Thirsty Thursday Spotlights Beers For Gay Community
By: Anthony Adragna
Published: February 24, 2011

Tiny Mexican brewery Minerva becomes the first in the world to create a set of beers specifically targeting the gay community. Salamandra and Purple Hand are the names of the first two brews. The honey ales will be marketed first to consumers in Mexico, Colombia and, randomly, Japan.
The salamander is a popular animal in the gay community and Purple Hand references the protests for gay rights that occurred in San Francisco in the late 1960s. Members of the gay community have responded enthusiastically to the beer. The first 500 cases sold out and the company plans to unveil a second line of beers. Currently, the Mexican beer market is controlled by two companies— representing 95 percent of the market share, and leaving small companies like Minerva looking for niches.
In the future, Minerva plans to create a strawberry-flavored beer. Companies from Argentina, Colombia, Japan, Ecuador, Chile and the US have all expressed interest in importing the beer.

Photo courtesy The D34n