Beer in Mexico

Lore & Background

Prior to the Spanish conquest, Mesoamerican cultures had fermented alcoholic beverages, including pulque from agave and tesgüino from corn. European-style beer brewed with barley was introduced by Hernán Cortés's soldiers, but production was limited. The first official concession to brew European-style beer was granted to Alfonso de Herrero in 1543 or 1544, though its exact location is uncertain. His brewery struggled due to regulation and competition from native beverages, and eventually did not survive. During the colonial period, beer and wine were heavily taxed and regulated by Spain to protect home markets, though brewing never entirely ceased.

After the Mexican War of Independence, colonial restrictions disappeared and the industry developed from the 1820s. The industry truly began to grow in the latter half of the 19th century due to an influx of German immigrants and the short-lived Second Mexican Empire under Emperor Maximilian I, who had his own brewer producing Vienna-style dark beers. Many breweries opened across the country, including Cervecería Toluca y México in 1865, Cervecería Cruz Blanca in 1869 (which produced the first lager), and Cervecería Cuauhtémoc in Monterrey in 1890. By 1918, there were 36 beer producers in Mexico.

Prohibition in the United States during the 1920s helped the Mexican beer industry, with Americans crossing the border to drink. European immigrant brewers campaigned against native drinks like pulque, promoting beer as hygienic and modern. Over the 20th century, the industry consolidated until only two major producers remained: Grupo Modelo and Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma. These two corporations now control 90% of the Mexican beer market, with 17 plants in 11 states, employing 90,000 people directly and supporting 800,000 related jobs.

Reader's Guide

Beer in Mexico is significant as a major economic force and global export leader. The industry evolved from colonial-era restrictions to become one of the most prevalent in the country, with 63% of the domestic population consuming one or more brands. By 2003, Mexico displaced the Netherlands as the largest worldwide beer exporter, and in 2022 it remained the largest exporter globally. The two dominant corporations, Grupo Modelo (owned by AB InBev) and Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma (owned by Heineken N.V.), send more than 80% of their exports to the United States, and Mexican beer is available in over 150 countries. The industry's growth has come largely at the expense of U.S. brands. The consolidation of the industry over the 20th century absorbed many smaller breweries, whose brands are now distributed by the two giants. The legacy includes iconic brands such as Negra Modelo and Dos Equis Ambar, which reflect the Vienna-style dark beer influence from the era of Maximilian I. The industry supports 92 centers of barley production in Mexico and had domestic sales of $6 billion in 2004, with exports valued at US$1.2 billion that year.

Did You Know?

• Mesoamerican cultures had fermented corn beer called tesgüino or izquiate before the Spanish conquest.
• Mexico became the world's largest beer exporter around 2010, overtaking the Netherlands.

Indigenous Fermentation and the Spanish Introduction

Before European contact, Mesoamerican peoples already crafted fermented alcoholic drinks. The most famous was pulque, derived from the sap of the maguey or agave plant. Closer in character to what we now call beer was tesgüino, also called izquiate, a light amber liquid made from fermented corn that was whisked before consumption. A related drink, pozol, combined corn with cocoa beans and was prepared in Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Tabasco. European-style barley beer arrived with Hernán Cortés's soldiers, who brewed it in small quantities but faced severe supply shortages. The first official brewing concession was granted to Alfonso de Herrero around 1543 or 1544, likely in southern Mexico City or Amecameca. His operation struggled against heavy taxation, competition from native beverages, and high ingredient costs. Yet colonial authorities themselves drank the new brew, creating demand. Herrero expanded his barley and wheat fields, but his brewery ultimately did not survive. Spain deliberately taxed and regulated European-style alcohol to force colonies to import from the mother country, a policy that kept local production suppressed for generations.

The German Wave and the Nineteenth-Century Brewery Boom

After Mexican independence removed colonial trade restrictions, the beer industry finally had room to grow. The real catalyst came in the latter half of the 1800s, when waves of German immigrants settled across the country and the short-lived Second Mexican Empire under Maximilian I—an Austrian archduke of the Habsburg house—brought its own court brewer producing Vienna-style dark beers. That imperial influence still echoes in modern brands like Negra Modelo and Dos Equis Ambar. Between the mid-1800s and the early 1900s, dozens of breweries sprang up in cities from Mérida to Monterrey to Chihuahua. Notable examples include Emil Dercher's Cruz Blanca in Mexico City (1869), which produced the country's first lager; the Cervecería Yucateca in Mérida (1869), built with German equipment and staffed by a German brewer; and the Cervecería Guillermo Hasse in Orizaba (1890), which began churning out fifteen thousand bottles a day and would later become Cervecería Moctezuma. The arrival of railroads at century's end made it possible to import machinery and malt from the United States, though it also exposed Mexican brewers to American competition. By 1890, Cervecería Cuauhtémoc had built the nation's first major industrial facility in Monterrey.

Consolidation and Global Market Dominance

By 1918, Mexico counted thirty-six separate brewing companies. The 1920s U.S. Prohibition gave the industry a temporary boost, as Americans crossed the border to drink, spurring breweries along states like Mexicali. But the twentieth century brought relentless consolidation. Today, just two corporations—Grupo Modelo, now under AB InBev, and Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma (formerly FEMSA Cerveza, now owned by Heineken N.V.)—command roughly ninety percent of the domestic market. That concentration has made beer one of Mexico's most pervasive consumer products, with more than sixty-three percent of the population purchasing one brand or another. The industry's reach extends far beyond national borders. Most exports flow to the United States, yet Mexican lagers are now sold in over one hundred and fifty countries. In 2022, Mexico claimed the title of the world's largest beer exporter, a position that underscores how a product once suppressed by colonial tax codes and limited by scarce barley supplies has become a cornerstone of the country's trade identity.

Living Indigenous Traditions Beneath the Industrial Surface

While industrial lagers dominate Mexican shelves, the pre-Hispanic fermentation heritage remains alive in specific regions. Tesgüino, also known as izquiate, is still brewed today—mostly as a homemade drink—in the northern and western states of Chihuahua, Sonora, and Colima. It is a light, amber-colored liquid made from fermented corn, whisked before it is poured into a cup. Among the Tarahumara people, the beverage carries ritual significance, linking modern consumption to centuries-old ceremonial practice. In the southern states of Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Tabasco, a closely related drink called pozol combines corn with cocoa beans, producing a distinct flavor profile that sets it apart from both tesgüino and European-style beer. These indigenous beverages existed long before Hernán Cortés's soldiers attempted their first small batches of barley brew in the sixteenth century. Their continued presence in rural Mexico serves as a reminder that the country's drinking culture is layered: a deep Mesoamerican substrate of agave sap, fermented corn, and cocoa, overlaid by five centuries of European and German brewing traditions that ultimately shaped the global industry Mexico now leads.