this you can claim your first case of 10 cans for Free and all you have to do is cover the £4.95 postage. You can cancel your subscription at any time too. If you are interested please use my link https://www.beer52.com/northeast or use the code “northeast” at the checkout. Cheers.

Thanks for reading my review. If you enjoyed my review you will love my review of Birra Baladin L’IPPA.