The history of beer in Mexico dates from its beginnings during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. While Mesoamerican cultures knew of fermented alcoholic beverages, including a corn beer, long before the 16th century, European style beer brewed with barley was introduced with the Spanish invasion soon after Hernán Cortés's arrival. Production of this beer here was limited during the colonial period due to the lack of materials and severe restrictions and taxes placed on the product by Spanish authorities. After the Mexican War of Independence, these restrictions disappeared, and the industry was permitted to develop. Furthermore, the arrival of German immigrants during the ephemeral Second Mexican Empire of elected Maximilian I of Mexico, born an Austrian archduke, in the 19th century provided the impetus for the opening of many breweries in various parts of the country.

By 1918, there were 36 brewing companies, but over the 20th century, the industry consolidated until today, only two corporations, Grupo Modelo (now owned by AB InBev) and Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma formerly known as FEMSA Cerveza (now owned by Heineken N.V.) control 90% of the Mexican beer market. This industry is one of the most prevalent in the country, with over 63% of the population buying one brand or another. Beer is also a major export for the country, with most going to the United States, but is available in over 150 countries worldwide. In 2022, Mexico was the largest beer exporter in the world.

History

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.Beer brewed with grain such as barley was produced in small quantities by Hernán Cortés’ soldiers, but it was limited due to the lack of supplies. The first official concession to brew European-style beer was granted to Alfonso de Herrero in 1543 or 1544. Its exact location is unknown, but it is thought to have been located in the south of Mexico City (where Metro Portales is today) or in Amecameca, Mexico State. Herrera's brewery struggled during its first years, as alcohol consumption was highly regulated by authorities, and the new brew had to compete with native beverages. It was also more expensive due to the lack of ingredients. However, the beverage caught on, as it was drunk by colonial authorities, leading others to want it as well. Herrera worked to expand his brewery and the land on which wheat and barley were raised. In the long run, Herrero's brewery did not survive, and the production of European-style beverages such as beer and wine were heavily taxed and heavily regulated by Spain to protect home markets. The purpose of this was to make colonials import these products from Europe. While the policy mostly worked, beer brewing never entirely ceased. In the years just before independence, beer consumption was becoming established in Mexico, leading to disputes over the rights to produce it. Englishmen Gillons and Mairet, Miguel Ramos Arizpe and Justino Tuallion all claimed exclusive rights to produce beer in Mexico. After the end of the war, the beer produced by the Tuallion brewery was the most popular. After the war, colonial restrictions were gone and the industry was allowed to develop, starting in the 1820s. 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 industry truly began to develop in the latter half of the 19th century, due to an influx of German immigrants to Mexico and the short-lived Second Mexican Empire headed by emperor Maximilian I of Mexico of the House of Habsburg, an Austro-Germanic ruling family. The emperor had his own brewer, who produced Vienna-style dark beers. This influence can be seen in two popular brands of Negra Modelo and Dos Equis Ambar.

From the mid-19th to the early 20th century, a large number of breweries were opened in various regions of the country. Some of these include the Cervecería Toluca y México by Swiss Agustín Marendaz in 1865, Cervecería Cruz Blanca in Mexico City by Emil Dercher in 1869 (which produced the first lager), the San Diego Brewery by Carlos Fredenbaen in 1860, the Cervecería Yucateca by José Ponce Solis in Mérida in 1869 (with German equipment and a German brewer), the Gran Cervecería de San Luis in 1882 in San Luis Potosí by Jose M. Otahegui and Juan Fouilloux (a French brewer who imported equipment from Paris), the Fábrica de Cerveza y Hielo in Monterrey in 1886, the Cevercería Piazzini in Monterrey in 1889, the Cervecería Estrella by Juan E. Ohrner in 1890, the Cervecería Guillermo Hasse y Compañia in Orizaba by Henry Manthey, William Hasse, Cuno Van Alten and Adolph Burhard (which started production at 15,000 bottles daily and would later change its name to Cervecería Moctezuma), the Cervecería Chihuahua by Juan Terrazas in Chihuahua in 1896, the Cervecería Sonora by George Gruning, Dr. Albert Hoeffer, and Jacob Schuele in 1896, the Cervecería del Pacífico by Jorge Claussen, Germán Evers and Emilio Philippy in 1900.

The establishment of a railroad system in Mexico at the end of the 19th century allowed the import of machinery and malt from the United States, but it also forced Mexican breweries to compete against U.S. beer, which began to be distributed in the country. By 1890, the first substantial, industrial brewing facility in the country was built in Monterrey by Cevercería Cuauhtémoc. Four years later, another large brewery, Cervecería Moctezuma, began in Orizaba.

20th century 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. This spurred breweries along the border, such as Mexicali Brewery and the Aztec Brewing Company, both in Baja California. Beer became big business by the early 20th century. By 1925, despite the strong preference still for pulque in the center of the country, Mexico was producing 50,000 liters of beer per year. To promote their product further, European immigrant beer brewers in the first part of the 20th century campaigned against native drinks such as pulque. They claimed such drinks were produced by unsanitary methods (including the use of feces as a fermenting agent) and promoted beer as "rigorously hygienic and modern". 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.

However, competition soon forced the consolidation of the industry. Cervecería Cuauhtémoc in Monterrey first went national when it bought the Tecate brewery. Cervecería Toluca became Cervecería Modelo in 1925, and soon began buying smaller competitors. During the rest of the 20th century, larger companies bought out smaller companies, assuming their brands, until only two major producers were left, Cervecería Modelo (or Grupo Modelo) and Cervecería Cuauhtémoc-Moctezuma owned by FEMSA. Many smaller breweries, such as Cervecería Mexicali opened in 1920, which were not bought by these giants were forced to close. Most of the brands known today were creations made by the smaller breweries of the past that were absorbed into the stock of these two giants, who distribute these products in both Mexico and abroad. These producers have seventeen plants located in eleven states with a capacity of 46 million hectoliters annually and support 92 centers of barley production in Mexico. The industry employs 90,000 people and 800,000 jobs are related to it indirectly. The Mexican beer industry is one of the economy's most prolific with 63% of the domestic population consuming one or more of the brands, and Mexico ranks third in global exports of beer. In 2004, exports of beer were valued at US$1.2 billion. Domestic sales were $6 billion.

21st century Mexico displaced the Netherlands in 2003 as the largest worldwide beer exporter, selling 1.39 million tonnes, with sales, primarily to the U.S., continuing to increase. Grupo Modelo and FEMSA send more than 80% of their exports to the United States. Mexico's growth is coming largely at the expense of U.S. brands. The two main Mexican producers reported increases in export volume of 42% and 20.5% in 2006, compared to less than five percent for Anheuser-Busch and Molson Coors in the same year. Mexican beer has done so well in the United States that Miller SAB tried selling citrus and salt-flavored Miller Chill and Anheuser Busch attempted Bud Light Lime. 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.