Four Corners Brewing Co. Is Sparking Multicultural Connections

It was 2002 when George Esquivel, the leader of Four Corners Brewing, began to make beer in a dusty garage with co-founder Steve Porcari. Nearly 20 years later, their products can be found in more than 4,500 stores across Texas, and their brewery in the Cedars has become known for its multicultural connections, creative brew names, weekly events, and more.   



Esquivel’s first dream was to be a musician, but that fantasy never played out. So, he moved to plan B. “Growing up, I thought advertising was sexy,” he says. Early on in his career, he worked in branding with Mission Foods, where his expertise for attracting a customer through packaging was recognized. “I saw my plans in action, and that was exciting,” he says. At the same time, his curiosity for beer spiked, and he became a homebrewer alongside Porcari. “I tried this blueberry beer, and I thought it was the coolest thing, so we tried to recreate it,” he says. “It ended up being horrible.” 



Seeking quality, they furnished Porcari’s house with a five-gallon brewing system, and weekends were spent perfecting drafts—drawing sugars from grain, testing  the hops-to-yeast ratio, and tinkering with temperatures. “By 2007, we found something,” Esquivel says. 

That year, they entered a homebrewing competition sponsored by Eno’s Pizza Tavern in the Bishop Arts District alongside six other competitors. Esquivel’s band provided the live entertainment. Both the brew and music hit the perfect note. “From there, we met the right people to help us realize our potential,” Esquivel says. Their popularity grew, Esquivel quit his day job, picked up a third partner, and started a funding campaign in 2011; it netted $650,000, enough to launch Four Corners Brewing Co. A second round banked $1.5 million, and Four Corners was set to soar. Esquivel’s marketing plays on vibrancy and humor inspired by his Latin roots. “Beer is beyond a product,” he says. “It’s a thing that brings cultures together.”

Four Corners has fostered 31 percent annual growth since its 2012 founding. In 2018, it was acquired by Constellation Brands—bringing the brew to Southern California. Esquivel has future plans to tap into non-alcoholic beverages. “We’re known as a beer company but aspire to be a brewing company,” he says. “If we think about all of the beverages that are brewed—teas, coffees, beer—there are so many ever-changing needs and wants of consumers.”