Mexico stands as the world’s leading beer exporter and ranks 22nd globally in beer consumption. Yet until recently, the nation remained entirely dependent on imported hops — a core ingredient in beer production — spending over US $34 billion annually to meet its demand. Despite commercial beer production dating back to the 1800s, a 100% Mexican-made beer remained elusive due to the absence of domestic hops cultivation.
That is beginning to change.
Monstruo de Agua, a craft brewery based in Mexico City, exemplifies the growing shift toward local sourcing. Co-owner and brewer Matías Veracruz recalls that when the brewery was launched 12 years ago, the domestic supply chain for essential brewing ingredients was nonexistent. “It has always been our goal to have beer not only made in Mexico, but made of Mexico,” Veracruz said. For years, like most craft brewers, Monstruo de Agua sourced hops from the U.S. Pacific Northwest, particularly Washington’s Yakima Valley, Oregon, and Idaho — regions sharing the optimal climate conditions found in major hop-growing countries like Germany, the Czech Republic, and New Zealand.
Mexico, with its consistent day-night light cycles, lacks these seasonal advantages, making hop cultivation a technical challenge. Nonetheless, domestic pioneers have been testing the country’s potential for over a decade.
Miguel Loza was among the first to attempt commercial hop farming in Mexico, planting in 2011 in the Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California. Inspired by his homebrewing experience in San Diego, Loza returned to Ensenada to pursue hop cultivation. Facing skepticism and isolation — with guidance only available from growers in Oregon and Washington — Loza nonetheless achieved modest success. At peak, he harvested up to 1.5 kilograms per plant from 1,200 plants, although challenges like cross-pollination and terroir-induced flavor variation proved persistent. Eventually, he shut down the farm due to family circumstances but continues growing hops on a small scale. “It was always more of a labor of love,” Loza said. “I knew I would never make any money. It was more for the satisfaction of being able to say we have 100% Mexican hops.”
Other entrepreneurs have since followed. In 2020, Daniele Gamba launched Lupex in Jalisco, experimenting with fewer than 100 plants of five hop varieties. Gamba’s approach involved ground planting augmented by artificial grow lights to simulate the long summer daylight hours needed for flowering. His team managed two harvests annually, yielding an impressive 3.5 kilograms per plant. Yet the lack of available land and limited interest from local farmers forced the project to scale back.
That same year, Claudia Viloria and Pepe Iracheta started Lúpulos Igor in Zacatlán de las Manzanas, Puebla. Their hydroponic greenhouse setup now houses Mexico’s oldest cultivated hop plants at three years old. Initial production from 400 plants reached 40–50 kilograms per cycle, and Viloria expects that mature plants will yield up to 1 kilogram each. The project has supplied experimental batches to breweries including Monstruo de Agua and Pecados de la Malta. Looking ahead, they aim to expand to 10,000 plants — a goal requiring significant capital.
“The craft beer industry is growing fast,” Viloria said. “With tariffs making imports more expensive, we’re an alternative for brewers seeking a truly Mexican product.” Both she and Iracheta maintain day jobs — in public policy and urban planning, respectively — to fund the venture.
Their product has already gained recognition. Orlando Lara of Pecados de la Malta noted that beer brewed with Lúpulos Igor’s hops earned awards in Mexico, Colombia, and Peru. “Repackaged hops from supply stores often have quality issues,” Lara said. “The resin flavor in these locally grown varieties is unmatched.”
In 2022, Oscar Martínez and his partner established GroAltos after an initial failed attempt in Chiapas. Now based outside Guadalajara, they maintain 1,500 young plants on less than a hectare of land and hope to eventually scale up to 50 hectares. However, challenges persist — especially a lack of shared knowledge and collaboration among growers. “Some told me not to share our methods or equipment,” Martínez said. “But without transparency, the industry can’t grow.”
Infrastructure remains a major hurdle. Trestles, greenhouses, hydroponic systems, and grow lights all demand substantial investment. Gamba has proposed a co-investment model where brewers fund growers in exchange for future harvests. Martínez, however, believes government support is key, pointing to beer as one of Mexico’s largest exports and stressing the strategic value of building a domestic hops supply.
From a sustainability standpoint, some argue that local hop production may be more eco-friendly than importing from 2,600 miles away, though comprehensive environmental data is still needed. What’s clear is that with time, technical refinement, and inter-industry collaboration, Mexican-grown hops could achieve both economic viability and quality consistency.
Much like the evolution of Mexican vineyards, which took years to produce award-winning wines, the country’s nascent hops industry is gaining momentum. For brewers intent on creating a beer made entirely from Mexican ingredients, the benefits are numerous: freshness, unique flavor profiles, reduced reliance on imports, and support for local agriculture.
The path is far from easy, but with passionate growers and supportive brewers, the vision of a fully Mexican beer — from soil to glass — is becoming more tangible by the year.
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