Mahou

Mahou is a beer company of Spanish origin, founded in Madrid in 1890 as Hijos de Casimiro Mahou, ice and beer factory. by production in a country with a wine-producing tradition that accepted beer late, and during the XX century it was among the most important within the Spanish beer market. The name comes from the surname of the family that was in charge of the company for nearly a century. After the purchase of San Miguel at the end of 2000, it was transformed into the Mahou San Miguel business group, the largest Spanish beer company at the beginning of the century XXI.

History

Typical brown glass bottle, before paper marks are stamped

Ancient Mahou factory in Madrid, Imperial Walk. Construction 1961, demolition 2011.

Mahou-San Miguel group beer distribution

The initiator of business activities in Madrid was Casimiro Mahou Bierhans (1828-1875), a Frenchman from Metz, Lorena, who married Brígida Solana Fernández (1818-1896) from Madrid. With Brígida he has three sons and two daughters. Casimiro set up in 1850, along with a partner, a wallpaper factory called Las Maravillas that he abandoned in 1859. He then decided to settle in the Plaza del Limón and build the El Arco Iris factory. Great Factory of Colors to Tempera and Olio, which after his death in 1875, would pass into the hands of his widow, now called the Vapor Factory of Colors, Varnishes and Ice. And Children of Casimiro Mahou. It is the children who create one of the pioneering companies in Spain in beer production.

Ice and Beer Factory

The first commercial company 'Hijos de Casimiro Mahou', is formed by Alfredo, Enrique, Luis and Carolina Mahou Solana, for the manufacture and sale of ice, colors and varnishes, with address at Amaniel street nº 29 and branch in Calle Jacometrezo nº 17, Madrid, deed before the notary Juan Perea Ugarte (María Luisa had already died, at the age of 18). In May 1890, Mahou served block ice from his ice factory to various customers in Madrid and its surroundings.

The company was established on October 30, 1889 by the brothers as a Regular Collective Company (SRC). When they take over the services of the German brewmaster, Konrad Stauffer Ruckert, they begin to produce beer. The first factory was built at 29 Amaniel Street in Madrid (close to the Conde-Duque Barracks) in the Madrid expansion area. This factory started operating on February 1, 1891 and is currently the headquarters of the ABC Museum of Drawing and Illustration. For its part, the main branch was located on Jacometrezo street. The new factory is equipped with industrial material from Germany, which initially enters Spain through the ports of Valencia. Since the beginning, the type of Pilsen beer has been brewed. The water used in the Amaniel factory came from the channeled distribution offered by the recently inaugurated Canal de Isabel II. The hops, difficult to grow in the agricultural fields of Spain, were imported from Germany, coming from the vicinity of Nuremberg, of the Lagerbierhöpfen type. The malt was of national origin and came from the fields of Aranjuez. In this way, in March 1891, the commercialization of beer began. Mahou offered two differentiated rates, depending on whether the bottles were pasteurized or not. This depended on the customers. The bottles had a longer storage life but the cost increased by 20%. It must be considered that bottled wine retains its good flavor for months, not so beer, which, on the contrary, spoils if not consumed soon.

Botellín de San Miguel

Beer was rarely consumed in Spanish society at the time. In those days, when social gathering cafes abounded, the cafes in Puerta del Sol were not among Mahou's clients. The fame of Mahou beer grew when it won international quality awards, awards that soon appeared on the labels of its bottles. The success of the sale of beer relegates the production of other goods to the background. The brewing process was novel. Mahou was one of the first companies to use refrigeration compressor technology throughout the beer production chain. The company stopped producing colors and varnishes in the first decades of the century XX, and continued to produce ice bars into the 1970s. In this period of settlement, when they mainly competed with El Águila beer, the family decided in 1904 to expand the business by creating a second factory in Gibraleón (Huelva province), directed by Luis Mahou Solana, to supply beer to the mining towns of the province. The demand was not enough, due to the price per liter of beer, and the adventure ended in 1912. After this, there were other initiatives such as the Novelda factories, at the end of the 1920s, and Orense (known as San Juan beers). Martin).

Rise at the beginning of the 20th century

The popular 'caña' of Mahou beer, which is served in the Madrid bars, usually accompanys the tapas.

