The Breweries of Spain: beers, history, styles

Spanish Breweries

styles - history - beers

For the best deals on Barcelona hotels, check out Easy to book.com! You will be able to have your beer and drink it too with great packages for Amsterdam hotels! For some of the best prices on hotels Amsterdam, visit us before they are booked!

Introduction

This page lists all the breweries currently active in Spain and all the beers they brew.

Index
Spanish brewing industry
Spanish beer satistics
Spanish beer styles
Spanish Breweries

The Spanish brewing industry

Three companies generously take care of most of the brewing in Spain: Heineken, Mahou-San Miguel and Damm. Surprisingly, in these globalist times, the last two are both Spanish-owned. Between them they have over 80% of the Spanish beer market.

In an unusual surge against the multinational tide, much of the brewing industry swapped back into Spanish ownership in recent years. Coors, Danone and Guinness have all pulled out of Spain.

This is how the 30 active breweries can be classified:

Brewery	No.	Details
Heineken	5	Heineken España, in its current form, was created in 1999 when Heineken bought the five breweries of the Cruzcampo group from Diageo (Guinness) to add to the two El Águila breweries it already owned. It was then forced to sell on its two duplicates (in Madrid and Valencia) to Damm.
Mahou-San Miguel	4	Spanish-owned. Formed when Madrid-based Mahou bought San Miguel from Danone (Kronenbourg).
Damm	4	Spanish-owned. Originally Barcelona-based, but bought two breweries from Heineken when Spanish regulators stepped in over their Cruzcampo takeover.
SABMiller	1	Owns Compañía Cervecería de Canarias.
Independents	4
Brewpubs	5
Microbreweries	6	Not many new micros. But 4 new ones so far in 2008.
Contract brewers	1	Or contract brewers.

Spanish beer styles

As in most of the world, lager is king in Spain. Pale lager, of course, though there is a smattering of the darker stuff, too. Generously wide tax bands have left Spanish pale lagers a touch stronger than most of their European counterparts.

The stronger types Especial and Extra together account for 44% of sales, Clásica for about 40%.

Style	alc.	Plato	description
Cerveza Clásica	4.6-4.8%	11º	Pils - the standard very pale, slightly hoppy sort of crap sold everywhere.
Cerveza Especial	5.5%	13º	A beefier version of pils. Approximates to a German Export or Spezial.
Cerveza Negra	5.5%	13º	Dark, malty, lightly-hopped lagers roughly in the münchener style.
Cerveza Extra	6.1-6.4%	15º	Strong pale lagers of indeterminate style, lying somewhere between an Oktoberfest and a pale Bock. The strength is obviously determined by the Spanish beer tax bands.

Brewers' Trade Organisation

Cerveceros de Espana
Almagro, 24 2º Izqda,
28010 Madrid.
Tel: 91 308 67 70
Fax: 91 308 66 61
info@cerveceros.org
http://www.cerveceros.org/index.jsp

Spanish Breweries

Statistics

	1976	1980	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2005
production (1,000 hl)	15,400	20,027a				23,510#	24,788#	26,141#	27,337	27,315	26,447	26,082	24,278	25,024	25,313	24,716	24,773	24,991	25,852	26,414	27,742	27,860	30,677	31,300c
exports (1,000 hl)																358	493	539	619	635	625	728	845	763c
imports (1,000 hl)																1,850	1,968	2,226	2,539	3,373	4,010	3,626	3,626	3,690c
consumption (1,000 hl)		20,065a													26,963a	26,199a	26,238a	26,677a	27,772a	29,152a	31,126a	30,758*	33,458*	34,200c
consumption per head (litres)		53.7a	58.4b	59b	61b	62b	67b	69b	71b		70.7	70.45	65.92	66.22	66.64	66.04	66.68	66.94	69.08	71.98	75.7	73.5	78	79.26c
Sources: Cerveceros de Espana # - United Nations Statistics Department a The Brewers of Europe (2003) b Bier in Belgie, Geert van Lierde c Cerveceros de Espana Notes: * calculated from the other figures

