Beer in Mexico

16th century to 19th century Prior to the Spanish conquest of what is now Mexico, there had been fermented alcoholic beverages in Mexico. The best known of these is pulque, which is the fermented sap of the maguey or agave plant. More similar to beer is a lesser-known beverage, called tesgüino or izquiate, brewed by various cultures. This is made from fermented corn, and creates light, amber-colored liquid which is whisked before drinking. Tesgüino can still be found in Mexico today, mostly homemade, in the north and west of Mexico in states such as Chihuahua, Sonora and Colima. Among the Tarahumaras, the drink is used for rituals. A similar beverage, called pozol, is made in Oaxaca, Chiapas and Tabasco with corn and cocoa beans. In 1845, a barley beer flavored with piloncillo was introduced with the names of Pila Seca and La Candelaria by Swiss Bernhard Boldgard and Bavarian Federico Herzog. The strategy proved successful, with pulque now generally looked-down-upon and imbibed by relatively few people, with Mexican-brewed beer ubiquitous and extremely popular. The best-known and best-selling Mexican beer in the United States by far is Corona, produced by Grupo Modelo and distributed by Anheuser Busch. FEMSA entered the US market later, but has paired with Dutch enterprise Heineken USA to promote and distribute its brands, especially Dos Equis and Tecate. Some Mexican beers, such as Modelo Especial and Negra Modelo, are available in limited quantities on tap in cities such as New York, Houston, Raleigh and Phoenix. ==Breweries and brands==

. In Mexico, beer is primarily produced by two large conglomerates, Cervecería Modelo/Grupo Modelo and Cervecería Cuauhtémoc-Moctezuma/FEMSA. Cervecería Modelo was founded in 1925 in Mexico City, with its first two brands, Modelo and Corona, exporting eight million bottles a year to various countries. First exports to the United States were realized as early as 1933. The first of the company's many acquisitions was the Cervecería Toluca y México, absorbing its Victoria and Pilsener brands in 1935. Modelo continued buying smaller local breweries in various parts of the country, absorbing most of the brands produced and making many of them available nationwide. Starting in the 1980s, the enterprise began new businesses, such as INAMEX, which produces malt, which led to the name change to Grupo Modelo. During the same period, the company began exports of Corona beer to the United States, becoming the second most imbibed imported beer there by 1986. Exports to other countries followed, and Corona became the number one premium imported beer in the United States in 1997. Half of Grupo Modelo's stock is owned by Anheuser Busch. The beer-brewing division of FEMSA was created when this entity bought Cervecería Cuauhtémoc-Moctezuma, which itself was created when Cervecería Cuauhtémoc bought Cervecería Moctezuma. Cervecería Cuauhtémoc was founded in 1890 by Issac Garza, José Muguerza, Joseph M. Schnaider and Francisco Sada, selling their first beer, Carta Blanca. Cervecería Cuauhtémoc grew in size in Monterrey, and like Cervecería Modelo, went national as it began to buy smaller breweries in other parts of the country, absorbing many of the local brands and making them available nationally. The biggest acquisition was that of Cervecería Moctezuma in Orizaba in the 1980s. Cervecería Moctezuma started out as the Cervecería Guillermo Hasse y Compañia in 1893, and eventually changed its name to Cervecería Moctezuma. It was a major producer of beer since the early 20th century, and was one of the largest brewing companies in the world with the merger of the two, but the new company controls over twelve brand names. FEMSA bought the combined breweries to add to its other businesses, such as bottling and packaging enterprises. FEMSA's brands today include Tecate, Sol, Dos Equis, Carta Blanca, Superior, Indio, and Bohemia. Globally, one of the best known Mexican beers is Corona, which is the flagship beer of Grupo Modelo. Corona is the best-selling beer produced by Mexico, and the best-selling non-domestic beer in both the U.S., U.K and Australia. The oldest and most traditional pilsner in Mexico is Bohemia, which has a significant hops flavor and is quite dense given its clarity. There is a dark version of this brand, which is a Vienna-style beer. In 2009, the company introduced a wheat version of this beer called Bohemia Weizen made with wheat, Mount Hood hops, coriander and orange peel. It is the first wheat beer to be produced by a major beer company in Mexico. Dos Equis was first brewed in Mexico by the German brewer Wilhelm Hasse in 1897. The original name of the beer was "Siglo XX" (20th Century) with the double X standing for the number 20, and it commemorated the arrival of that century; Sol comes in a number of varieties. Sol 2 is a stronger flavored beer, Sol limón and sal have lime and salt flavors already added, and there is a Sol Cero, a nonalcoholic beer in regular and lime and salt versions. Pacífico, a Mexican pilsner beer originally brewed in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, is named after the Pacific Ocean. The picture on the bottles and cans is the Deer Islands located off the coast of Mazatlán surrounded by a lifesaver. A light version of this beer was launched in 2008. Estrella (Star) was originally brewed by Cervecería Estrella of Guadalajara at the end of the 19th century. This brewery was bought by Grupo Modelo in 1954. The beer is still brewed only in Guadalajara and is a regional brand, mostly sold in Jalisco state and other areas in western Mexico. Indio was originally named Cuauhtémoc by Cervecería Cuauhtémoc. However, consumers soon began to refer to it as "Indian" for the image of an Indian on what was originally a clay bottle, now glass. The beer still has an image of Cuauhtémoc on the label. A light version, called Modelo Light, has been available since 1994. Superior, made by Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma, was originally brewed to be a premium beer. Recently, interest in this beer has reappeared, and it received a gold medal at the Monde Selection in Brussels, Belgium. The design of the label has not changed in the fifty years this brand has been available. León, Carta Clara and Montejo brands were originally brewed in Mérida, Yucatán by the Cervecería Yucateca, which was bought by Modelo in 1979. ==Microbreweries ==

