by Jeffrey R. Sipe

The first time I tasted an India Pale Ale (IPA) was with a friend who was staying with me in Brooklyn on the first leg of a craft beer tour of New England in 2016. Unbeknownst to me, a fifteen-minute walk from my front door was one of the premier craft beer bars in the country. Tørst, which means "thirst" in Danish, featured 21 spigots protruding from the wall behind the bar, each accessing craft beers from around the US, none of which had I ever heard of. That alone was pretty cool, I thought. The beer was indeed unique and delicious but expensive, at the time. Single snifters of high-alcohol by volume (ABV) beers I had never heard of were going for around US$5 a pop.

Fortunately, there were plenty of other bars in the neighborhood where typical-sized mugs of IPA and other brews were going for US$6 - $8. As I developed a taste for IPAs, I did my best to visit every one of those bars, slowly refining my tastes and changing my order from "Let me try one of those" to "I'll have a 'Flower Power'" or "Give me a 'Goose.'"

I am still a devotee of IPAs, but when it comes to craft beer, they are just the tip of the iceberg, an iceberg that has migrated around the world and become firmly established in Mexico. San Miguel de Allende's newest tap room, Cuatro Palos, operated by the Queretaro-based craft brewer, is nestled inside Amapola, the café/diner/performance space at Hernández Macías 117. Already known for its wide range of product as well as its lively tap room/restaurant in La Montana Industrial Zone in Queretaro, Cuatro Palos expanded its reach to San Miguel a little over a year ago.

"The original idea was to duplicate our set-up in Queretaro," explained Martine Cortés who relocated to San Miguel to manage the tap room. "But we learned that that's not really possible. Amapola has a very different atmosphere and menu than our taproom in Queretaro where we often host larger events for both the general public and for our clients."

It is not just the space that is different, however. Cortés noted that the habits of Sanmiguelenses are quite different from their far more numerous Queretano counterparts.

"Queretaro, of course, is much larger than San Miguel and Cuatro Palos is located in a quasi-industrial area about 20 minutes from downtown," he continued, noting that people often arrive early in the evening, drink, eat and participate in trivia or other events. "In San Miguel, people don't usually go to just one place for the evening. They tend to move around a lot more. Everything here is more concentrated in a smaller area."

Competition in Mexico's beer market is intense, a situation that led to numerous mergers and takeovers among mainstream Mexican brands, brands that are now as available in some countries as they are in Mexico. According to one beer executive, the boom in craft beer here was sparked in 2013 when Minerva won a court case against the major brewers who had forbidden the sale of competitors' products in retail outlets. They had made it a condition for the retailer to carry their own popular brands. That court case ended with the Comisión Federal de Competencia Económica banning the exclusionary practice, thus allowing bars to stock craft brands alongside Victoria, Dos Equis and Corona.

On a recent Wednesday afternoon, Cortés went through the tap room's ever-changing beer menu, which included more than one IPA, a couple of stouts and a handful of "sours," pointing out that one was the result of a collaboration with another brewer.

"There is competition, of course," he said, "but since most of us are small brewers, we stick together to promote the industry."

The Mexican craft beer market is a crowded one with traditionally regional brewers now seeking to branch out to more cities around the country. A varied product line draws attention. But Cuatro Palos, according to Cortés, puts as much if not more emphasis on quality control to ensure that the only surprises customers experience are good ones.

"Not too long ago," he recounted, "a small problem was detected while we were in the middle of brewing one of our beers. It was a tough decision to make, but we decided to halt the production rather than send it out to the market. Not all breweries would do that. And it caused problems for us. It not only cost us money, but it left us without product. We had to turn down orders, but we preferred that to putting beer on the market that did not meet our standards. It was simple respect for our customers."

Cuatro Palos currently has five beers in constant production -- Verano Forever (American Wheat Ale, 4.2% ABV), Surfen Helles (Munich Helles Lager, 5% ABV), Good Day (Session IPA, 4.7% ABV), Sierra Gorda (Irish Extra Stout, 6% ABV) and Liquidámber (Vienna Lager 5% ABV)– with several seasonal beers rotating through the menu. Then there are double IPAs and even triple IPAs that are produced periodically.

"Sour beers have become very popular," Cortés continued, "so we are making those more often as well as experimenting with different flavors. Some beers we will make once and then put the recipe aside for some time. Eventually, we might return to it, make a few changes to the recipe and put it on the market again."

It's that kind of fast on its feet flexibility and decision-making that makes Cuatro Palos a viable brewer in today's craft beer market. Six years following its founding, Cuatro Palos is growing – its output this year alone has expanded from 6,000 liters in January to 11,000 liters in September and the brewer is installing new tanks that will allow it to reach 13,000 liters in the near future.

Business is business, but in the end, a business's long-term health depends on more than just the numbers.

"I really love working for Cuatro Palos," Cortès, who spent eight years in the restaurant business before joining Cuatro Palos two years ago, said. "It's about community. It's about hospitality. It's about bringing people together. I worked in the restaurant in Queretaro for a while but then moved to the brewery because I wanted to learn more about beer. And then I moved here to open the tap room. I'm very happy to be a part of the acculturation of craft beer in Mexico and I very much love living and working in San Miguel."

As for myself, I'm still a dedicated drinker of IPAs. And I very much love living and drinking in San Miguel. And when the IPA is one of Cuatro Palos' Hazy Lazy Days line. I love it even more.

Cuatro Palos Tap Room - Hernández Macías 117, 446-131-8427

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Jeffrey R. Sipe is a writer/journalist, who, no matter how hard he writes, having grown up in Speedway, Indiana, still can’t get the sounds of race cars rounding Turn 4 out of his head. He has written about the film industry for Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Sight and Sound, The Financial Times and other publications. He also once worked as the “boom guy” on a film that nobody saw, but he challenges everyone to see just how long they can hold a metal tube with a microphone attached over their heads.

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