Beer sales by package
	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
bottles		53.9%		50.3%			48%
- returnable		30.6%		27.7%			26.5%
- non-returnable		23.3%		22.6%			21.5%
draught		33.1%		32.3%			30.5%
cans		13%		17.4%			21.5%
total		100%		100%			100%
Source: Cerveceros de Espana 1998 - Brauwelt Brevier 2000, Brauwelt 31-32/2002 2001 - The Brewers of Europe (2003)

Beer sales by location
	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
home							26%
pub/restaurant							74%
Source: Cerveceros de Espana

Spanish beer tax
	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
1.2 - 2.8% ABV	€2.32/hl	€2.32/hl	€2.32/hl	€2.32/hl	€2.45/hl	€2.45/hl
2.8% ABV - 11º Plato	€5.34/hl	€5.34/hl	€5.34/hl	€5.34/hl	€6.67/hl	€6.67/hl
11-15º Plato	€8.38/hl	€8.38/hl	€8.38/hl	€8.38/hl	€8.87/hl	€8.87/hl
15-19º Plato	€11.43/hl	€11.43/hl	€11.43/hl	€11.43/hl	€12.09/hl	€12.09/hl
>19º Plato	€0.77/hl/º Plato	€0.77/hl/º Plato	€0.77/hl/º Plato	€0.77/hl/º Plato	€0.81/hl/º Plato	€0.81/hl/º Plato
Source: Cerveceros de Espana Notes: pre-2001 amounts converted from pesetas. VAT is an additional 16%.

What do my scores mean?
< 25	positively unpleasant
25 - 40	has its faults
40-50	OK
50-60	reasonably good
60-70	above average - definitely worth trying
70-80	excellent - worth hunting for
80 >	world class - you must try it

Spanish Breweries

Listings

Artesanos de la Cerveza La Fabrica
Centro Comercial Plaza de Armas,
Torreón Princesa,
Plaza Legion 1
41001 Seville.
Tel: 954 90 88 28
Fax:
Email:
http://www.lafabrica-cerveceros.com

Founded: 1992
Annual production:

Beer	alc	Plato	Description	score (100)
Rubia			Pale lager. Unfiltered.
Tostada			Dark lager. Unfiltered.

Brewpub in a former train station..

Cervezas Alhambra
Avenida de Murcia 1,
18012 Granada.
Tel: 0958 185 050
Fax: 0958 163 162
comercial@CervezasAlhambra.com
http://www.cervezasalhambra.com/

Founded: 1925
Annual production:

Beer	alc	Plato	Description	score (100)
Alhambra Premium Lager	4.6%	10.8º	Pale lager - Clásica.
Alhambra Reserva 1925	6.4%	15º	Pale lager - Extra.
Alhambra Especial	5.4%	13º	Pale lager - Especial.
Alhambra Negra	5.4%	13º	Dark lager.
Star	4.6%	10.8º	Pils.

Independent. Bought by private investors in 1995. In 1999 they bought the Compañía Andaluza de Cervezas in Córdoba and still operate the brewery there.

Compañía Andaluza de Cervezas
Poligono Las Quemadas,
Carretera Nacional IV,
14014 Córdoba.
Tel.: 0957 499 400
Fax: 0957 325 372
comercial@CervezasAlhambra.com
http://www.cervezasalhambra.com/

Founded:
Annual production:

Beer	alc	Plato	Description	score (100)
Sureña	4.6%		Pale lager - Clásica.
Mezquita	7.2%		Amber bock.

Owned by Cervezas Alhambra.

La Cervesera Artesana
C/ Sant Agustí 14,
08012 Barcelona.
Tel: 93 237 95 94
Fax:
Email: info@lacervesera.net
http://www.lacervesera.net

Founded:
Annual production:

Beer	alc	Plato	Description	score (100)
I.P.A (Iberian Pale Ale)	5%	1045°	IPA. Top-fermented. Brewed from Maris Otter Pale, Crystal and Chocolate malts and Galena, Northern Brewer and Cascade hops.
I.S. (Iberian Stout)	5%	1045°	Stout. Top-fermented. Brewed from Maris Otter Pale, Crystal, Chocolate and Black malts and Galena, Northern Brewer and Cascade hops.
Tangerine Ale	5.5%	1050°	Amber spiced ale. Top fermented. Brewed from Maris Otter pale and crystal and black malts and Galena, Northern Brewer and Cascade hops. Spiced with fresh ginger and tangerine peel.
Honey Ale	5%	1045°	Amber Ale. Top fermented. Brewed from Maris Otter pale and crystal malts and Galena, Northern Brewer and Cascade hops. Flavoured with honey. Seasonal.
Bronze Ale	5%	1054°	Amber spiced ale. Top fermented. Brewed from Maris Otter pale and crystal and chocolate malts and Galena, Northern Brewer and Cascade hops. Spiced with fresh ginger and corianer. Seasonal.

