Backus and Johnston (, ''Backus y Johnston'') is the largest brewery in Peru, part of Bavaria Brewery, which itself is part of the international AB InBev group. Its main brewery is located in the Ate District of Lima. Backus, as owner of almost all brands of beer available in Peru, enjoys a ''de facto'' monopoly over Peruvian beer consumption. Besides beer, Backus produces soft drinks and bottled water.

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 Backus and Johnston (, ''Backus y Johnston'') is the largest brewery in Peru, part of Bavaria Brewery, which itself is part of the international AB InBev group. Its main brewery is located in the Ate District of Lima. Backus, as owner of almost ...

'' brand. From 2005 to 2016, Backus and Johnston was part of the

SABMiller SABMiller plc was a South African multinational brewing and beverage company headquartered in Woking, England on the outskirts of London until 10 October 2016 when it was acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev. Prior to that date, it was the world's ...

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 (former ''Pilsen Trujillo'', now ''Cristal'', ''Pilsen Callao'' and ''Pilsen Trujillo'') * Arequipa brewery in

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara and qu, Ariqipa) is a city and capital of province and the eponymous department of Peru. It is the seat of the Constitutional Court of Peru and often dubbed the "legal capital of Peru". It is the second most populated city ...

(former ''Arequipeña'', now ''Arequipeña'', ''Cristal'', ''Cusqueña'' and ''Pilsen Callao'') * Cusco brewery in

Cusco Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the list of cities in Peru, seventh m ...

(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

, 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 (pilsener) Trujillo
Pilsen Trujillo
12 October 2007. * Barena * Malta Polar (Peru) Backus and Johnston also has a license to import Birra Peroni Nastro Azzurro in Peru.

Soft drinks

The soft drinks owned by Backus include ''Viva'', a beverage similar to Inca Kola and ''Guaraná'', a beverage containing guaraná fruit. * Guaraná *

Viva Viva may refer to: Companies and organisations * Viva (network operator), a Dominican mobile network operator * Viva Air, a Spanish airline taken over by flag carrier Iberia * Viva Air Dominicana * VIVA Bahrain, a telecommunication company * ...

* 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 PET bottles of 600 Millilitre">ml, 1.5, 2.5 and 7 litre. * Cristalina Backus

References

External links

*
Backus web site
*
San Juan web site
* {{Authority control SABMiller Beer in Peru Companies based in Lima Drink companies of Peru Peruvian brands Backus and Johnston brands