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The Wall Street Journal has a fascinating story on why brewer Femsa, one of Mexico’s most storied companies, is contemplating getting out of the beer business.

Femsa, brewer of Dos Equis and source of the “World’s Most Interesting Man” commercials,  recently acknowledged it was contemplating selling its beer assets or making a strategic alliance with one of the world’s brewing giants. The possible suitors include London-based SABMiller and Dutch brewer Heineken, a longtime Femsa partner.

How did it come to this? Reporters Jose de Cordoba and David Kesmodel trace the immense pressures that family-run Femsa faces in an increasingly globalized industry.

One big reason Femsa is considering teaming up with a bigger brewer is that the landscape of the beer business has changed rapidly. The global market is increasingly dominated by giants such as Anheuser-Busch InBev, and SABMiller. Those companies, created by international mergers, now dwarf Femsa, which has annual beer sales of about $4 billion, compared with roughly $35 billion and $21 billion at Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller, respectively.

And at home, Femsa has been overtaken in Mexico by main rival Grupo Modelo, maker of Corona. The Journal notes that in the past two decades, Femsa has seen its share of Mexico’s beer market fall to 43 percent from 55 percent. Modelo now controls 57 percent of the market. And that ain’t all. From the story:

Last year, when InBev bought Anheuser-Busch Cos. for about $52 billion, it took over Anheuser-Busch’s [50 percent] non-controlling stake in Grupo Modelo, giving Femsa’s rival a new deep-pocketed uncle. Analysts believe it’s a matter of time before Modelo is taken over fully, a move that would ramp up competitive pressure on Femsa even further.

The story says observers are also wondering if Femsa has “lost its love for the beer business, with its convenience stores and Coca-Cola bottling business moving front and center.”

Interesting stuff. Don’t move that dial (or mouse)! Brewing is increasingly a big boy’s game, and the weakened seem to have few avenues except alliances with the biggest, strongest players.