Mahou (beer)

Mahou is a brand of beer brewed by the Spanish brewer Mahou-San Miguel Group. The Mahou brewery was founded in Madrid in 1890. Its most popular beer is Mahou 5 Estrellas (Mahou 5 Stars).

Mahou is the quintessential beer of people from Madrid. It was born in parallel to the modernization of Spanish society in the 19th century. The beer brand has witnessed, in its 125 years of life, changes in Spain’s history and across the world. Mahou is a Spanish beer that belongs to the Mahou-San Miguel group, one of the main beer companies of the country in the 21st century. The brand name refers to the surname of the family that owned the brewery for more than a century. The beginning of this beer's history traces back to 1890 and its creator Casimiro Mahou Beirhans, an entrepreneur of German origin that decided to found the family company El ARCO Iris which would later become the pioneer company in Spain for beer production.

After his death, his Spanish children, with the surname Mahou Solana, opened the factory Al Vapor de Colores, Barnices y Hielo Fábrica de Cerveza. The family company evolved with the city of Madrid and the success and sales of their beer caused the rest of the products made by the factory to remain in the background so in the end the name became Fábrica de Hielo y Cervezas, which became popular at the time for the quality of its beer production in a country with a strong wine tradition.

Spanish beer has always relied on great engineers for the production phase in its factories and imported the most innovative machinery of the time from Germany. The first brewing master, Konrad Stauffer, worked for Mahou for more than half a century, since the opening of the Amaniel factory and until his death. It wasn't until the mid 19th century that the beer was made available for all social classes concurrently with the growth of Madrid from the end of the century and into the beginning of the 20th century. At this time Mahou joined the beer production industry in the capital and got up to six breweries; quite a social milestone since until then drink in Spain was a luxury reserved only for kings and the upper classes.

Since 1890, Mahou has been a symbol of modernity, a common ground that unites couples, friends, colleagues and family members. One of the children of the founder, Alfredo Mahou y Solana, picked No. 29 Calle Amaniel to open the first beer factory, Mahou: the Ice and Beer factory.

The Mahou factory, located in the popular neighborhood of Chamberi, began producing on February 1, 1891. By 1928 it had a range of up-to-date machinery for the production of beer: refrigeration compressors for the malting of barley, a Ziemman boiler room and a two-story toaster. The factory was supplied with the most innovative ingredients and distribution methods to date in the field. One of the most prosperous periods for the Spanish beer company was the time between 1900 and 1930. Amaniel became one of the most popular and frequented places by residents between 1952 and 1954. Because the head of the company was on of the forerunners in photography, a photo studio was created in which production techniques were continually innovated. The studio even became known as the premier meeting point in Madrid, since its esteemed that various businesses and activities were held in the same space.

...
Wikipedia