History
The Backus and Johnston brewery was founded in 1879 by the Americans Jacob Backus and John Howard Johnston in the Rímac District in Lima. In 1889, the two founders incorporated "The Backus and Johnston's Brewery Company Ltd" in London, and they transferred all their Peruvian brewery related assets to this new corporation in order to raise investment capital in the joint stock of London to continue their business growth. The founders continued as managing directors of the company until 1898 when Johnston left Peru; Backus died in 1899. The company operated as a British corporation until 1954, when the company management transferred the company assets and incorporation to Peru. At this time, The Backus and Johnston's Brewery Company Ltd was renamed as Cervecería Backus & Johnston S.A. In 1994 Backus and Johnston acquired a controlling interest in its rival on the Peruvian beer market, the National Beer Company (Compañía Nacional de Cerveza S.A.), formed in 1863; owner of the ''Pilsen Callao'' brand. In 1996 four breweries, including Backus and Johnston merged into one new company using the name Union of Peruvian breweries Backus and Johnston ( es, Unión de Cervecerías Peruanas Backus y Johnston S.A.A.). In 2000 the company further expanded when the Brewery Company of Southern Peru (Cervesur) joined the union, making it owner of the popular ''Cusqueña'' brand. From 2005 to 2016, Backus and Johnston was part of the SABMiller group of breweries. The company still owns the prominently visible brewery in the Rímac district.Breweries
Backus owns breweries in various parts of Peru. Its main brewery is located in Lima, while the other breweries are still located in the parts of Peru they used to serve before the take-over by Backus and Johnston. * Ate brewery in Lima (now ''Cristal'', ''Cusqueña'', ''Barena'' and ''Polar'' ) * Motupe brewery in Chiclayo (now ''Cristal'' and ''Pilsen Callao'') * Trujillo brewery in Trujillo, Peru, Trujillo (former ''Pilsen Trujillo'', now ''Cristal'', ''Pilsen Callao'' and ''Pilsen Trujillo'') * Arequipa brewery in Arequipa (former ''Arequipeña'', now ''Arequipeña'', ''Cristal'', ''Cusqueña'' and ''Pilsen Callao'') * Cusco brewery in Cusco (former ''Cusqueña'', now ''Cristal'', ''Pilsen Trujillo'', ''Cusqueña'' and ''Pilsen Callao'') * Pucallpa brewery in Pucallpa (former ''San Juan'', now ''Cristal'', ''Pilsen Callao'' and ''San Juan'')Brands
Beers
Backus and Johnston and Grupo Empresarial Bavaria own most of the popular beer brands in Peru, including: ''San Juan'', a 5% abv pale lager. San Juan is brewed in the Backus brewery located in Pucallpa. Before the take-over by Backus, San Juan was brewed by Cervecería San Juan S.A.A. This brewery was founded on 2 September 1971 in Pucallpa in the Ucayali Region and named after San Juan Bautista. ''Cusqueña'' is one of Peru's most ubiquitous brands. It has been traditionally produced in a "''dorada''" (golden) and a "''negra''" (black) styles. The latter is typical of a lighter porter, not quite as dark as most stouts. In recent years ''Cusqueña'' has also been sold in red lager, ''trigo'' (wheat), and quinoa variants. ''Arequipeña'' was a rival product to Cusqueña and Cristal until the take-over by Grupo Empresarial Bavaria. ''Arequipeña'' is brewed in the Cervecera del sur del Peru brewery located in Sachaca near Arequipa, Peru. Barena; Cristal ''Cusqueña'' is a light lager, or a dark malted beer. Some label designs were created by Barry Laughlin. * Callao is a 5% abv pilsener (pale lager); the brand was originally owned by the National Beer Company, which was acquired by Backus and Johnston in 1994. * Trujillo (beer), Trujillo (pilsener) TrujilloSoft drinks
The soft drinks owned by Backus include ''Viva'', a beverage similar to Inca Kola and ''Guaraná'', a beverage containing guaraná fruit. * Guaraná (Backus), Guaraná * Viva (beverage), Viva * Saboré (beverage), Saboré (this product line was terminated in 2008)Bottled water
Bottled water is produced under the brand names Cristalina Backus and San Mateo. * San Mateo is a Peruvian brand of bottled water owned by Backus and Johnston and sold in Peru. San Mateo is sold in Polyethylene terephthalate, PET bottles of 600 Millilitre, ml, 1.5, 2.5 and 7 litre. * Cristalina BackusSee also
*List of beverage companies of PeruReferences
External links
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