Archive record · Brewery
Cervecería Cristal
Santiago, Chile
- Founded
- 1850
- Archive ID
- TB-QZWMGVJH
- Last checked
- 2026-08-05
Who owns this brewery?
The direct owner is recorded. No company is held above it.
- Cervecería CristalThis brewery
- Compañía Cervecerías Unidas (CCU)Conglomerate
From the record
Summary
Producer of Cristal, Chile's best-selling beer, under the CCU beverage group that dominates the country's drinks trade. Not an acquisition: Cristal is CCU's own founding brand — Compañía Cervecerías Unidas grew around it rather than buying it — so there is no purchase date to record.
A summary written during research. The sourced facts are in the sections below.
Tally’s Take
Chile's best-selling beer, and the anchor of a beverage group that dominates almost everything Chileans drink.
The Beer Library
Beers
Cristal
Year-RoundPilsner
Registered by CCU in 1977 and launched the following year, this Cristal shares nothing with its Peruvian namesake but four letters and a country border. Two of South America's best-selling beers happen to be called the same thing, brewed by unrelated companies who never coordinated on it.
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Sources
- controlConfirmed
Cervecería Cristal is controlled by Founder / family.
CCU — SEC Form 20-F 2025 · U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission · 2026-05
PrimaryHigh reliabilitySource accessed 2026-08-05Claim last checked 2026-08-05
Only the claims above are sourced. Everything else on this page is the archive's own research and has not yet been tied to a document — which is worth knowing rather than hiding.
Straight answers
Common questions about Cervecería Cristal
- Who owns Cervecería Cristal?
- Cervecería Cristal is owned by Compañía Cervecerías Unidas (CCU). Cervecería Cristal is based in Santiago, Chile.
- Is Cervecería Cristal still independent?
- No. Cervecería Cristal is owned by Compañía Cervecerías Unidas (CCU) and is no longer independent.
- When was Cervecería Cristal founded?
- Cervecería Cristal was founded in 1850 in Santiago, Chile.
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