Brewpub.

Calvin's Beer
C/Luis I, 71,
Nave 22,
28031 Madrid.
http://www.calvinsbeer.es

Founded: 2006
Annual production: 1,000 hl

Beer	alc	Plato	Description	score (100)
Calvin´s Rubia	4.8%		Top-fermented wheat beer.
Calvin´s Tostada	4.8%		Dark, Munich-style lager.
Calvin´s Negra			Dakr Lager - Schwarzbier.

Microbrewery.

Compañía Cervecería de Canarias
Crtra. Gral. La Cuesta-Taco, Km. 0,5
38000 La Laguna - Tenerife.
Tel: +34 22661338
http://www.ccc.es/

Founded: 1948
Annual production:

Beer	alc	Plato	Description	score (100)
Dorado Pilsen			Pale lager - Clásica.
Dorado Especial			Pale lager - Especial.
Tropical Pils	4.7%		Pale lager - Clásica.
Tropical Premium	5.1%		Pale lager - Especial.

Owned by SABMiller.

Les Clandestines

Email: cervesa@lesclandestines.net
http://lesclandestines.net/

Founded:
Annual production:

Beer	alc	Plato	Description	score (100)
4 maltes	4.5%		Dark beer.
Negra	5.8%		Dark beer.
Biològica	3.5%		Amber, organic beer.
Garrofa	5%
Farigola	5%

Microbrewery.

Damm
Roselló 515,
08025 Barcelona.
Tel.: 093 290 92 00
http://www.damm.es/

Founded: 1876
Annual production: 5,000,000 hl.

Beer	alc	Plato	Description	score (100)
Xibeca Damm Classic	4.6%		Pale lager - Clásica.
Estrella Damm	5.4%		Pale lager - Especial.
Voll-Damm Extra	7.2%		Amber lager - Extra.
Bock-Damm	5.4%		Dark lager - Münchener. Despite the name, not a bock.
AK Damm	4.8%		Pale lager - Clásica. This is one AK that does get its name from someone's initials - August Kuentzmann Damm.

Independent brewery. It also has breweries in Madrid and Valencia.bought from Heineken.

The founder, August Kuentzmann Damm, moved to Barcelona from the Alsace at the end of the 19th century. He seems to have borne an extraordinary resemblence to Josef Stalin.

Cerveses La Gardènia
C/ Comte 14,
Poliogon Industrial Les Roques,
43460 Alcover - Tarragona.
Email: beu@rosita.cat
http://www.rosita.cat/

Founded: 2008
Annual production:

Beer	alc	Plato	Description	score (100)
Rosita	5.5%		Unfiltered, pale, top-fermented beer..

Microbrewery.

Estrella de Levante
Calle Mayor 171,
30100 Espinardo.
Tel.: 0968 879 800
Fax: 0968 879 869
http://www.estrellalevante.es/

Founded: 1963
Annual production: 1,000,000 hl (2004, capacity)

Beer	alc	Plato	Description	score (100)
Estrella Levante Clasica	4.8%	11.6º	Pale lager - Clásica.
Estrella Levante Especial	5.4%	13º	Pale lager - Especial.

Owned by Damm.

Heineken España (formerly El Alcázar)
Carretera Córdoba,
23005 Jaén.
Tel: 0953 250 947
http://www.heineken.es

Founded: 1928
Annual production: 900,000 hl (2000)

Heineken España (formerly Juan y Teodor Kutz)
Polígono Irakurri,
Arano.

Founded:
Annual production:

Heineken España
Madrid.

Founded:
Annual production:

Heineken España (formerly La Cruz del Campo)
40180 Sevilla.
http://www.cruzcampo.es/

Founded: 1904
Annual production:

Heineken España
Carretera Nacional num. III Km. 338,
Cuart de Poblet,
Valencia.

