Spanish beer giant branches out into wine
Madrid-based brewer Mahou San Miguel is launching a range of wine-based products on draft in a first for the Spanish group.
Mahou has been brewing beer for 135 years, opening its first facility on Amaniel Street in Madrid in 1890, but now the Spanish operation is about to embark on a new chapter by making its debut in the world of wine.
The company will roll out its new Los Cachis range of wine-based mixed drinks on bar taps across Spain over the coming months. It also plans to target young adult consumers by being prominent at the country’s most important festivals including the Feria de Málaga this year.
Included in the Los Cachis range are a classic Sangria and a Tinto Verano (a red wine and lemonade mix, minus the usual fruit and spices found in a typical Sangria), along with a Kalimotxo (wine and cola) and a Rebujito (Sherry and lemon soda). The Tinto de Verano option will also be available in 33cl bottles in the on-trade.
“This innovation complements the company’s product portfolio through the diversification of ready-to-serve drinks that are part of Spanish culture and have a wine base,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement. “They are aimed at a young adult audience and are designed for distinctive consumption moments.”
Why on tap?
While the decision to offer Las Cachis on draft might seem like a bold move, Mahou has a history of experimenting with draft and has continually applied new tech to develop its beer taps. From serving beer from a rudimentary wooden chest placed atop bars, with water, ice and salt added to keep the beer cool, the group then pioneered a system in 1966 which included the first beer tap arm to contain a stainless steel coil to ensure freshness and allow the pourer to regulate the pressure.
The company evolved its beer tap again a few years later, adding two simultaneous movements: one that poured the beer, while the other created the foam. By the ’80s these taps became ceramic to meet the fashion in Madrid bars. Not content to settle, Mahou later unveiled ‘The Ávila’ tap, which it said improved the
cooling system in the coil so that the beer comes out “freezing cold”. The new development was also the first that allowed bartenders to serve the beer first, and then the foam, rather than both at the same time.
All this attention to detail is likely to serve the new Los Cachis range, which sits at about 4.1%ABV, well.
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Acquisition trail
In 2000, Mahou acquired 70% of the San Miguel beer brand from the Danone Group, adding it to the 30% stake it already held to form the wholly Spanish-owned brewery group Mahou San Miguel.
And it wasn’t long before the group began looking further afield, in the direction of US craft beer, to further its expansion plans. It snapped up a 90% stake in the Michigan-based Founders Brewing Co. in 2020, and recently bought the remaining 10% in March 2025 to complete full ownership of the business. Mahou San Miguel said last month that owning Founders Brewing “strengthens its business” in the US, which is a “key territory” for the group.
The Spanish brewer also owns a majority share (70%) in Colorado’s Avery Brewing, and it recently brought Founders and Avery together on a new platform, Mahou USA. “Combining Founders and Avery with Mahou Imports into Mahou USA will enable us to compete on another level within the marketplace, which will bring a refreshing change as we move through 2023 and beyond,” said Elton Andres Knight, CEO of Mahou USA.
UK distribution shake-up
At the end of last year, Mahou San Miguel also decided to shake up its distribution in the UK when it ended its long-term, exclusive license partnership with Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company (CMBC). Handing over the reins to Budweiser Brewing Group to distribute and promote both its flagship brands, Mahou San Miguel managing director Alberto Rodríguez-Toquero explained that the decision “marks a new chapter for Mahou San Miguel in the UK”.
“The UK is an important market for San Miguel and we are confident that Budweiser Brewing Group will succeed in fulfilling our ambitious plans for the brand,” he said.
Also included in Mahou San Miguel’s portfolio are brands Alhambra, Reina, Nomada and La Salve, as well as La Prohibida cider.
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