Beer Diary...

As I go through the Mexican craft beers available at The Beer Company I'm finding my preference is a pretty narrow list. Most of the craft beer breweries take on classic styles tend to be too malty and too sweet to be considered good examples. At least this is what I'm finding in terms of my comparisons to commercial versions outside of Mexico. I've only had one beer so far that has the hop bitterness and flavor/aroma presence that I've considered a good example of a pale ale. I'm not reviewing that beer this time but it deserves a quick mention. Calavera's American Pale Ale, has what I deem the appropriate malt bill and hop influence in it's taste. One other qualifier that I need to introduce is what I believe is the influence that Southern California breweries are having on the craft market in Baha California, Mexico. There are a couple of breweries there that are producing some good, true to style beers that I'm enjoying. One of those breweries is T....

Going to the tianguis or outdoor market every week becomes a regular routine for me while living in San Miguel. I can get the best selection and least expensive produce there, not to mention be entertainment by the plethora of interesting, varied and sometimes bizarre articles for sale, like a boat load of springs for instance, (go here to read more about that) . But that's not all, as I discovered last week. Towards the far end of the market just beyond the last of the colorful tarps that stretch across the endless booths,  I ran across a group of three pulqueros selling their home made pulque out of large plastic jugs along with miel de agave, the juice of the maguey. Pulqueros line up to dispense Naturally, since I have a proclivity for all fermented beverages I had to sample what was on tap so to speak. I was a bit reluctant considering the possibility of ingesting a swath of unfamiliar bacteria that would possibly gi...

Homebrewers in Mexico are few and far between so I was excited to be invited to one of the local cervecero's house for a few samples of his beer and a discussion about brewing beer at home in Mexico. Barry lives just outside the city limits here in San Miguel in a beautiful house he designed himself. He met us in the driveway at the stone path that led to his 'man cave '/brewery. The first thing I noticed as we entered was the three tap handles coming out of the wall near the bar sink. Above is shelving with custom labeled beer mugs and pitcher and the walls are decorated with signs advertising his favorites. An island bar made with rough hewn wood and a stainless sink separate the kitchen area from the lounge section. A big screen t.v. on the opposite wall had the game on and that end of the room was furnished with what looked like some pretty comfortable chairs and a couch. But we ended up standing around the bar during the whole visit drawing beers off the taps, talking...

This is the first set of Mexican craft beers that I've tasted after making a visit to The Beer Company. I plan to review as many as possible here and will use a gentle touch in the process. As this is a burgeoning industry I don't want to be too negatively critical in my opinion but simply state objectively what I'm tasting and experiencing. I am pretty familiar with the classic beer styles and what characteristics define those styles in regards to the flavor, aroma, mouthfeel and visual aspects. I would like to evaluate the beers here based on this knowledge but I have to take into consideration the fact that for Mexico the craft beer movement is a new industry. Along with this fact it must be noted that there has been little exposure here to the foreign beer market and thus few classic beer styles available to compare to when brewing beers on a small scale that mimic the traditional qualities of the classics. So, for instance in...

The last time I was in San Miguel de Allende (a year and a half ago) there was not a lot of craft beer on the scene. The restaurants and tiendas were tied into either the Modelo brand which included Corona, Negro Modelo and Victoria to name a few, or the Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma brewery with their Indio, Sol and Bohemia. At the time, the largest market in town 'Mega' was the only place that offered a broader but still limited selection of other brands but these ' exotics ' were the likes of Heineken and Bud along with a couple of German imports.   I was happy to discover this year the addition of a serious outlet for beer. It seems the gaining interest in homebrewing and Mexican craft beer is moving beyond the borders of Mexico City evidenced by the opening of The Beer Company here in SMA. Owners, Antonio and Elizabeth, who happen to be not only incredibly nice people but are real beer enthusiasts with a lot of knowledge to offer about the craft beer scene here. Locat...

After the long haul to Mexico (17 hours), sunset on the rooftop of the Antigua Capilla hotel was the perfect place and time for a large bottle or ballena (the slang term here along the coast that means whale) of my favorite Modelo brand beer. Inland, it's referred to as a caguama or turtle. A Vienna lager on the light side of course but with more flavor than other Modelo brands. Victoria was originally produced by the Compañía Cervecera de Toluca y México that was acquired by Grupo Modelo in 1935. The city of San Miguel de Allende through a beer

The trip out of San Jose airport was too easy. I purposely scheduled our arrival anticipating the clusterf*ck that is always going on at the airport and so we got to the baggage check ready to endure an extended session of kicking luggage down a never ending maze. But no line. In fact, no people at all except a guy behind the United counter that took our luggage with obvious boredom and just a hint of disdain. This process took up only about two minutes out of my perfect plan and we're off to our appointment with TSA for a what I expect to be a severe probing before boarding the 'mother ship' . Again, no people. This whole episode may cause some inappropriate false hope when planning any future trips. The up side; no crowds to contend with, the down side; we're through security in no time flat and now have two hours to kill. I spent the time thinking about how I would further my beer interests in Mexico. Should I try to brew beer this time like I h...