Dear beer enthusiasts,
no, Cruzcampo is not paying me to write this... unfortunately I'm not quite there yet :P
While many news websites take in donations in exchange for writing articles which are dubious and might mischievously lead the public to buy a product or somehow benefit the sponsor, this blog takes a much simpler approach on sponsored content.
It works like this: You bring me a beer bottle (full, please) that I don't have in my collection, and you get a post here. The post will, in all manners, reflect my honest opinion, "sponsored" or not... pretty simple and straight forward stuff, no hidden intentions :)
That being said, let's get started!
Cruzcampo is one of the most sold beers in Spain, founded in 1904, the brand used to belong to the Guiness group (which acquired it in 1991) but since the year 2000, belongs to the giant Heineken conglomerate. Its brewery is still located in the region of Sevilla, although it was moved from its original location inside of the city, and had its offices moved to the Spanish capital.
This 330ml bottle filled with a 4,8% Pilsner is a common sight in that region, nevertheless, I had personally never had the opportunity to acquire one of them, until I met Ana Conde Ramirez, from Sevilla. In a brief conversation about beers (my favorite subject) she mentioned her hometown beer. She seemed very amused by the fact that I didn't have it yet but also slightly offended by the fact that other non-sevillian Spanish brands - like San Miguel and Estrella Damm- were already known to me.
She promptly took action, and when Victor - her boyfriend - came to visit, he brought along a bottle of their red labeled local brew.
You might have noticed the man in red attire holding a beer mug in the label, that would be Gambrinus, the official Cruzcampo mascot (and unofficial patron of beers). You can read a bit more about him in our last post and also by clicking here.
While many breweries around the world pay homage to Gambrinus, Cruzcampo took it up a notch when it comes to the commercialization of the name... the old brewery installations in Seville host today the "Gambrinus school of hostelry", and you can find a big chain of restaurants all over Spain called "Cerveceria Gambrinus", which proudly serves the Cruzcampo beer.
Now, although Gambrinus has been Cruzcampos mascot since the brewery was founded in 1904, I wonder how many Cruzcampo customers know the story behind the name "Gambrinus", and how much profit has this names commercialization brought to Heineken...
But who am I to condemn branding and commercialization... here I am, writing "sponsored" content :)
Thank you again Ana and Victor for contributing to the growth of my collection
Cheers!
PS: at the moment of this posting, the Cruzcampo website was flagged by my browser as a malware source, I will therefore NOT post the link to the website here. I like to believe that Cruzcampo is a victim in this case, and will edit this post as soon as their website is cleared.
Cruzcampo - the "I can't believe you haven't got it yet" beer
This 330ml bottle filled with a 4,8% Pilsner is a common sight in that region, nevertheless, I had personally never had the opportunity to acquire one of them, until I met Ana Conde Ramirez, from Sevilla. In a brief conversation about beers (my favorite subject) she mentioned her hometown beer. She seemed very amused by the fact that I didn't have it yet but also slightly offended by the fact that other non-sevillian Spanish brands - like San Miguel and Estrella Damm- were already known to me.
She promptly took action, and when Victor - her boyfriend - came to visit, he brought along a bottle of their red labeled local brew.
You might have noticed the man in red attire holding a beer mug in the label, that would be Gambrinus, the official Cruzcampo mascot (and unofficial patron of beers). You can read a bit more about him in our last post and also by clicking here.
Gambrinus as Cruzcampos Mascot
While many breweries around the world pay homage to Gambrinus, Cruzcampo took it up a notch when it comes to the commercialization of the name... the old brewery installations in Seville host today the "Gambrinus school of hostelry", and you can find a big chain of restaurants all over Spain called "Cerveceria Gambrinus", which proudly serves the Cruzcampo beer.
Now, although Gambrinus has been Cruzcampos mascot since the brewery was founded in 1904, I wonder how many Cruzcampo customers know the story behind the name "Gambrinus", and how much profit has this names commercialization brought to Heineken...
But who am I to condemn branding and commercialization... here I am, writing "sponsored" content :)
Thank you again Ana and Victor for contributing to the growth of my collection
Cheers!
PS: at the moment of this posting, the Cruzcampo website was flagged by my browser as a malware source, I will therefore NOT post the link to the website here. I like to believe that Cruzcampo is a victim in this case, and will edit this post as soon as their website is cleared.
