For the longest time, Mexico’s beer scene—in the minds of outsiders, at least—has amounted to Corona, Sol and that dapper bearded gent purportedly regarded as the most interesting man in the world. But over the past decade, the country has seen an explosion of cervezas artesanales, many of which measure up nicely to their American and Canadian counterparts.
That said, it’s not always easy to track down a bottle or a pint of the good stuff. So far, Mexico’s craft beer renaissance has been mostly an urban phenomenon, and the further you drift from metropolises like Mexico City or Guadalajara, the fewer breweries or specialty retailers you’ll encounter. And although Mexican beer is readily available at corner stores—and very cheaply, too—the selection there is typically limited to the major brands, most of which are pretty nondescript.
So how do you ensure your Mexican craft beer adventures are both happy and hoppy? Here are five breweries you’ll definitely want to seek out next time you head south of the border.
Cerveceria de Baja California
Mexicali’s Cerveceria de Baja California is one of the true pillars of the country’s craft beer scene. They’ve been producing their Cucapa line of beers (pictured above and named after an indigenous culture that lives on the Arizona/Mexico border) since 2002. Their Cucapa Obscura, an easy-drinking brown ale with date and raisin notes that clocks in at around five percent ABV, is one of the most widely-encountered craft beers in Mexico. But they also offer more adventurous choices, including a double rye ale and what’s possibly the country’s only commercially-available barley wine. And if you live in the Southwestern U.S., you might even be able to sample a Cucapa brew before you cross the border, as Baja California’s one of the few small Mexican brewers that distributes outside the country.
Cerveceria Calavera
Spend any time in Mexico and you’ll soon be swept up in the country’s all-encompassing love affair with chile peppers. Thanks to Cerveceria Calavera, located just north of Mexico City in Tlalnepantla de Baz, that obsession extends to beer, too. Of Calavera’s standard offerings, their most intriguing is their chile-infused imperial stout: a complex, bewildering potion that hits the taste buds with a wallop of chocolate and coffee before gradually fading into a warm, pleasing burn. They also brew Belgian-style dubbels and trippels, a witbier and a pale ale, as well as a number of seasonals and one-offs. Their bold, psychedelic labels are hard to miss.