Microbrews are a new and still rare phenomenon in Mexico, especially compared to countries such as the U.S., Canada and those in Europe, but they do exist. The first was established in the 1990s in Mazatlán and called Pepe's y Joe's. Later in the decade, others, such as Cervecería San Ángel and Cervecería Santa Fe Beer Factory, appeared in Mexico City. ==Commemorative beers==

In addition to microbrews, some enterprises have introduced niche brands based more on name or marketing, rather than on brewing style. One company by the name of Minerva, based in Guadalajara, introduced a beer named "Malverde" after the supposed "saint" of drug traffickers, Jesús Malverde. The beer was first introduced in Culiacán, Sinaloa. It is also available in Guadalajara. This same company had earlier launched "Duff" beer, modeled after the beer on the television show "The Simpsons" but ran into copyright issues. More recently, group of Mexican businessmen introduced a beer called "10 Maradó," which is named in honor of Diego Maradona. This beer is the first in a series dedicated to various football/soccer legends and teams which the enterprise called "La Liga Cervecera" (The Beer League). The beer was introduced at the II Festival de Cerveza de Guadalajara and according to its producers is "light, with body and with a flavor similar to the most premium beers of Argentina." Maradona's face does not appear on the label, only the word Maradó and the number 10, with a background of blue and white stripes. This same group created the company Cervecería Revolución with beers dedicated to Che Guevara, Maquiavelo and Emiliano Zapata. ==Beer drinking habits ==

Mexican beer is distinctive for its lager-like properties, being generally light-bodied with a mild taste and is meant to be consumed cold. Most beer is sold in 325 ml bottles called "medias" in the popular slang, with certain brands, such as Tecate and Modelo Especial often sold in cans. In Mexico, most bottled beer is sold in returnable bottles, the deposit for which can be almost the price of the beer itself. but certain brands, such as Corona and Victoria, are available in large bottles of 925 or 940ml. The slang term for these is caguamas (sea turtles) or in some parts, like Mazatlán, ballenas (whales), but usually referring to the Pacifico brand. A beer cocktail called a michelada consists of light beer with lime juice, salt, and sometimes chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce or tomato juice. As with a margarita, the salt is generally placed on the rim of glass. A less common version of the drink adds Clamato (clam/tomato juice). The name michelada comes from the phrase mi chela helada (my beer, ice cold). In many places also are found variants which include shrimp or seafood, pineapple and so on. While many trends in the United States have become popular in Mexico, beer on tap has not. Another trend that has not proven successful in Mexico is that of light beer. Despite Corona Light being the best-selling imported light beer in the United States, sales of Corona Light in Mexico have been dismal. Grupo Modelo introduced the product after having success with exports. The beer was introduced with television ads and featured in two-for-one specials at many bars. However, light beer is generally not favored in Mexico, with the exception of Tecate Light in the north. With poor sales, Corona Light is rarely found in Mexico other than a few select places. ==See also==