Founded:
Annual production:

Beer	alc	Plato	Description	score (100)
Cruz Del Sur	4.5%		Pale lager - Clásica.
Cruzcampo Pilsner	4.8%		Pale lager - Clásica.
Cruzcampo Seleccion Especial	5.7%		Pale lager - Especial.
Amstel Reserva	6%		Pale lager.
Amstel Águila	5%		Pale lager - Clásica.
Amstel Oro			Pale lager.
Amstel 1870			Pils.
Alcázar	5.4%		Pale lager - Especial.
Legado de Yuste	6.5%		Amber abbey beer. "The first Spanish abbey beer" according to Heineken. They give no indication, sadly, as to whether it's top- or bottom-fermented.

Owned by Heineken. In 1999 Heineken bought the five breweries of the Cruzcampo group from Diageo (Guinness). Spanish regulators made it sell two of the breweries in then owned - in Madrid and Valencia - (along with certain brands) to Damm.

As is usual with globalists, there's no indication where any particular beer is brewed. Which is why I have a single list of beers here. In fact, Heineken seem to want to keep the number and location of their breweries a secret, too.

Heineken España output (hl)
year	output
2000	10,500,000
2001	10,410,000
2002	9,930,000
2003	10,800,000
Source: Heineken website

Output of the Cruzcampo group (hl)
year	output	year	output	year	output	year	output
1905	7,308	1929	79,188	1953	174,185	1977	1,832,758
1906	12,533	1930	78,164	1954	212,926	1978	1,959,711
1907	15,375	1931	62,352	1955	231,717	1979	2,112,095
1908	16,522	1932	57,370	1956	247,472	1980	2,224,742
1909	14,184	1933	64,118	1957	331,038	1981	3,122,040
1910	14,331	1934	63,375	1958	371,531	1982	3,088,980
1911	15,061	1935	70,608	1959	389,994	1983	3,197,548
1912	18,645	1936	69,625	1960	411,381	1984	3,359,341
1913	20,746	1937	110,921	1961	527,417	1985	4,096,342
1914	20,618	1938	123,796	1962	562,067	1986	4,635,189
1915	19,734	1939	131,097	1963	650,987	1987	5,053,182
1916	23,992	1940	89,954	1964	722,899	1988	5,394,535
1917	28,314	1941	2,167	1965	751,384	1989	5,727,007
1918	24,853	1942	65,616	1966	846,929	1990	5,816,220
1919	26,195	1943	63,642	1967	945,560	1991	7,256,789
1920	31,608	1944	61,437	1968	1,082,657	1992	6,933,181
1921	32,265	1945	89,526	1969	1,128,810	1993	6,404,240
1922	32,030	1946	44,788	1970	1,282,508	1994	6,479,835
1923	37,847	1947	128,027	1971	1,218,107	1995	6,348,196
1924	43,749	1948	65,098	1972	1,228,066	1996	6,168,496
1925	41,872	1949	47,160	1973	1,486,455	1997	6,087,475
1926	55,481	1950	64,073	1974	1,641,004	1998	6,002,832
1927	56,845	1951	86,632	1975	1,786,903	1999	6,500,000
1928	62,640	1952	136,605	1976	1,828,516
Source: Cruzcampo website

Hijos De Rivera
Gambrinus 2,
15008 La Coruña.
Tel: 0981 - 16 80 17
Fax: 0981 - 16 80 45
comercial@estrellagalicia.es
http://www.estrellagalicia.es

Founded: 1906
Annual production:

Beer	alc	Plato	Description	score (100)
River			Pale lager.
HR	4.7%		Pale lager - Clásica. Ingredients: malt, maize, hops and E-300. Boiled sweet and syrup aroma; neutral taste with coriander aroma; bitterish finish with grass aroma. Has a slightly sickly smell (from the maize? - it reminds me of Cuban beer), is very bland in the mouth. The finish has the slightest trace of hops.	27
Estrella Galicia	5.5%	13º	Pale lager - Especial. Ingredients: malt, maize, hops and E-300. Cardboard and dust aroma; sweetish taste with a cardboard aroma; bitter finish with herbal, pepper and cardboard aromas. Tastes like a commercial Dutch pils - and that isn't a compliment. The bitterness in the finish garners it a few points. One for the sink.	19
1906	6.5%		Pale lager - Extra.