At the beginning of the XX century, the company progressively improved its industrial equipment and increased production. The demand for beer grows during the first third of the century, partly due to the greater purchasing power of the people. Spain was a neutral country during the First World War, which favored the economic boom and the expansion of Mahou. During that time, the company was run by Casimiro Mahou García (1882-1943), who was also president of the Madrid Chamber of Commerce, a place from which he promoted an Association of Beer Manufacturers. During this period, Mahou produces new bottles glass, of higher quality and resistance (during the filling, refilling and pasteurization processes, a large part of them were damaged). A new malting facility is also created. In 1922 the cork stopper was abandoned, replaced by crown stoppers. They were distributed in two colors: blue, to indicate that the beer inside was the Munich type, and red, for the Pilsen type.

The marketing of beer during this period was a complicated matter due to transportation. It was initially distributed by railways to reach the provinces. Complaints from those responsible for the Amaniel factory were frequent. This situation worsened during the years of the Great War. Delays in deliveries to customers and claims to the MZA company were common. So Mahou chooses to progressively replace rail transport with road transport. Despite everything, Mahou sold as much beer in Madrid as outside the city. In the Amaniel factory there was a place dedicated to beer tasting. On the bottles of that time there was a barrel of beer and the legend "Fábrica de Cerveza Hijos de C. Mahou".

The period of the dictatorship

Mahou Beer Cup

At the start of the Civil War, Mahou ranked fourth in Spanish production, second in the capital. The outbreak of the conflict finds the family on vacation in a spa in San Sebastián and soon the factory is requisitioned. Despite the virulence of the defense of Madrid and the proximity of the Amaniel factory from the front, production is maintained but in minimum After the war ended with the victory of Franco's army, the post-war period arrived, in the 1940s, when the company experienced difficulties, due to the establishment of autarchy in Spain as a form of resource management. The scarcity of basic materials, malt and hops, reduce and even stop production. Alfredo Mahou de la Fuente, Casimiro's son, led the company during those moments of interventionism, nationalizations and low beer consumption. In the 1950s, dependence on hop imports was reduced when its cultivation began in the fields in the province of León, which are found to be suitable for cultivation.

The Rise of the 1960s and 1970s

A Mahou beer 5 stars

With the arrival of economic liberalization in 1957, the company became a Public Limited Company. A brewing association is created, the National Association of Beer Manufacturers of Spain (ANFACE) and what will be the first Higher School of Beer and Malta in Spain is launched. The boom in beer consumption and its incorporation into Spanish social customs caused the demand to grow like never before. The emergence of the phenomenon of tourism on the coasts. In the sixties the demand for beer quadrupled in Spain, beer is served in bars as a regular drink. These years allowed the construction of the new factory on the Paseo Imperial in Madrid, whose first firing was carried out on May 15, 1962 (during the celebration of the San Isidro Labrador festivities). The new factory was designed to produce half a million hectoliters per year, and in the 1970s it was capable of creating a million. During this period both factories were working: Amaniel and Paseo Imperial. Among the company's exclusive clients was the Real Madrid Football Club, which offered its beer at the most important evenings at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium.

In this decade, Mahou is the first Spanish company to introduce aluminum barrels, replacing the traditional wooden ones. Automatic bottlers were one of the main technological improvements. In the sixties, the labels were vitrified and were made on 20, 33 cc bottles as well as one liter bottles. In the same way, the fleet of trucks was renewed with the aim of achieving a wide transport network throughout the entire national territory. At this time Mahou investigates the packaging, on May 1 it launches a new bottle of 'a third' (which he calls Porter 39), thus avoiding judicial controversies with "El Águila" with its Steier bottle design. In 1966 a new way of selling draft beer was promoted: Cornelius equipment. In 1966 it introduced its liter bottle (the popular litrona) trying to reduce packaging costs. In 1967 Antonio Nolasco Fernández (founding member of the Spanish beer and malt association and founder of the higher school of beer and malt) was appointed director.

Advert by Mahou in Madrid, work by J. M. Ponce.

In 1969, it launched its most emblematic beer: "Mahou Cinco Estrellas" which is packaged in 1/3 bottles (blonde and black). The design of this new product was the brainchild of Spanish brewing engineer Antonio Nolasco Fernández (supported by his famous Nolasco method for brewing beer). The German brewmaster Otto Greil (a disciple of Konrad Stauffer Rucker) also participated. This beer was offered in a non-returnable container. In 1971 Greil had the new product tested at the Technische Hochschule Munchen which would be the first international quality test for this new beer. This type of beer is one of the first to be offered in cans. The launch of the "Mahou Cinco Estrellas" It was accompanied by various marketing practices.

In the 1980s, a decline began to take place marked by the appearance of new international brands in the national market. For the year 1993, the company bottled the first beer in its new factory in Alovera, province of Guadalajara, which has an area of 430,000 m².

