Mexico's Craft Beer, Latin America, and Context.

It's a familiar story: a handful of small brewing outfits struggle for exposure in a market dominated by giants. The LA Times has this feature on craft brewers in Mexico.

Mexico is in the second tier of Latin American national beer scenes. Argentina and Brazil are well ahead of the pack, thanks to sheer quantity of small breweries. Then you've got the second tier of countries like Chile, Colombia and Mexico with a handful. Finally you've got everyone else, which like Costa Rica or Panama is lucky to have a one or maybe even two micros or brewpubs.

If you want, we can even make a fourth tier with those countries that have absolutely nada in the way of independent brewing--like Nicaragua, where I'll be later this week.

Just to further beat a dead horse, that is type of context that gives meaning to the phrase "craft beer." Remember that next time someone is struggling to define it or arguing that it's meaningless.

This context also leads to a certain amount of hero worship of brewers and entrepreneurs, the ones brave or foolish enough to have a go at it. But is that sort of appreciation really misplaced?

If you live where the diversity of breweries allows you to debate quality instead of merely wanting something different... If you're in a place where the guy running your town's small brewing outfit is just another businessman... Well, lucky you. Count your blessings.