The summer of 2004 I traveled with my partner to Nepal. He was young, he carried a suitcase full of good ideas, a discman with a bunch of CDs and a wallet much emptier of bills. As soon as we left our luggage at the hotel in Kathmandu, we carried out the same ritual that we still repeat today when we arrive at a new destination: find a bar and toast with a beer because we are alive and happy. I remember that small place, with aspirations between a coffee shop and an American pub, but the charm of a rural bar. The walls were covered with photos of mountaineers, Buddhas, a poster of Buddha Air and its excursions to fly over Everest, dozens of coasters, and a disturbing array of dangling cables.
And there it was, on the counter, a huge Cervezas San Miguel sign. It was like feeling at home, but thousands of miles away. We toast with even more reason with a Special San Miguel and, laughing, we outline that of ‘Where it goes, it triumphs’, the famous advertising slogan of the 90s that marked an entire generation open to traveling, seeing the world, learning from others and, Why not, take advantage of who we are.
At that time I did not know that San Miguel Beers had been born a whopping 133 years ago in the Philippines. Nor, that San Miguel Especial is the most consumed Spanish beer abroad, the perfect excuse to start a conversation in any language and hear those six syllables in any bar, but with all the possible accents. Because it really likes it out there, proof of this is the 77 awards it won in competitions of beer excellence around the world in 2022. Among them, the Gold medals at the Frankfurt International Trophy and the World Beer Challenge; Silver medals at Monde Selection, World Beer Awards and Superior Taste Awards; and Bronze in London Beer Competition and International Beer Challenge.
Without a doubt, a walk around the world showing that the world is for the brave, that you must always dare and that awards and celebrations always await those who leave their comfort zone. No wonder its latest advertising claim is ‘For those who dare’, a wink to all those who set out to achieve their dreams, whether traveling across the five continents, surfing the seven seas or filling the walls around the world with his art.
If you don’t always dress the same, why are you always going to drink the same thing? They must think something like that about Cervezas San Miguel because they have the most diverse varieties. All with a common denominator: always go further, surprise and enchant palates that seek very different styles, aromas and nuances. Their master brewers are in charge of this, the true architects of the fact that in many parts of the planet people order ‘beer’ and not ‘beer’. To do this, they carefully select the best ingredients, learn from other cultures and take care of every detail of the production process of each of their brands.
This is how the Magna de San Miguel is born, a Golden Lager that goes perfectly with a good gazpacho or some bravas. Or the Selecta de San Miguel, toasted and intense, made with a selection of 3 hops and 3 malts with different toasts, ideal to pair with a pasta dish or for a round of appetizers. Not to mention San Miguel 0.0, the first with zero alcohol that pairs perfectly with spicy snacks. Or San Miguel Eco, another pioneer, in this case, among certified organic beers.
And, of course, the mythical San Miguel Especial, a pale lager that knows no borders. It was the first “Special” beer that was manufactured in Spain, back in 1957. More than half a century accompanying several generations of nonconformists, from the grandfather who listened to Los Brincos, to the father who lived through the Naranjito era and the son who each summer korea choruses at Bilbao BBK Live.
The world belongs to those who dare. And they know a lot about that at Cervezas San Miguel. They not only paved the way for 0.0 and organic beers. They were able to go out of their way to put the first IPL beer or the first easy-open pack on the market, among other innovations.
Coming out in 2023 with the slogan ‘For those who dare’ is much more than an advertising claim. It is the x-ray of a brave, unapologetic, determined and sincere idiosyncrasy. Without artifices or complexes. Like that Nepalese bar that made me feel at home.