Late 20th century

The popularity of Mahou beer in Madrid bars was such that in 1985 80% of the bars served kegs from the company. In 1995, the company was in second place in Spanish beer production, occupying 20% of the national production quota. Just in that period, a third of the company was acquired by the French group Danone. The company decides to close the Paseo Imperial factory and transfer its production to the newly created Alovera factory. The transfer was carried out progressively over five years.

In the year 2000, with the union of Mahou and San Miguel beer, the first beer group with Spanish capital was created. Mahou San Miguel has acquired Cervezas Anaga, manufacturer in Tenerife of the popular Reina beer.

The purchase in 2007 of Cervezas Alhambra (constituted in 1925 in Granada) by Mahou San Miguel, not only has a direct impact on the future of the company from Granada, but also represents a further step in the concentration of the sector, which at that time was in the hands of three large groups: Heineken Spain, Mahou San Miguel and Damm.

Red Mahou delivery truck

Amaniel, a brewery ahead of its time

Since 1890, Alfredo Mahou y Solana chose number 29 Amaniel Street to install the first Mahou brewery: the Ice and Beer Factory.

The Mahou factory located in the popular Chamberí neighborhood began operating on February 1, 1891. By 1928 it already had a technological display of state-of-the-art machinery for the manufacture of beer: refrigerating compressors for malting barley, a Ziemman brewhouse and a double-deck roaster. The factory was equipped with highly innovative ingredients and distribution methods to date in the sector. One of the most prosperous periods for Spanish beer and the company was the interval between 1900 and 1930, decades in which the city of Madrid expanded and came to be considered a metropolis that doubled its population. During the post-war years, Mahou and the beer sector in general suffered a critical period that would later go back to the end of the XX century.

Amaniel became one of the popular and most frequented places by citizens between 1952 and 1954. As its director was one of the forerunners of photography, a photography studio was created in which continuous innovation was made in production techniques. The studio came to be considered one of the main meeting points in Madrid, since it is estimated that various businesses and activities were held in the same space.

Amaniel was also the meeting point for professionals and fans of art and culture. Mahou beer became a member of the first Madrid Film Association, which would later culminate in the founding of the CEA film studios. Theater rehearsals and performances were also held in Amaniel in order to obtain funds for the Mahou Montepío Foundation. These artistic evenings and the theatrical atmosphere that revolved around Amaniel encouraged the citizens and promoted cultural meeting points in the capital. This Spanish beer has not only gone down in history for its support of culture. No less important is the social work that the brewery promoted during the Spanish Civil War, distributing beer yeast to the population from the Amaniel Pharmacy. The Amaniel factory continues to be a landmark today, a social meeting point with art and culture, as it currently houses the ABC Museum of Illustration.

Growth and expansion

In 1966, Mahou adapted to the growth in beer demand and opened its new factory on Paseo Imperial, in Madrid, and next to it the 'botijo', which became an emblem of the brand, would go on the market. This Spanish beer is also the first company to introduce aluminum barrels and automatic bottling machines, the main technological improvements of the time. The fleet of trucks was also modified to achieve a wide transport network that reached the entire national territory.

In the eighties, the leadership of Mahou beer in the country was endangered by the appearance of new international brands.

In 1995, the brewery ranked second in national beer production, occupying 20% of the national production quota. In the year 2000, Mahou joined with Cerveza San Miguel to form the first brewing group with Spanish capital: Mahou-San Miguel, which in 2004 continued with its expansion and bought Cervezas Anaga and its Canarian brand Reina. Later, in 2007, it also acquired Cervezas Alhambra (constituted in 1925 in Granada) and represented a further step in the national beer concentration, leaving at that time only three large groups in Spain: Heineken Spain, Cervezas Damm and Mahou San Miguel..

Mahou with Soccer

In 1906 he formed the athletics Club Sportif; In 1924, he created the Mahou Sports Club, a soccer team that competed at the highest level during those years. He also sponsors the Mahou Championship, an amateur tournament to promote grassroots football. Later, the Spanish brewery signs a contract with the Real Madrid Club to provide service in the bar of the Santiago Bernabéu stadium.

It has agreements with 14 clubs between the first division, second division and second division B, which are: Real Madrid CF, Atlético de Madrid, Villarreal CF, Getafe CF, Rayo Vallecano, Athletic Club, Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa, Real Valladolid, Albacete Balompié, Real Sporting de Gijón, CD Leganés, Real Oviedo, Extremadura UD and Coruxo Football Club.

