Mahou San Miguel, Spain’s leading brewing company, has continued its shopping tour and has bought a 70 percent stake in Brutus, a craft beer brand from Barcelona/Spain.
The company was founded in 2015 in the Catalan capital by Jordi Calvet, a fashion designer and consultant, together with his partner Carlo Pozzali. Brutus is an all natural artisanal beer, which is currently brewed and bottled in a small brewery in Bavaria, Germany. Following the acquisition, brewing will be transferred to Mahou San Miguel’s microbrewery in Alovera, Spain.
"We neither want to be the most Mediterranean nor the most Southerners, we want to be a global modern and cosmopolitan beer," says Jordi Calvet who will also retain the creative and commercial independence after the acquisition while leading the brand’s domestic and international strategy.
“We believe that Brutus is the ideal brand to allow us to continue to grow among a significant consumer segment who demand different brands, says Peio Arbeloa, managing director of Mahou San Miguel Spain. “This beer is a breath of fresh air for the category, with a unique personality that perfectly complements our portfolio and that will help us a lot in our premiumisation strategy”.
Members of the Mahou family founded the Hijos de Casimiro Mahou brewery in Madrid in 1890. In 2000, Mahou bought the remaining 70 percent it didn’t already own in the San Miguel brand from French multinational food company Danone Group, creating Mahou San Miguel. In 2004 it added the Cervezas Anaga and its Reina brand from the Canary Islands to its portfolio, followed in 2007 by Cervezas Alhambra. It furthermore diversified its business by purchasing mineral water company Solán de Cabras in 2011 and Aguas del Valle de La Orotava in 2018 (inside.beer, 11.4.2018).
In 2014 the company made its first step on the American continent and acquired a 30 percent stake in Founders Brewing Co., a leading U.S. craft brewer from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Three years later, in November 2017, Mahou San Miguel acquired on top 30 percent of Avery Brewing Co. from Boulder, Colorado (inside.beer, 28.11.2017) which it increased to 70 percent in April this year (inside.beer, 2.4.2019).
