The San Miguel brewery started operations in the later part of the 19th century. Being owned by Spanish mestizos, later on I learned they are American citizens, their intention was to have an original beer for the country. The business caught on with the drinking public and San Miguel was already a name at the onset of the 20th century.
San Miguel Beer has that distinct bitter taste yet mild to the mouth and refreshing too. The local Philippine alcoholic drinks like tuba and lambanog which come from palm trees paled in comparison as evidenced by the brisk sale of San Miguel beer. From time to time, the brewery plants expanded and built up more branches. Likewise, the formula was improved with their good R and D people giving San Miguel the supremacy in the beer market.
Beer is supposed to be a beverage but Filipinos take it as an alcoholic drink in lieu of liquor. It is common to see men getting drunk of beer and most likely of San Miguel beer. Some prefer to drink it straight from the bottle or can and some others take it in a glass with ice. Due to the popularity of San Miguel beer, drinking places started using beer garden or beer pub. In ordering, it is not normal if you say San Miguel beer because saying only beer will do, assumed that it is San Miguel. By the way, the pale pilsen brand professes the mild bitter taste and slight alcohol content.
Like any business in a free enterprise, San Miguel was threatened by competitors. In the 1960s there was Halili beer giving the giant San Miguel a run for its money. And before hell breaks loose in the marketing scene, San Miguel had the temerity to buy out the stocks of Halili beer, in the process giving back San Miguel its monopoly of the beer market. In the later part of the 20th century, another competitor arose out of the blue. Owned by a shrewd Chinese businessman by the name of Lucio Tan, Asia Brewery pirated top people of San Miguel. But the Asia Brewery beer products failed to capture the imagination of the consumers because of the strong bitter taste, seemingly burned malt. Dynamic promotions didn’t help either. Asia Brewery products assumed different names like Asia Beer and Carlsberg until it accepted a second-fiddler role to San Miguel.
When San Miguel was exported to different countries in the middle of the 20th century, little did they know that it would win awards. The world market share of San Miguel beer is tiny but the name gets known. Even in the beer-drinking country of Germany, San Miguel has a place in the hearts of Germans. Japanese businessmen I know never fail to qualify their order by saying Sang Miguer beeru. When I went to Hongkong in 1992, I was surprised to find San Miguel beer in the menu list. Chinese love San Miguel except for the high price they pay because it happens to be imported.
For many years, San Miguel Brewery was the number one corporation in the Philippines in terms of gross income. When President Marcos was ousted in 1986, the complexion changed a bit. The Sorianos who owned the giant brewery sold their major shares and E. Cojuangco, a business tycoon and crony of the ousted president took over. Mr. Cojuangco remains as chairman of San Miguel until today. Amidst the change in the ownership and board of directors, San Miguel beer reamains to be the toast of the country, and later, perhaps, of the whole world.
Cheers!