Bahia de Banderas Brewery
Aaron Diaz is a man with a passion. When he was twenty, Aaron visited a friend in Colorado who took him to a small brewery. He sampled his first craft beer and knew then and there he would one day brew and sell his own artisanal beer. After years of working hard, scraping and saving to fund his dream, and learning and experimenting with the intricacies of the brewing process, it has come to fruition. The Bahia de Banderas Brewery opened its doors on October 3. Dennis and I were there to celebrate, as we couldn’t miss the grand opening. In fact, my claim to fame is that I am the very first customer at the brewery; only because Aaron insists on the “ladies first” rule, or it might have been Dennis instead. Yes, I wear it proudly!
You may know Aaron from Tacos on the Street in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle. His family has owned and operated that business for the past twenty-six years. His father, in teaching a valuable life lesson, saved all of young Aaron’s tips from working at the family restaurant. Aaron became a property owner in Bucerias at the ripe old age of thirteen. “I hated it. Who wants to own land at thirteen years old? I wanted to hang out with my friends, go to the movies, you know? I thank him for it now.”
Aaron describes his first beer flight experience, with his friend in Fort Collins, CO.
“I wasn’t much of a drinker. That beer actually tastes good, smells good, has different notes. You can small the hops. I was amazed at the process. This is what I want to do when I grow up!”
He stayed in Colorado, applied for a work permit and took steps towards fulfilling his plan. For income, he built a food stand. “I did what I knew how to do. I sold tacos.” Aaron then bought the equipment to start brewing batches, and turned his friend’s garage into a brewing area. “He wasn’t happy”. For four years, Aaron took weekend courses in Denver, “whenever I could afford.” He learned how to grow yeast in petri dishes, and about the German Beer Purity Law, a decree that allows for only hops, barley, water and yeast as true beer ingredients. On every day off he would brew a different kind of beer. “Sometimes it was really bad. I had to throw out entire batches. But sometimes it was good. I just had to learn.” Winter in Denver is too chilly to sell street tacos, so Aaron would always come back here to help his parents during the busy season. Of his property in Bucerias, he says, “Every winter I came here it was all weeds and big, tall grass. I poured myself a piece of concrete right here,” he points out a spot on the current brewery floor, “and put up a tent, continuing to brew beer as practice, always planning on owning a brewery here.” During one of those winters, Aaron met his wife, Jennah, and they now have three small children. “When I was ready to start working on my brewery, I sold my business in Denver and we moved back here full time. It took me three years to prepare the site and build the brewery, doing everything myself, without investors.” Aaron gave me a crash course in the process of making different beers. As he moved among the equipment, his enthusiasm was contagious. The Cerveceria currently offers five beers; golden ale; blond ale; pale ale; IPA; and stout, and will eventually introduce new beers. Planning further selections, Aaron says, “Maybe a wheat beer, or a Belgian. I love making beer almost as much as I love my kids. If I could make and sell beer every day, I’d be a happy man.”
Open Thursday through Monday from 4:00pm to 10:00pm, join them for tasty beer, some live entertainment, and a delicious meal from their great menu.
The brewery is located east of the lateral on Encino (at Panquekis House), then turn right on Calle del Canal. You can’t miss it on the right side, or find them on Facebook
