Backus

The Americans Jacob Backus and Howard Johnston set up an ice factory in Lima’s Rímac district in 1876 and formed a brewing company three years later. Peruvian investors led by Ricardo Bentín Mujica bought it in 1954 and moved its head office from London to Lima. Backus took over Pilsen Callao, whose brewery a German founded in Callao in 1863, and in 2000 the southern brewer of Cusqueña. SABMiller bought it in 2005. AB InBev has owned it since 2016. Backus brews at Ate in Lima, Motupe, Arequipa, Pucallpa and Cusco, and holds more than 80% of the Peruvian market. Its main brands are Cristal, launched in 1922, Pilsen Callao and Cusqueña, sold in golden and dark versions.