THE BEER OF MALAGA. SINCE 1928

The story of Victoria beer is closely tied to the history of the city of Malaga. “Malagueña y Exquisita”, which means “From Malaga and Exquisite”, is not just a slogan but also the philosophy of the beer from Malaga.

Archivo de Anuncios Diana.

A BEGINNING SYMBOLISED BY THE PATRON SAINT OF MALAGA

The Cervezas Victoria story begins on the 8th of September 1928, the feast day of Santa Maria de la Victoria, Patron Saint of Malaga, from where the beer gets its name. The Franquelo family opened the first brewery in the city’s El Perchel neighbourhood, with the aim of creating exquisite Malaga beer.

Cervezas Victoria was founded with the mission of pursuing excellence. Excellence which was to be found where the best beer was made: German master brewers and their machinery joined up with the local Malaga approach.

Archivo de Pedro Portillo Franquelo.

The tides of history

The Civil War lasted just seven months in Malaga, but its consequences affected the city forever. Cervezas Victoria also suffered the adversities of the conflict and was forced to close.

It was not until 1937, in a climate of scarcity and international isolation, that brewing began again. Cervezas Victoria was now the only brewery in Malaga and one of the most important in Southern Spain.

Archivo de Pedro Portillo Franquelo.

The Victoria german

During this new beginning the famous Cervezas Victoria advert was born, featuring a typical German tourist of the time, holding his boater hat, drying the sweat from his forehead, with a refreshing glass of beer and the slogan “Malagueña y exquisita” (From Malaga and Delicious).

With the tourist boom of the 1960s, the friendly Victoria German became the icon of the city, bringing with him prosperity. This called for a bigger brewery, changes in production methods and a different alcohol content to suit the public's new tastes.

Imagen cedida por la familia Franquelo

FURTHER CHALLENGES

Between 1967 and 1968, the Alameda Expansion Plan led to the relocation of the brewery to the Intelhorce area of the city. Due to the law at the time, these very large new facilities required new machinery and very high minimum production levels.

These were difficult years during which, despite the problems, Cervezas Victoria continued to support and sponsor sports and cultural events in Malaga.

 

A new brewery for a new beginning

On the 7th of September 2017, the 89th anniversary of the founding of Cervezas Victoria, a new brewery was inaugurated: a modern building with state-of-the-art machinery for the production of Victoria beers, which is also a cultural space for the city.

New foundations for what was, is and always will be the authentic Malaga beer.