It Is The Most Interesting Brewery In The World

Location of Origin: Alfonso Reyes 2202, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, 64410, Mexico
Date Established: 1890
Category: Subsidiary (of Heineken Mexico) Macrobrewery With Widespread National and International Distribution (Western Hemisphere), More than 7 Facilities, And 26,332,000 Barrels of Annual Output.

Any TV watching American can easily identify one of the main products of this Mexican brewery by their use of Johnathan Goldsmith as "The Most Interesting Man In The World" ads for Dos Equis lager. And while their beer may not be on the top of our favorites list, the Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma Brewery in Monterrey has quite the story to tell. The Cuauhtemoc brewery was founded by a group of business partners in 1890, using a modest initial investment of 150,000 Pesos of capital (About $12,000). The brewery produced its first barrel of lager three years later, and the beer won first prize at both the Chicago and Paris World Fairs. Following this initial success, the brewery expanded rapidly, integrating vertically. This expansion continued through the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. Unfortunately, the founders of the brewery supported then current president, Victoriano Huerta, who was eventually overthrown and replaced by Venustiano Carranza. Carranza seized the brewery, forcing the founders' families to flee to Texas. After both US and Russian diplomats intervened, the brewery was given back to the founders. Cuauhtemoc's workers created the Cociedad Cuauhtemoc in 1918 as a sort of union, increasing benefits, creating a welfare system, and reducing work day hours. This was done to avoid strikes. In 1973, one of the three heads of the company, Eugenio Garza Sada, was assassinated by left-wing guerrillas during a kidnapping attempt. The company restructured after the assassination into two holding companies. Only four years later, the brewery holding company VISA was in over a billion dollars in debt, further hampered with the Mexican recession which followed the oil price drop in 1981. Family problems including lawsuits soon followed, putting the whole operation in jeopardy. One of the suits against the CEO of the company was dropped as a result of government corruption. After that, the brewery merged with Moctezuma in 1985, bringing several popular brands with it. In 1994, the beverage parent of the new merged company, FEMSA, sold 22% of its brewing business to John Labatt Ltd. (now a part of AB Inbev), allowing further distribution of their products in the United States. FEMSA sold the remainder of its beer business to Heineken International N.V. in 2010. FEMSA remains the largest beverage company in Mexico and Latin America, is the largest independent bottler of Coca-Cola in the world, and as a result of the 2010 transaction, is the second largest shareholder in Heineken International, with a 20% stake (after Heineken Holding N.V.).

Reviewed Beer from Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma Brewery


None Yet.

All rated Beer from Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma Brewery

11-07-15 - Tecate Light - 1.92, Mexican Light Lager, 3.70%
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11-07-15 - Dos Equis Amber - 2.40, Vienna Lager, 4.70%
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Date Expurgated - Tecate - 2.45, Mexican Lager, 4.40%

Date Expurgated - Dos Equis XX - 2.14, Mexican Lager, 4.80%