Spain: Mahou San Miguel opens collaborative space for domestic and international craft breweries

Mahou San Miguel has opened the first Brewhub in Spain, a collaborative space for domestic and international craft breweries to share ideas and develop beers, for sale in Spain and across Europe, BeverageDaily.com reported on March 29.
The €11 mln facility, next to the Mahou San Miguel brewery in Cordoba, is equipped with the latest technology to develop the craft segment at international level.

Alberto Rodríguez-Toquero, MD, Mahou San Miguel, said the company is committed to developing initiatives ‘that enable evolution and growth’.

“The craft movement is a clear example of this transformation and we wish to boost it through a project based on innovation and collaboration,” he said.

“This centre stems from the calling for becoming a point of reference in the artisan brewery sector at an international level.”

Initially, the Brewhub will have a production capacity of 50,000 hectolitres that, through continued expansion, will grow to 110,000 hectolitres and, potentially 500,000 hectolitres.

The facilities have been specifically designed to fulfil the requirements of craft production.

Mahou San Miguel has partnered with Javier Aldea, founder, Nómada Brewing, on the project who will become the manager of the Brewhub.

Mahou San Miguel has completed similar projects with North American artisan breweries founders Brewing and Avery Brewing, and the Spanish Nómada Brewing, boosting initiatives to grow the category and promote its beer.

The Brewhub is open to all nomad breweries that do not have their own plant or are looking to expand but don't have the facilities to do so, it can cater to various production styles and batches of any size, personalising the product in-situ and covering the entire production process, from conception to design, packaging and labels.

The facility houses three multi-option bottling lines, covering bottles, kegs and cans, and resources for oxidative maturation, cold conservation of non-pasteurised products and lager, ale, hybrid or mixed fermentation.

Mahou San Miguel has a total of 11 breweries, eight in Spain, one in India, two in the US, and four water springs with packaging plants, and employs more than 3,200 people.

Its portfolio includes; Mahou Cinco Estrellas, San Miguel Especial and Alhambra Reserva 1925; San Miguel 0,0, Mahou Barrica and San Miguel ECO, and brands suitable for coeliac sufferers such as San Miguel Gluten Free and Mahou Cinco Estrellas Sin Gluten.

It also has a range of international beers courtesy of agreements with Carlsberg and Warsteiner, and mineral water brands such as Solán de Cabras.

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