Cerveza por favor

It's the end of a hot summer day and you just want to cool down. We've all been there and most of us (at one point or another) have reached for a cold beer. If you're in the Southwest, chances are good that the beer has been a Mexican import of some kind. As a matter of fact, in a random survey, 9 out of 10 people said they would opt for a Mexican import of the likes of Corona or Pacifico Clara before choosing their American counterparts.

And who do all of these thirsty Americans have to thank for importing these beverages? If you're a Corona or Pacifico drinker, that would be Grupo Modelo, the second largest collection of breweries in Mexico. The group has eight breweries throughout the country as well as its own barley fields, maltings, factories that make the bottles and packaging and they even own the mines that provide the raw materials for manufacturing, according to a book by Berry Verhoef, "The Complete Encyclopedia of Beer."

Now, if you're a DosXX or Tecate fan, Jose Calderon and Isaac Garza are to thank for opening Cerveceria Cuauhtemoc, which is the oldest brewery in Mexico, all the way back in 1894. Cuauhtemoc is also responsible for the production of Sol and Bohemia, two other popular choices of Mexican imports.

An interesting sidenote, if you'll permit me (and you have to, ahh the beauty of the internet) is that the lime that so gracefully crowns our favorite Mexican beers, wasn't orignally supposed to be there. And to make matters worse, it wasn't even lime, nor was it the stroke of brilliance of a Mexican citizen. It was a sneaky American who wanted a little something different, that started the days of fruit in Corona ("The Complete Encyclopdeia of Beer" mentioned Corona specifically). And what fruit held the honor originally, you wonder? A lemon. I don't know if I'll be trying new citrus in my imports, but it's something to chew on.

Some links for the two brewing groups mentioned above are down below. I also added a link to a site that belongs to BrewYour Own Beer Magazine (it's a growing market).