TIJUANA.- Until two years ago, the production of beer in México was a duopoly that left alone the market of artisan beer.
Just like wine, beer has many flavors, textures, smells and characteristics that were unknown.
Thanks to the big influence of San Diego, Tijuana exploded with nano-breweries who searched new flavors, better quality and variety.
We are not talking about just another point for Tourism, this is also a market that offers new jobs, a chance to create new companies of producers, distribuitors and of course, new consumers.
One of the main obstacles is the duopoly of Cuauhtémoc and Modelo that owns the space on supermarket shelves and people's taste. The license to sell alcohol has a high price, something that small producers can't afford.
Another obstacle is the availability of ingredients as hops that requires importation and takes us to the payment of more taxes.
The Artisan Beer Asociation of Baja California (ACABC) is trying to formalize the industry. The asociation was created with the purpose of unite producers and pass obstacles.
Today, Baja has more than 50 nano-breweries.
The consumer is searching for new flavors and good beer to taste dishes, even desserts and this is the reason behind the artisan beer movement.
Someday the beer scene will be bigger that the wine scene, one of the main attractions in Baja's Tourism.
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Alan Castorena is part of the Artisan Beer Asociation of Baja California, he also writes on the TJ Beer Blog and promotes the movement of artisan beer in Baja.
alancastorena@gmail.com