Mahou Cinco Estrellas and Madrid CFF have reached a sponsorship agreement. For which the beer brand will be a sponsor of the Madrid team until 2022. The club has the largest pool of players in Spain.

Gastronomy

Mahou has always been very close to the gastronomy of Madrid. The company participates in Madrid Fusión and offers tapas and cañas routes through the main neighborhoods of the capital so that tourists and residents do not miss out on the gastronomic references of the city. Conde Duque, Chamberí, La latina, Lavapiés, Malasaña,... These are some of the stops suggested by Spanish beer and from the corporate website you can consult the bars and restaurants where tapas and exclusive menus await to taste a dinner in a unique way. only. Mahoudrid is a Mahou app that allows users to stay up to date on all the news in Madrid. In addition to proposing routes, the company has a gastronomic store open to all audiences. It is Manzana Mahou 330 and is located on Calle Hortaleza, where visitors can participate in different cooking workshops and learn to combine Mahou beer with different recipes, with foodies in mind.

Brewing production

Old factory on Amaniel Street

One of Mahou's limited stripes, named Amaniel

Since the beginning of the productive activity, the beers of the Mahou range of the group have been:

• The Classical Mahou: Known in its origins as the original Mahou, Spanish beer launched on the market in 1890, of golden colour and brilliant appearance. In 1993 he received his current name. Mahou's classic is characterized by a light texture, a certain fruity taste, high-medium intensity aroma and 4.58 degrees of alcohol. The ingredients of your recipe are water, barley malt, corn and hop.
• The Mahou Five Stars since 1969 is the 'producer flag of the company' with more than forty years of history: Cerveza Mahou type Pilsen, of low fermentation, elaborated with the best varieties of hop and yeast, which provides an unmistakable intense flavor. Although its origins date back to 1936, with the arrival of a special beer, it will not be until 1969 when the evolution process is completed and Mahou Five Stars is released next to the can format. Its alcoholic content is 5.5o Vol.
• La Mahou Sin (formerly Laiker) (without alcohol): It is the Spanish beer without alcohol from Mahou. Launched in 1990, with only 0.9o vol. Alcoholic grade, this beer is made with 100% natural ingredients: a mixture of hops and unique yeast of Mahou that give it a mild bitter taste.
• Mahou Negra: It's Mahou's second oldest beer. During the processing phase, malts that have been toasted at the right point are used, which provides the dark colour, black coffee so characteristic. The origins date back to 1908, as a complement to the Classical Mahou. The aromas that make it unmistakable are dense foam, bitterness and caramelized touches to licorice It has 5.5o of alcoholic content.
• Shandy Mix (beer with gas and lemon flavor).
• Mahou Light (low calories).
• Mahou Mixta: It's Mahou's lemon beer. Light body and low alcohol content (0.9o), this beer stands out for being refreshing and soft. Its aroma is fruity with strong citrus notes and among its star ingredients is the gasosa.
• Mahou lemon: new beer with a mixture of 60%-40 % that supposes a graduation of 3.6°.
• Master Mahou: With double hops it gives you a more intense flavor and a higher alcoholic graduation

Some of the missing beers are:

• Mahou Ice. Beer elaborated by the method ice beer that had a cut in the 1090s.

The packaging

Traditionally Mahou beers have been distributed in glass containers. At present they also do so in aluminum metal containers, the well-known cans. The two most common volumes are 20 cl of small glass bottles, also called botellines or fifths, and 33 cl of medium-sized glass containers, known as thirds and cans and 100 cl bottles, that is to say one liter, commonly known as litrona (liter bottle). The glass containers have a crown-type metal closure, which requires a bottle opener to open. Currently, metal cans all have an easy opener with a fixed ring.

Mahou in popular culture

The Mahou brand already appears in a 1920 painting by the painter José Gutiérrez Solana, on a table in the Café de Pombo gathering you can see a large bottle (of the Pilsen-type variety) with its red label. At that time it was customary for beer to be mixed with soda or lemonade. The presence of beer in Spanish society has been emerging since the sixties, in some cases as the presence of the litrona in the urban environment has brought together young people.^{[ citation required]}

This brand of beer is associated with many messages from the current president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso.

Awards

• 1897. Mahou Beer receives the Gold Medal in international recognition for its quality at the Brussels Industry Convention.^{[chuckles]required]}
• 1900. International recognition with another Gold Medal to the Excellence of Beers, at the Paris Industry Convention.^{[chuckles]required]}
• 2007. Mahou factories obtain environmental certification EMAS. ^{[chuckles]required]}