Daniel J. Ollero Madrid

Luis Blasco Madrid

Madrid

Madrid

Updated Wednesday, March 6, 2024-00:07

Apparently, it was one of the most buoyant craft beers in Spain.

Drinks made in Madrid that had achieved great commercial success and enormous media attraction as a humble brand that manufactured its elixirs with water and raw materials from the region.

However, as the Castilian saying goes,

all that glitters is not gold and the apparently surprising announcement of the closure of the La Virgen beer brand is not a case of sudden death

, but rather the chronicle of a death foretold.

Late in the afternoon of last Monday, March 4, sources from the management of La Virgen announced the cessation of its activity and the

dismissal of its 78 workers

, less than half of those they had at their peak. expansion, in a statement in which they pointed to a conflict over municipal licenses as the cause that pushed them to close.

«We have faced a

complex situation in obtaining permits

for the company's flagship location in Las Rozas.

This fact, in combination with the difficult existing financial situation, has led Cervezas La Virgen to make this difficult decision," the company said in a statement.

Claims that sources from the Las Rozas City Council deny: "

They have permission to make beer and they could continue making it if they wanted

," they say.

"

The only thing they cannot do

, because they do not have a license," they continue, "

is serve food and drink in the factory as if it were a restaurant

, because the factory itself is located in an industrial estate on industrial land."

What is certain is that Cervezas La Virgen (belonging to the company Bebidas de Calidad Madrid SL) has recorded losses in the last five financial years published in the Commercial Registry.

The latest balance sheet made public, corresponding to the year 2022,

shows a negative result of more than three million euros

.

In 2017, the four founders of La Virgen sold the company they had founded in 2011 to the

beer giant ABInBev

, owner of major brands such as Corona, Budweiser and Stella Artois.

The original idea was to create a craft beer brand in the image and likeness of those that were fashionable in San Francisco (California, USA) at the beginning of the last decade.

However,

La Virgen never went beyond being a promising brand and its numbers never materialized

.

Since 2018,

all their balance sheets show negative numbers, accumulating losses close to 23.9 million euros in just five years

.

2021 being its worst year, with losses of more than nine million euros.

Negative figures

that historically went unnoticed by consumers

, since the company opted for an expansion strategy based on the opening of Taprooms, stores where they sold their own beers accompanied by hot dogs or hamburgers.

A format with a special demand among the clientele in its own factory in Las Rozas

, a town where they had a tug-of-war with the City Council for some time because of this service.

"Actually the issue of licenses is an excuse," sources close to the founders of La Virgen tell GRANMADRID.

"It was in the hands of a large brewer that could have rescued the brand if it had wanted to," they add.

"However," they continue, "

for a multinational it is much easier to blame the Las Rozas City Council

than to recognize a failure in management."

A rescue that, at least in 2022, ABInBev tried to carry out with the

contribution of four million euros from the corporate parent company

.

However, neither the capital injections nor the success of its gastronomic experiences were able to

counteract the millionaire red numbers that La Virgen had accumulated

since its purchase by the international brewing group.