Independent brewery.

Llúpols i Llevats S.L.
Passatge Milans 48-50, 1r 1a,
L’Hospitalet de Llobregat,
08907 Barcelona.
Tel: 093 - 260 1150
Email: glops@llupolsillevats.com
http://www.llupolsillevats.com

Founded: 2005
Annual production: 250 hl

Beer	alc	Plato	Description	score (100)
Glops Blanca	4.4%	12º	Pale wheat beer. Unfiltered. An ale made with wheat (more than 50%), coriander and Saaz hops.
Glops Negra	4.5%	13.5º	Dark lager. Unfiltered.
Glops Lager	4.8%	13º	Pale lager - Helles. Uses Navarre and Saaz hops. Unfiltered.
Glops Fumada	5.1%	14º	Smoked lager brewed from 50% Bamberg smoked malt. Unfiltered.
Glops Munich	4.4%		Pale Lager. Unfiltered.
Glops Rossa	5.8%		Pils. Unfiltered.
Glops Fosca de Blat	4.5%		Dark wheat beer.. Unfiltered.
Glops D'Hivern	6.8%		Honey ale with rosemary. Unfiltered.

Microbrewery.

This is what the brewery says about its beers:

"Our lagers are fermented at 15ºC for one week, matured for three weeks at 8ºC and conditioned at 18ºC in the bottle. Our beers have just four ingredients: water, barley, hops and yeast. Unlike beers from large breweries, our beers contain no other sources of sugar, no additives, no added water and are not carbonated, etc.

Small-scale distribution allows us to keep our beer in tip-top condition. The best before date on the label is based on the date it was brewed and bottled (6 months after bottling). Beers that contain quality yeast can age for many years if kept cool. Beer never contains pathogens due to the antiseptic properties of alcohol and hops."

Cervecería Magister
Calle Principe 18,
28012 Madrid.
Tel: 915 210 140
Fax: 915 210 140
Email:
http://www.naturalbeer.net/

Founded:
Annual production:

Beer	alc	Plato	Description	score (100)
Magister Pilsen Rubia extra	5.5%		Pils. Unfiltered.
Magister Munich Tostada extra	5.8%		Dark lager. Unfiltered.
Magister Doble Bock super-extra	8.2%		Doppelbock. Unfiltered.

Brewpub.

Mahou
Paseo Imperial 32,
28005 Madrid.
Tel.: 091 526 91 00
http://www.mahou.es
http://www.mahou-sanmiguel.com/

Founded: 1890
Annual production:

Beer	alc	Plato	Description	score (100)
Mahou Clásica	4.8%		Pale lager - Clásica.
Mahou Cinco Estrellas	5.5%		Pale lager - Especial.
Mahou Negra	5.5%		Dark lager.
Mahou Ice	5.5%		Pale lager.
Carlsberg			Pils. Brewed under licence.
Reina	5.5%		Pale lager - Especial. Brewed to the Reinheitsgebot. Hence the name (it means "pure").
Kronenbourg 1664			Pils. Brewed under licence.

Part of Mahou-San Miguel.

Output of Mahou group
year	output (hl.)
2000	8,479,000
2001	9,309,000
2002	9,500,000
2003	10,295,000
2004	10,703,302
2005	11,196,734
Source: Mahou website

Mahou
Carretera N-II, km 47
19208 Alovera.
Tel.: 0949 270 138
http://www.mahou.es
http://www.mahou-sanmiguel.com/

Founded: 1993
Annual production: 12,000,000 hl (capacity, 2004)

Beer	alc	Plato	Description	score (100)
Mahou Clásica	4.8%		Pale lager - Clásica.
Mahou Cinco Estrellas	5.5%		Pale lager - Especial.
Mahou Negra	5.5%		Dark lager.
Mahou Ice	5.5%		Pale lager.
Carlsberg			Pils. Brewed under licence.
Reina	5.5%		Pale lager - Especial. Brewed to the Reinheitsgebot. Hence the name (it means "pure").
Kronenbourg 1664			Pils. Brewed under licence.

