SPAIN'S most 'distinguished' beer is Mahou – it's official, according to the company's latest award count: In 2022 alone, the brand earned 98 medals, of which 38 were gold, in some of the most prestigious international competitions.
Mahou beer in its original brown glass bottle, before paper labels were introduced, when it was described as ‘Pilsen-type’ to the uninitiated Spanish public (photo: Pam Pam Pam/Wikimedia Commons) and in its modern-day format, now international, and shown here in a tapas bar in Brussels, Belgium (photo: Abi Skipp/Wikimedia Commons)
The annual Brand Footprint report, by the consultancy firm Kantar, says Mahou is Spain's 'most appreciated' make, having earned special mentions at 16 global beer events and netted over 320 prizes in the past five years.
In fact, it has been named top brand in Spain continuously since 2018 inclusive, something Mahou-San Miguel marketing director Emmanuel Pouey says is 'a source of great pride' for the company.
“This is especially true when you consider that the beer industry is in constant evolution,” Pouey admits.
“Ending the year by achieving our ongoing aim of being the best is what spurs us on to continue producing the highest-quality products ahead of 2023.”
Among the awards Mahou has collected are 32 medals from nine different countries for its Cinco Estrellas label, and its alcohol-free version – the Mahou 0,0 Tostada – is once again one of its most-distinguished products, netting eight prizes.
Mahou's 'premium' varieties, the Maestra and Barrica, have each earned around a dozen awards.
A foreign concept that took off in Spain
Now 132 years old, the company was founded in Madrid as Hijos de Casimiro Mahou – 'Sons of Casimiro Mahou' – and was somewhat ground-breaking when it launched, given that Spain had long been a country of grape-growing and wine-producing tradition, where beer and ale were not mainstream until well into the 20th century.
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