Small Mexican brewery Minerva has just launched two very special brands of ale, Salamandra and Purple Hand, aimed at the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual) market.

Beer is the most popular alcoholic drink in Mexico, but 95% of the market is already controlled by the two largest breweries in the country, Modelo Group and Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma, which makes it almost impossible for smaller companies to compete. But it seems Jalisco-based brewery Minerva has just found an untapped niche that has so far proved very profitable – it has created two brands of “Artisan Honey-Ales” made with organic honey and malt, a mix that infuses the drink with an orange flavor that appeals to gay communities.

“We’ve received a lot of criticism about whether we were excluding heterosexuals, and yes, it is a product directed exclusively to the LGBT community,” says company representative Dario Rodriguez Wyler. It was quite a daring move, but the results have exceeded even the most optimistic expectations. The first 500 cases of Salamandra  and Purple Hand beers have completely sold out in the first week, and responses from the LGBT community have been enthusiastic. Minerva is preparing to launch a second batch of artisan honey-ales, and it has already received offers from Argentina, Colombia, Japan, Ecuador, Chile and the US from companies interested in importing their products.

The names of the ales were specifically chosen, as the salamander is a popular symbol of the gay community, and Purple Hand is a homage to the gay rights protest that took place in 1969, on the streets of San Francisco.