ENSENADA — The international craft beer publication GICI magazine has featured Ensenada’s brewing scene in its latest edition, timed to coincide with the city’s 15th annual Beer Fest. The magazine, which covers innovation, trends, and success stories in the craft beer industry worldwide, singled out Ensenada as one of North America’s most exciting emerging beer destinations.
The feature arrives as the Ensenada Beer Fest celebrates its quinceañera year, having grown from a small local gathering into one of the 10 most important beer festivals in the world and the best beer festival in Mexico, according to industry rankings. This year’s Beer Week ran March 14–21 at the Centro Social, Cívico y Cultural Riviera, with the main festival on March 20–22 drawing over 100 brewers from across the region and Latin America. Organizers estimated more than 15,000 attendees, roughly 80 percent of whom traveled from outside Ensenada — from Mexico City, Guadalajara, California, Arizona, and as far as Panama.
The Breweries Putting Ensenada on the Map
Ensenada now hosts more than 30 craft breweries within city limits, but a handful have earned the international recognition driving the city’s reputation.
Wendlandt (Blvd. Costero 248, Zona Centro) is the heavyweight. Founded in 2012, Wendlandt won Best Brewery in Mexico at the Copa Mexico in both 2015 and 2019 and now produces over 100,000 liters per month. Their flagship Perro del Mar IPA is widely distributed in San Diego, and their Foca Parlante oatmeal stout and Harry Polanco red ale are local favorites. A second tasting room operates in El Sauzal at Calle 10 No. 385.
Aguamala (Carretera Tijuana-Ensenada Km 104, El Sauzal) has been brewing since 2005, making it one of Ensenada’s oldest craft operations. Named after the jellyfish, the brewery sits within 100 yards of the Pacific Ocean in a converted container building with second-floor ocean views. They produce around 270,000 liters annually with a marine-inspired lineup including the Sirena Czech pilsner and the Vieja amber.
Transpeninsular (Carretera Transpeninsular Km 107+240, Zona Playitas) opened in 2016 and has quickly become one of the strongest breweries in northern Mexico. Their flagship IPAs — Carretera 3, Camino del Río, and the double IPA La Curva — along with the multi-award-winning Tierra Clara blonde ale have won competitions at regional, national, and international levels. The family-friendly brewpub serves ceviche, fish tacos, and is open seven days a week.
Cerveza Hussong’s (Av. Ruíz 113, Zona Centro) carries the legacy of Ensenada’s most famous institution. The original Hussong’s Cantina has operated since 1892, and the brewery extension brings German-rooted craft beer to the historic downtown corridor. Visitors can combine a brewery visit with the cantina that put Ensenada on the tourist map over a century ago.
Why Ensenada’s Beer Scene Keeps Growing
The GICI feature highlighted Ensenada’s natural advantages: coastal air that benefits fermentation, distinctive local water mineral content, and proximity to both San Diego’s craft beer market and the agricultural bounty of the Valle de Guadalupe. But the bigger story is economic. Before the Beer Fest launched 15 years ago, hotel occupancy on the same March weekend barely reached 19 percent. Recent editions have pushed occupancy to near 100 percent, with last year recording 93 percent and over 12,000 attendees.
Tour operators now run brewery crawls through the city, and the restaurant scene has evolved alongside the breweries — chefs pair local craft beer with Ensenada’s famous seafood, creating a combined food-and-drink tourism circuit that draws weekend visitors from Southern California year-round.