When Esthela Davila was growing up on Julian Avenue in Barrio Logan, she knew nothing of craft beer nor the positive impact it would have on her life. Not to mention the positive impact she would have on the liquid medium and extending its reach to fellow Latinas in her hometown. But fast forward to present day and Davila is a beery Barrio Logan icon, serving as co-host of The Indie Beer Show podcast and headwoman for the Mujeres Brew Club, an educational initiative created in conjunction with Barrio Logan’s Border X Brewing to expose women—particularly those of Hispanic descent—to craft beer. It’s her work with the latter that earned her keys to a brewery just a block from her childhood home: Mujeres Brew House.
In late June, Border X’s ownership took over the brewery and tasting room formerly operated by Alta Brewing. That business, which debuted at the base of the Bread & Salt experimental arts center in the summer of 2017, vacated the space last November, leaving behind 2,000 square feet that will now serve as a base of operations for Davila’s passion project. Scheduled to open sometime in summer or early autumn, it will operate as a non-profit with revenues being reinvested into the club for educational activities, trips, guest speakers and more.
“It’s extremely surreal and I’m still processing everything. It all happened so fast,” says Davila. “Having a space for the club to be able to gather and brew what we want is amazing and the confidence that Border X has in the club is just incredible.”
Mujeres Brew Club was created in May of last year. Davila had hoped to get 10 or 15 people to her first meeting, but it ended up luring 67 attendees. Since then, she’s sold out each of her monthly classes at 50 or more attendees. And the concept travels well. Earlier this year, Davila started a second chapter in Los Angeles County, holding meetings at Border X’s Bell tasting room.
Guest speakers are the heart and soul of Mujeres Brew Club, and have included Judith Downie from CSU San Marcos, Morgan Tenwick of JuneShine and Zana Mortorana from Home Brewing Co. The trio covered the history of beer, beer statistics, and brewing processes and ingredients, respectively. While those are somewhat heady subjects, Davila’s goal is to keep the topics they discuss entry level so anyone who attends can appreciate the knowledge being shared.
I love the fact that people will come and share the space with us. This is the type of thing I love to see in Barrio Logan. I couldn’t be prouder to be from this neighborhood!”
Esthela Davila, General Manager, Mujeres Brew House
“I want to thank everybody that reached out to congratulate us,” says Davila. “The first questions they asked were ‘How can we help?’ or ‘Can I get on your collaboration list?’ The San Diego indie beer community is amazing, and we just hope to add to this talented group of people while bringing more women and minorities into it.”
To that end, Border X’s brewers will work with Davila and members of the club to develop recipes for beers that will be brewed on the Mujeres Brew House’s five-barrel system, then sold on-site as well as its parent company’s taprooms. It’s a matter of taking this educational initiative to the next level, literally immersing participants in the world of beer to show them all it has to offer, while advancing its visibility to underserved factions in a traditionally underserved community.
“I love the fact that people will come and share the space with us. This is the type of thing I love to see in Barrio Logan,” says Davila. “I couldn’t be prouder to be from this neighborhood!”
Mujeres Brew House is located at 1983 Julian Avenue in Barrio Logan