Mexico craft breweries follow Fort Collins' lead

The Coloradoan

Colorado native Jordan Gardenhire opened Baja Brewing in the Cabo San Lucas, Mexico area. Gardenhire consulted Odell Brewing when first launching in 2007.

Recent spring breakers may have discovered Fort Collins' craft beer culture replicated in the Mexican beach towns of Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta.

That's where proteges of Odell Brewing and CooperSmith’s Pub & Brewing have launched their own craft breweries.

“When I first got out here (in 2005), I realized there was no craft beer of any sort,” said Jordan Gardenhire, who grew up in Steamboat Springs and has run Baja Brewing in Cabo San Lucas since 2007.

It was a similar revelation for Conner Watts when he moved to Puerto Vallarta in 2010. He opened Los Muertos Brewing there in 2012.

“One of the things we missed was having a variety of beer,” Watts said. “It was mostly just macro Mexican lagers, which left a lot to be desired.”

Gardenhire and Watts both started home brewing while students at University of Colorado in Boulder. While they didn’t know each other before launching their breweries, the two former Buffs have since connected.

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Both were attracted to Mexico's beach town lifestyle and sought guidance from prominent Fort Collins brewers before opening their own operations south of the border.

Gardenhire befriended Odell Brewing co-founder Doug Odell when launching Baja Brewing. While vacationing in the Cabo area, Odell provided guidance in various forms, including recipe development.

Odell Brewing also sent down a lab employee to help Baja Brewing start its own quality lab.

“It was cool for me because (Odell’s flagship beer) 90 Shilling was one of the first craft beers I really liked a lot,” Gardenhire said. “He was super helpful in so many ways. I learned so much.”

Watts apprenticed at CooperSmith’s Pub & Brewing for three weeks in 2011 when first planning Los Muertos Brewing. He had previously patronized the Old Town Fort Collins brewery when visiting his sister, who attended Colorado State University.

Watts wanted to open a brewpub — a craft brewery with its own full-service restaurant. Before moving to Mexico, Watts had run a restaurant and bar in his hometown of Park City, Utah.

“CooperSmith’s defined what a brewpub should be, in my mind,” Watts said. “I had looked at them as mentors and inspiration. ... They bestowed a bunch of knowledge on me.”

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Watts uses an eight-barrel brewing system similar to the one he learned to use at CooperSmith’s.

But while Los Muertos Brewing and Baja Brewing brew with plenty of Fort Collins inspiration, the Mexican craft breweries don’t the get the luxury of Choice City water supply. They use filtration systems to prepare the water for brewing.

The breweries cater to tourists vacationing in the area but also have growing customer bases of native Mexicans. The locals prefer lagers and stouts to the hoppy IPAs that Americans thirst for.

Baja Brewing debuted a Tijuana production brewery this month, with intentions of expanding distribution to the U.S.

Los Muertos Brewing supplies a few outside accounts but primarily keeps its beer on its own taps.

And both breweries still often draw back on the storied Colorado craft beer culture for inspiration.

“It has been crazy to see how the world of craft beer has grown,” Gardenhire said.

Follow Jacob Laxen on Twitter and Instagram @jacoblaxen.