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Where is Mahou Cinco Estrellas brewed?

Mixed supply Partly verified Last checked 5 September 2026

The UK supply of Mahou Cinco Estrellas is split between imported stock and stock brewed in Britain. Check the small print on the pack.

4.8%

5.5%

Spain

The UK version is 0.7 percentage points weaker than the version sold in Spain, a cut of 12.7%.

Brewed for the UK in

AB InBev UK Limited sites (Magor and/or Samlesbury), not individually named on pack

Mixed supply

Sold as a beer from

Spain

Spanish name, Madrid heritage, 'The World's Most Awarded Spanish Lager' and 'The Unmistakable Five Star Taste' claims

Brewed in (country)

Mixed

Brand owner

Mahou San Miguel

HQ: Madrid, Spain

UK rights held by

Budweiser Brewing Group UK&I (AB InBev UK Limited), exclusive UK sales, marketing and distribution since July 2021 (under licence)

UK strength

4.8%

Strength at home (Spain)

5.5%

UK Mahou cans are 4.8% at every retailer checked. Spanish retail listings give 5.5% for Mahou Cinco Estrellas, while Mahou's own English-language brand page states 5.1% Vol, and Ocado's imported 330ml bottle listing also shows 5.1%. The Spanish figure is therefore itself in dispute: 5.5% appears to be the classic Spanish domestic specification and 5.1% the figure Mahou now publishes in English.

Style

Spanish Lager

Brand created

1969, Spain

Brewed at home in

Mahou S.A., Calle Titan 15, Madrid, Spain

What the UK label says

“Retailers disagree. Morrisons 10x440ml fridge pack: 'Country of Origin: United Kingdom' and 'Brewed by: AB InBev UK Limited, EC4A 1EN. Mahou S.A. InBev Belgium, Bd Industriel 21, B-1070 Brussels, Belgium.' Morrisons 4x440ml: 'Country Of Origin: Spain' and 'Brewed by: Mahou S.A. Calle Titan, 15 Madrid, Spain. and Canned by: AB InBev UK Limited, EC4A 1EN.' Sainsbury's 4x440ml: 'Spain (Packed in United Kingdom)'. Waitrose cans: country of origin Spain, brewed by Mahou S.A., canned by AB InBev UK Limited. Ocado 4x330ml bottles: 'Spain', 'Mahou S.A., C/ Titan no 15, Madrid, Spain', 5.1%.”

Source: groceries.morrisons.com

Partly verified

At least one of those three claims rests on a secondary source or an inference, a disagreement between sources is still open, or a split supply has a format that has not been read.

VERIFIED: the UK can ABV of 4.8% at four separate retailers; the 2021 transfer of UK rights to Budweiser Brewing Group; and the fact that retailer origin data genuinely conflicts, with two SKUs at the SAME retailer (Morrisons) giving different countries of origin and different brewers. Tesco could not be checked: its product pages returned 404 to automated fetching. NOT VERIFIED: which is currently correct. No AB InBev or Mahou San Miguel statement, and no trade-press report, was found confirming that AB InBev has begun brewing Mahou in the UK, naming a site, or dating any switch from Spanish-brewed, UK-canned supply. The 2010 start of Carlsberg UK brewing is stated in the brief but no source for it was found in this research. The single most valuable next step is a photograph of the base and side panel of a current 440ml can alongside its outer multipack, plus a direct enquiry to Budweiser Brewing Group UK&I.

The small print on the base of a current can or bottle, giving the producer name and address, would settle this.

In short

The UK supply of Mahou Cinco Estrellas is split: some of what reaches the shelf is imported and some is brewed here. The imported share comes from Mahou S.A., Calle Titan 15, Madrid in Spain. The can in your hand could be either, so check the producer address in the small print. In Spain the same beer is 5.5%. Here it is 4.8%, which is 0.7 percentage points weaker. The brand belongs to Mahou San Miguel.

Who has brewed it here

Years	Brewer	Site	Source
2010 to 2021	Carlsberg UK (UK brewing and distribution)	Northampton	None recorded
2021 to now	Budweiser Brewing Group UK&I took exclusive UK sale, marketing and distribution from 19 July 2021	AB InBev UK	betterretailing.com

What changed

5 September 2026: supermarket_notes was "Ocado, Waitrose, selected big-four premium Spanish bay — less ubiquitous than San Miguel", now "Ocado, Waitrose, selected big-four premium Spanish bay, less ubiquitous than San Miguel"

Questions people ask