Food Mexico and Me Aug. 2015 | Page 47

Brewery Matthew Hikory(left) and Jeffrey Shults(right) LaBru to maintain their unique brews. Another huge obstacle was introducing the Mexican market to different styles of beer. For years the large commercial brewers have dominated the market and people’s perception of beer was limited. Even before LaBru began, Jeffrey brought an ice chest full of home brew from Rochester, NY to Morelia. Inside were 72 bottles with 10 styles of beer — “likely the heaviest piece of luggage ever to be put on an airplane” said Jeffrey with a chuckle. Each and every restaurant owner Jeffrey shared his beer with looked at him puzzled especially as they tasted the heavy stout beer. Only the German wheat beer brought a smile — why? It tasted most like the common commercial beers readily available in México. At the beginning of LaBru, Jeffrey would show up to parties with a Lot Number and Alcohol content hand written on every bottle www.mexico.is 5-gallon keg and as he says — “no one knew a thing about this gringo with his strange brew.” He would hang around and take the time to share the story of his beer, always hoping this expensive hobby would grow into a viable business. Slowly people began to realize that it was quality beer, and the growth and popularity soon followed. Matthew’s business mind has helped LaBru move beyond just a couple of guys brewing beer to a company with a plan — that plan — to get LaBru into more mouths across México. Currently 1