The Compañía Cervecera de Puerto Rico (formerly known as Cervecería India) is a large

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. It is located in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. The company's main brand is ''Medalla Light''.

History

The company was founded on November 2, 1937, by the brothers Valdés Cobián:

Alfonso Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula. I ...

, Sabino and Ramón Valdés Cobián, in Mayagüez, the largest city on the west coast of

. The Valdés brothers were following the example of their father, Don Ramon Valdés, who had founded the Mayagüez Light, Power and Ice Company in 1910. In 1938, their first beer, Cerveza India, was released to the public. The company competed with two other native beer breweries, "Real" and "Cerveceria Corona" (Cerveceria Corona de Puerto Rico "subsequently sold its trademark rights to Cervecería Modelo de México, which then launched Cerveza Corona as Modelo's Corona Extra)."

, as chairman and president, successfully led his company converting it into Puerto Rico's largest beer brewery and manufacturer of canned and bottled soft drinks. In the late 70s, the brewery was forced to expand its portfolio and produce a lighter beer with less calories than their Cerveza India. Until that time, India was the only alcoholic beverage producing plant in Mayagüez. In 1985, their main competition, Corona, went bankrupt and left a free way to Cervecería India, which was in full swing after the release of its new product Medalla Light years before. In October 2009, the brewery reverted its name to "Compañía Cervecera de Puerto Rico". From 2002 to 2017, Camalia Valdés served as president and CEO of the company. In 2017, Grace Marie Valdés succeeded Camalia as president and CEO. The company works to promote the art and culture of Puerto Rico. It soon later launched an artisanal brewery, ''Del Oeste Brewery'' within its main brewing facility. In 2018, the company announced a distribution agreement to expand the Medalla Light brand into the United States, specifically Florida.

Products

The company's main product is ''Medalla Light'', a 4.2%

abv Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...

pale lager Pale lager is a pale-to- golden lager beer with a well- attenuated body and a varying degree of noble hop bitterness. In the mid-19th century, Gabriel Sedlmayr took British pale ale brewing and malt making techniques back to the Spaten Bre ...

. The brewery also produces Malta India, a non-alcoholic soft drink made from barley. In 1940, it began producing

Orange Crush Crush is a brand of carbonated soft drinks owned and marketed internationally by Keurig Dr Pepper, originally created as an orange soda, Orange Crush. It was created in 1911, 30 years before Coca-Cola's Fanta, by beverage and extract chemist ...

and Old Colony sodas. In May 2010, the brewery announced the launch of their new beer, Silver Key Light, which hit the market on June 1, 2010. They launched Magna, a premium beer, on August 1, 2011. On November 5, 2019, Cerveza India, which was their first beer, was relaunched as a limited edition.

Beers

*''Medalla Light'' -

Pale Lager Pale lager is a pale-to- golden lager beer with a well- attenuated body and a varying degree of noble hop bitterness. In the mid-19th century, Gabriel Sedlmayr took British pale ale brewing and malt making techniques back to the Spaten Bre ...

with 4.2% abv. Created in 1980. * *''Medalla Ultra Light'' -

with 4.0% abv. * *''Silver Key Light'' -

Light beer Light beer (sometimes spelled lite beer) is a pale lager that is reduced in ethanol, alcohol content or calories compared to regular beers. Light beer began to be mass marketed in the United States in the early 1970s, following test marketing and ...

with 3.5% abv. Created in May 2010. *''Magna Special Craft'' - Premium Lager with 5.1% abv. Released on August 1, 2011.

Maltas

*''Malta India''

Soft Drinks

*''

'' *'' Old Colony Sodas''

Gallery

CerveceraPR1.JPG, brewery Medalla truck (02).jpg, Medalla delivery truck Medalla Beer in Puerto Rico.jpg, Street party and Medalla Beer umbrellas Medalla beer cans in San Juan, Puerto Rico.jpg, Medalla beer cans

References

External links

*
Official site Compañía Cervecera of Puerto Rico

Medallalight.com

Mayagüezsabeamango.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Compania Cervecera de Puerto Rico Beer in the Caribbean Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Privately held companies of Puerto Rico Beer in Puerto Rico Food and drink companies of Puerto Rico 1937 establishments in Puerto Rico Companies established in 1937