Are Michelob and Corona too “straight” for some consumers?
Minerva, a small brewery in Jalisco, Mexico, believes its “artisan honey-ales” will appeal to gay men and lesbians whose refined tastes have been put on the back burner by beer manufacturers.
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“We’re out in the market with great respect with the idea of offering a product directed to the gay-lesbian community that has been ignored for too long but is important and very demanding,” Dario Rodriguez Wyler, commercial manager for distributor Bodega 12, told the Mexican news agency Efe.
The brewery has two beers on offer: Salamandra and Purple Hand, which refers to the famous gay rights protest in San Francisco in 1969. Wyler says the drinks’ labels can be removed and worn as a symbol of pride. (Gay or straight, is wearing a beer label on your sleeve ever a good idea?)
Bars and restaurants in Guadalajara, Mexico City and the resorts of Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos already offer the sweet brews, and order requests have been pouring in from the U.S., Argentina, Ecuador and Chile. The company says it will start its push in Mexico, and begin exporting to Colombia and Japan soon.
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