Mexico Reigns Supreme Sacramento Beer Shop Cervezalandia | Eater SF

"Positioned as the largest specialty beer shop in the nation (and likely el mundo) that sells only Chicano- and Mexican-brewed beers and liquors from California and Mexico, the store opened to the public in 2021 at 4516 Freeport Boulevard in Sacramento and is open 9 a.m. to midnight Tuesday–Friday and 10 a.m. to midnight Saturday–Sunday. Framed as the spiritual culmination of Mexico's long brewing history, it curates a wide array of items — prickly pear lagers, agave lime ciders, “pepino” sours, hoppy beers with low-riders printed on them, homebrews from Las Homegirls (an all-Latina group from Boyle Heights), “Neo Mexican Lagers,” Baja California witbiers, 8 percent ABV strong ales dubbed “El Macho,” Vampiro-flavored brewskis, and beer cans with odes to the Rarámuri — sourced from places including Sacramento, Salinas, Norwalk, Ensenada, Colima, and Hermosillo. Owner Danny Savala, a third-generation Mexican American and former urban planner, explains the inspiration behind the concept: "Traveling around Mexico inspired this. I remember being blown away, as a Eurocentric American at the time, thinking it’s only hipsters who brew beer, and I’m in Mexico and seeing piloncillo being used to make beer down there. I started wondering, 'Where are the other cerveceros at?' I started doing my research. Turns out there’s a whole movement in the craft beer scene [of Mexican-heritage brewers]." He is extremely intentional about the small brands he curates and about expanding beyond commercialized Mexican beers like Corona and Modelo: "My obsession is with building environment and communities," he says. "In the last 20 years, beer licenses [have become] highly regulated. Some stores can’t sell singles anymore or anything less than a six pack. That creates a huge problem for the market and removes lots of craft beer from the shelves, especially for Latinos. Nowhere else in the country is anyone holding this much variety of Mexican heritage beer." Savala organizes pop-up events across Northern California, launched his own festival two years after opening at Cesar Chavez Plaza, and partnered with restaurateur Ernesto Delgado after Delgado brewed La Cosecha Dorada using imported, non-GMO maize from Tlaxcala, Mexico — a beer now poured only in Sacramento. He also spotlights local brewers such as John Anaya of King Cong Brewing Company (a son of Michoacán whom Savala identifies as the only Mexican-heritage brewer in Sacramento County); wanting to celebrate Anaya's work, Savala says, "There are no accolades for what [Anaya] is doing for Mexican beer. So I wanted to celebrate that." Anaya's notable contribution to the shop is the limited West Coast IPA "Anything For Selenas." Emphasizing inclusivity and community-building, Savala concludes: "This isn’t meant to be exclusionary to anyone, and there’s nothing like beer to sit back and get to know somebody as a community tie," positioning the store as a cultural gathering place that showcases the breadth and creativity of Mexican-heritage brewing." - Alan Chazaro