Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

La guerra de la cerveza empezó

Council in Mexicali suggests moratorium on craft-beer permits

Last year's Mexicali beer and music fest
Last year's Mexicali beer and music fest

The Mexicali craft-beer industry is in hot water after a Tuesday, June 30, meeting of the Consejo de Alcoholes de Mexicali: the regional alcohol council's members expressed opposition to issuing new permits to artisanal brewers.

Council coordinator Ramiro Peace Hernández commented that the opening of these establishments represents a public health risk because micro-breweries allegedly do not take appropriate hygienic measures, La Crónica reported.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Other members suggested that increasing Mexicali’s alcohol supply is itself a health risk, in addition to a lack of cohesive policy regarding production, packaging, tastings, and sales of craft brews. However, Irak Nava, organizer of the Mexicali Beer and Music Festival, says he isn’t concerned about the statements.

“The article that La Crónica wrote about the city alcohol council is just a media strategy to get views,” Nava says. “In some ways, it doesn't affect us at all. The movement is alive and running. The thing here is that the council is trying to discredit craft brewers with arguments that make no sense. They don't even take the time or interest to visit brewing companies in their own city.”

Nava calls the argument against an increased supply of alcohol “ridiculous,” alleging that they are motivated by established, multinational beer conglomerates who are concerned about declining sales.

“For them, the craft-beer business is a real threat,” says Nava, whose festivals draw an average of 1500 attendees to city centers quarterly. “[The macro beer companies] have a voice in the city alcohol council. Fortunately, at the same time, there are a lot of people on the local congress who are aware of these reprehensible demonstrations from the council.

"They are also aware that the craft-beer movement is a huge business opportunity for a lot of people, not just brewers, but everyone involved in arts and culture in Baja as well as the people who love all of this, which are not few. They also know that the festivals are an important part of putting Mexicali on the map. It invites an important economic flow into the city and encourages tourism from the rest of Mexico and the U.S.

"Luckily, the legislation supporting craft beer in Mexicali is up and running, and we are not going to stop for a few people with hidden interests.”

In July 2013 the Comisión Federal de Competencia (the federal government’s fair-competition commission) ruled that the macro duopoly breweries, which previously controlled 98 percent of Mexico’s beer market, must reduce their exclusivity contracts to 20 percent of total establishments over the next five years. The ruling was intended to open up the market to craft breweries, which now number around 50 in Mexicali alone and over 90 throughout northern Baja.

(revised 7/3, 10:30 a.m.)

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Why Unified® Review: What To Expect Dropshipping (Positive & Negative)

Last year's Mexicali beer and music fest
Last year's Mexicali beer and music fest

The Mexicali craft-beer industry is in hot water after a Tuesday, June 30, meeting of the Consejo de Alcoholes de Mexicali: the regional alcohol council's members expressed opposition to issuing new permits to artisanal brewers.

Council coordinator Ramiro Peace Hernández commented that the opening of these establishments represents a public health risk because micro-breweries allegedly do not take appropriate hygienic measures, La Crónica reported.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Other members suggested that increasing Mexicali’s alcohol supply is itself a health risk, in addition to a lack of cohesive policy regarding production, packaging, tastings, and sales of craft brews. However, Irak Nava, organizer of the Mexicali Beer and Music Festival, says he isn’t concerned about the statements.

“The article that La Crónica wrote about the city alcohol council is just a media strategy to get views,” Nava says. “In some ways, it doesn't affect us at all. The movement is alive and running. The thing here is that the council is trying to discredit craft brewers with arguments that make no sense. They don't even take the time or interest to visit brewing companies in their own city.”

Nava calls the argument against an increased supply of alcohol “ridiculous,” alleging that they are motivated by established, multinational beer conglomerates who are concerned about declining sales.

“For them, the craft-beer business is a real threat,” says Nava, whose festivals draw an average of 1500 attendees to city centers quarterly. “[The macro beer companies] have a voice in the city alcohol council. Fortunately, at the same time, there are a lot of people on the local congress who are aware of these reprehensible demonstrations from the council.

"They are also aware that the craft-beer movement is a huge business opportunity for a lot of people, not just brewers, but everyone involved in arts and culture in Baja as well as the people who love all of this, which are not few. They also know that the festivals are an important part of putting Mexicali on the map. It invites an important economic flow into the city and encourages tourism from the rest of Mexico and the U.S.

"Luckily, the legislation supporting craft beer in Mexicali is up and running, and we are not going to stop for a few people with hidden interests.”

In July 2013 the Comisión Federal de Competencia (the federal government’s fair-competition commission) ruled that the macro duopoly breweries, which previously controlled 98 percent of Mexico’s beer market, must reduce their exclusivity contracts to 20 percent of total establishments over the next five years. The ruling was intended to open up the market to craft breweries, which now number around 50 in Mexicali alone and over 90 throughout northern Baja.

(revised 7/3, 10:30 a.m.)

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gilbert Castellanos, Buddha Trixie, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Shane Hall, Brian Jones Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival

Grand Socials, gigs, and record releases in Del Mar, City Heights, Solana Beach, Little Italy, and Ocean Beach
Next Article

A poem for March by Joseph O’Brien

“March’s Lovely Asymptotes”
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.