Master Brewers Association of the Americas

A Brief History of the Brewing Industry in Venezuela

At the time District Venezuela received its charter from the MBAA in 1958, the brewing industry in the country was made up of eleven breweries: four small ones (Cervecería Venezolana de Maiquetía on the coast near Caracas, Cervecería Andes in Palmira, Táchira state – both with ties to the Cervecera Nacional group – Cervecería Unión in Boleita/Caracas and Cervecería La Llanera, in Maracay, Aragua state), two medium sized breweries (Cervecería Regional in Maracaibo, Zulia state and Cervecería Heineken, in Boleita/Caracas), four large breweries (Cervecería Polar Los Cortijos, in Caracas, Cervecería de Oriente, in Barcelona, Anzoategui state, – both of the Cervecería Polar C. A. group – and Cervecería Zulia, Maracaibo, and Cervecería de Caracas – both of the C. A. Cervecera Nacional group) and one very small brewery, Cervecería de Antimano in Caracas, the original plant of Cervecería Polar.

As of 1975, the sky rocketing prices of oil brought on sales increases of around ten percent per year, thus forcing all the breweries to produce at their full capacity. This induced Cervecería Polar to start construction of a plant in San Joaquin, near Valencia, Carabobo state, and Cervecera Nacional followed suit by starting construction of two breweries, one in Maturin, Monagas state (adjoining Bolivar state, which was thought to be the next biggest population center) and in Barquisimeto, Lara state (midway between Caracas and Maracaibo). Although they started producing high-gravity beer, it wasn’t until the Cervecería del Centro of the Polar group came on stream in 1978 that there was excess capacity in the industry. The Cervecera Nacional sales soon suffered, so much so that they pulled the plug on the Maturin construction, closed the Cervecería Andes, the bottling plant in Barcelona and, as the Barquisimeto plant went on stream in 1980, Cervecería Zulia as well.

Near the end of the 1980s, a banker started buying up C. A. Cervecera Nacional shares, with the intention of eventually selling out to an international brewing group. This forced Cervecería Polar to enter the battle for control of Cervecera Nacional which they eventually won in 1987. In 1993 the Boleita plant was closed and the Barquisimeto brewery was sold to Companhia Cervejeira Brahma of Brazil. In 1997Cervecería Regional del Centro initiated operations in Cagua (near Maracay), Aragua state. This latter period saw a micro-brewery start up and close down in the island of Margarita, Nueva Esparta state and the year 2000 saw a small brewery, Cervecería Tovar C. A., spring up in Colonia Tovar, near Caracas. This latter brewery sort of closed the cicle at the start of the new millennium, inasmuch as the first European style brewery in Venezuela was built in Colonia Tovar early in the 1840s.

According to the book Historia de la Industria Cervecera en Venezuela, by Juan M. Morales Álvarez, published in Caracas in 1992 by the Brewing Chamber of Commerce, the Tovar Colony had its beginnings in 1840 “with the immigration of germans, principally from the Baden region”. In 1844 “groundwork for a brewery was begun” in Colonia Tovar, now considered to be the first real brewery in Venezuela. The difficulty in transporting the beer to the more populous cities of Caracas and Maracay impeded its financial success and in “1863 the colony was invaded by troops, the fields were sacked and the brewing plant was wrecked.”

Of the brewing groups in existence in 1958, that with the longest history would have to be the C. A. Cervecera Nacional, inasmuch as, according to Morales Alvarez, “the origins of the brewing industry in Venezuela goes back to 1897”, although “the brewery – initially called Cervecer ía Nacional – installed in Caracas by the Sociedad Mercantil Mosquera hijo y Cia. was officially inaugurated on August 3 of 1889.” The financial situation of the company made it necessary to “allow the entry of new investors, creating as of april 20, 1893, the Compañía Anónima Cervecer ía Nacional. This brewery, with modifications of its legal status, still exists today (1992) and is the oldest in the country. We are referring, of course, to C. A. Cervecer a Nacional.”

The breweries which formed a part of Cervecera Nacional in 1958 were:

Cervecería Zulia which was founded in 1925 and later merged with the older Cervecería de Maracaibo – founded in 1897 – to form Cervecerías Unidas Zulia y Maracaibo until 1945, when, upon ceasing operations Cervecería de Maracaibo, it returned to its original name of Cervecería Zulia. In 1955 it was integrated to Cervecera Nacional.
Cervecería Venezolana de Maiquetía, founded in 1912, was closely related to Cervecería de Caracas and eventually, in 1955, it closed ranks with this brewery and Cervecería Zulia to form C. A. Cervecera Nacional.
Cervecería de Caracas, “the continuation of Cervecer ía Nacional inasmuch as it was established – in April of 1925 – in the same instalation of Cervecería Nacional . . . in Candelaria (Caracas).”
Cervecería Andes in Palmira, Tachira state, was founded in 1952, but after abandoning an attempt to unite with Cervecería La Llanera and Cervecería Unión, only “maintained its independence until 1958, when it was integrated with Cervecera Nacional.”

Cervecería Regional in Maracaibo is the oldest brewing installation in Venezuela as it was founded in 1929 “with mostly local investment. The brewery, which still exists today after many expansions and modernizations, was built on the shore of Lake Maracaibo, guaranteeing easy supply of equipment and raw materials. . .”. It is now a part of the Diego Cisneros Organization.

The Polar group started operating in a plant in Antimano in Caracas in the less than fortunate year of 1941, with World War II long since in full flower, months before Pearl Harbor. Morales Alvarez mentions that the only filler of the brewery had six filling valves. This plant continued operating until 1960 (which by this time was reduced to filling cans of beer brought from the Los Cortijos plant by tank truck); some of our members started their careers in this brewery. The second brewery of the group, Cervecería de Oriente, started operations in Barcelona in 1950. In 1951 “the third plant, that of Los Cortijos in Caracas, was established, progresively substituting the production of the Antimano plant.” In 1961 Cervecería Modelo in Maracaibo started brewing and in 1978 Cervecería del Centro in San Joaquin, near Valencia, came on stream.

Cervecería Heineken was established in Boleita/Caracas in 1950 upon purchasing the brewery of Cervecería La Criolla – founded in 1949 – but eventually sold its plant to C. A. Cervecera Nacional in 1961.

Cervecería La Llanera in Maracay started opeating as Cervecería Aragua – registered in 1947 – when it closed shop in 1952. “It operated until the early ‘60s, when the brewery began to lose money.”

Cervecería Union in Boleita/Caracas started operating in 1948. By 1960 it had become a part of Cervecera Nacional and upon the purchase of the Heineken brewery it moved its operacions to the other side of the Tocome Creek; the instalation was expanded, absorbing the production of both the original Cervecería Union plant as well as the production of Cervecería de Caracas which were then closed. The expanded Heineken installation maintained the name of Cervecería Union C. A. until it was closed in 1993.

We have left out several breweries (Cervecería Águila in Caracas, Cervecería de Bolívar and the Nueva Cervecería de Bolívar, in Ciudad Bolívar, Cervecería de Puerto Cabello y Valencia, among others) which had brief existences but succumbed to financial difficulties. The book Historia de la Industria Cervecera en Venezuela has them all and is recommended reading.