Over the past two years, few local breweries have received the buzz and media attention of Mujeres Brew House. An offshoot of fellow Barrio Logan opp, Border X Brewing, it is female-run from the front-of-the-house to the brewery and cellar, a rarity even in today’s evolving brewing industry. Much of the credit for Mujeres’ success belongs to Esthela Davila, a Barrio native whose love of beer led her to not only become part of the San Diego beer scene, but become a force within it as the host of a women’s-only beer-education group, Mujeres Brew Club. That group’s runaway success led Davila’s partners at Border X to expand on it, melding its celebration of badass women with an appreciation for Mexican culture in its many forms, to create a full-on brewery, Mujeres Brew House. It has been a source of pride for many Latinas, Davila included, which makes today’s news that she has been let go from the company difficult to hear and to comprehend. Rather than focus on the negative, we sat down with her to talk about the positive aspects of the past few whirlwind years and what she has been able to accomplish over that span.
Before there was Mujeres Brew House, there was Mujeres Brew Club. How did that come to be?
Basically it started as an idea that Carmen Favela from Border X had. She didn’t know too much about beer but she knew she wanted to do something to help other women learn about beer. She approached me and Mujeres Brew Club was born! I had been involved in the craft-beer scene for a number of years prior to founding Mujeres from working and attending beer festivals to my work as a co-host and guest on beer podcasts. I leaned on relationships I had with people in and around the industry to visit the club and give presentations on the basic building blocks of craft beer, gearing those talks for women who had maybe been interested in beer but were too afraid to ask questions. Our monthly meetings covered a variety of topics, featured speakers and guest breweries, all at a very low cost made possible by our host venue, Border X, so big thanks to them!
What was it like seeing something you played such a major role in creating grow and become so important to so many?
When we announced our very first meeting we had no idea how many people were going to sign up, so to have it sell out at 62 attendees was crazy. It grew so popular and so fast that it was overwhelming. We had women coming up to us and saying that this was so needed and so important to them. It was both amazing and humbling! The first six-month series completely sold out and then we started a second chapter in Los Angeles at Border X’s facility in Bell, which also sold out.
When did the idea to parlay the Mujeres concept into a brewery and tasting room come about?
It happened during the pandemic. We couldn’t have our meetings and we were on the phone discussing our next move. As a joke, Carmen said “let’s open a brewery”, and 24 hours later I was sitting in the Barrio Logan building that had previously housed Alta Brewing and would go on to become Mujeres Brew House. We opened in October of 2020 with me as the co-founding Taproom Lead.
What are some of the moments that stand out during your time at Mujeres Brew House?
We had so many events, but the ones that honestly stick out for me are the release of La Casa Verde, our West Coast IPA, which has the image of my parents’ house and a little silhouette of my dad on the can. Other special was our tribute to Selena, Como la Cerveza, our Pride celebration with the Latinx Coalition and our mini beer festival for Mexican Independence Day!
What do you consider some of your greatest accomplishments during both phases of Mujeres?
Being able to connect with so many fierce females who love craft beer! The fact that I was able to bring this to the neighborhood I grew up in was very special. Also, our many collaboration beers with Thorn Brewing, Ballast Point Brewing, Kilowatt Brewing, Hopnonymous Brewing and more. I always had a wish list of where I hoped the beer would be carried and most of those came to fruition! Also all the awards and recognition we received.
What would you like to do next?
Stay in the craft-beer business! I just hope everything that I learned will help another brewery get more women and more minorities in their doors! I’d also like to say thank-you to everyone who came to the club and the brewery to support me! I’d also like to thank all the breweries that helped me along the way, and all my family and friends that were behind me 100%. I hope to sit down with you and have a beer soon!