Part of Mahou-San Miguel. Supposedly the second largest brewery in Europe.

Companyia Cervesera del Montseny
Polígon Industrial l'Avellanet,
Del Feu 15
08554 - Sant Miquel de Balenya (Seva)
http://www.cerveseramontseny.com/

Founded: 2007
Annual production:

Beer	alc	Plato	Description	score (100)
Lupulus	5.4%		Unfiltered Iberian Ale.
Malta	5.1%		Unfiltered Pale Ale.
Negra	5.2%		Unfiltered Stout.
Blat	3.8%		Unfiltered Wheat Beer.

Microbrewery.

Cervezas Moritz S. A.
Ronda de Sant Antoni 39,
08011 Barcelona.
Tel: 93 423 5434
Fax:
Email: info@moritz.es
http://www.moritz.es/

Founded: 1856
Annual production:

Beer	alc	Plato	Description	score (100)
Moritz	5.4%		Pale lager.

Contract brewer. Founded by Louis Moritz who was born in Pfaffenhoffen in Alsace in 1830. The brewery stopped brewing in the 1970's. It started getting beers brewed in the La Zaragozana Brewery after 2000.

Moska

Girona.

Founded: 2008
Annual production:

Beer	alc	Plato	Description	score (100)
Moska Girona Torrada	5%
Moska Girona Rossa	5%		Amber beer.
Moska Girona Negra	5%		Dark beer.

Microbrewery.

Cervecería Naturbier
Plaza Santa Ana 9,
Madrid 28012.
Tel: 91 360 05 97
Fax: 91 303 12 63
Email:
http://www.cervecerianaturbier.com/

Founded:
Annual production:

Beer	alc	Plato	Description	score (100)
Natubier Tostadada	4.5%		Dark lager. Unfiltered.
Natubier Rubia			Pale lager. Unfiltered.

Brewpub.

San Miguel
Compte DUrgel, 240-8º,
08036 Barcelona.
Tel: 093 - 227 23 00
http://www.sanmiguel.es/

Founded: 1957
Annual production:

Beer	alc	Plato	Description	score (100)
San Miguel Especial	5.4%		Pale lager - Especial.
San Miguel Nostrum	6.1%	15º	Pale lager - Extra.
San Miguel 1516	4.2%		Pale lager. Brewed to the Reinheitsgebot. Hence the name.
San Miguel Eco	4.2%		Pale lager. Organic.

Part of Mahou-San Miguel. Bought by Mahou from Danone (Kronenbourg) in 2000.

San Miguel
Carretera Logrono,
90070 Burgos.
Tel: 0947 282 200
http://www.sanmiguel.es/

Founded:
Annual production:

Beer	alc	Plato	Description	score (100)
San Miguel Especial	5.4%		Pale lager - Especial.
San Miguel Nostrum	6.1%	15º	Pale lager - Extra.
San Miguel 1516	4.2%		Pale lager. Brewed to the Reinheitsgebot. Hence the name.
San Miguel Eco	4.2%		Pale lager. Organic.

Part of Mahou-San Miguel. Bought by San Miguel in 1970.

Cervecería El Vaso de Oro
c/ Balboa 6,
08003 Barcelona.
Tel: 933 193 098
Fax:
Email:
http://

Founded:
Annual production:

Beer	alc	Plato	Description	score (100)
Vaso de Oro Rubia	7%		Amber lager.

Brewpub.

La Zaragozana S.A.
Ramon Berenguer IV 1,
50007 Zaragoza.
Tel:
Fax:
Email:
http://www.ambar1900.com

Founded: 1900
Annual production: 500,000 hl

Beer	alc	Plato	Description	score (100)
Ambar Negra	4.8%		Dark lager.
Ambar 1900	4.8%		Pale ale.
Ambar Especial	5.2%		Pale lager.
Marlen	5.8%		Pale lager - Export.
Zaragozana Export	7%		Pale lager.
Moritz	5.4%		Pale lager.

Independent brewery.

Questions? Suggestions? Click to email me.

© Ron Pattinson 2006 - 2009

All articles and photos on these pages (unless otherwise stated) are property of Ron Pattinson. If you would like permission to reproduce either on your own site or in a book, please contact me first.