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Private company

Hijos de Rivera

Logo: Laura Gl F, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons3

Spanish brewery

Corporation Hijos de Rivera, LLC is a Spanish brewery founded in 1906 in the city of A Coruña, Galicia. It's engaged in the production, marketing and distribution of beverages. It's known by the name of its most popular beer brand, Estrella Galicia (a 5.5% abv Helles Exportbier).2 It was founded by José María Rivera Corral.1 It employed 877 people in 2014.1 Its revenue was €466 million in 2017.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

Dec 26, 1980Founded1

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Estrella Galicia Agrela H Rivera
Photo: Ajuanta, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons5

Corporation Hijos de Rivera, LLC is a Spanish brewery founded in 1906 in the city of A Coruña, Galicia. It's engaged in the production, marketing and distribution of beverages. It's known by the name of its most popular beer brand, Estrella Galicia (a 5.5% abv Helles Exportbier).2

Corporate structure

Hijos de Rivera sits at the top of its group. 5 entities, 1 country on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

  • Hijos de Rivera A Coruña
    • Cabreiroá Subsidiary · Cabreiroá, Verín, Spain
    • Sidrería Galega Subsidiary · Chantada, Spain
    • 1906 Subsidiary · Spain
    • Estrella Galicia Subsidiary · Spain

Built from subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

Founded by José María Rivera Corral on Dec 26, 1980, in A Coruña.1

The company's origins date back to 1906 when José María Rivera Corral established La Estrella de Galicia brewery in the city of A Coruña.

In 2006, the company celebrated its centenary in the company of King Juan Carlos. A beer named 1906 Reserva Especial was launched to commemorate the occasion. In 2017, the company purchased a 32% stake in Carlow Brewing Company, an Irish-based brewery.

In 2022, he transformed his online store into a marketplace, called BigCrafters, to promote the sale of its own and third-party artisan products.

In January 2024, the company acquired B Corp certification with a score of 88.2.

From Wikipedia’s article on Hijos de Rivera Brewery, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Leadership

Who has led Hijos de Rivera, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Products and brands

The company has been producing its own brands of beer since the beginning of its production activity. Some of them are the following:

Estrella Galicia Especial: born in 1972 as Rivera Especial. Made with two-row malts (Pilsen and roasted) and corn, together with bittering hops (Nugget and Perle Hallertau), it takes approximately twenty days to brew, ferment and mature.

Estrella de Galicia: is the result of recovering the original recipe of the first Estrella de Galicia beer, German Pilsen style, which was born in the first brewery of the Rivera family, more than 110 years ago.

1906 Reserva Especial. La Milnueve: a lager beer brewed with two-row malts (pilsen and roasted) and corn; together with Perle Hallertau hops. Its maturation period is one of the longest among national lager beers. Awarded with the Superior Taste Award 2012 and 2015.

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1906 Red Vintage: intense lager with a balance between malts, hops and its high alcohol volume (8% vol.). It is the result of the recovery of a historical recipe of Hijos de Rivera, the Especial Extra (La Colorada).

1906 Black Coupage: extra-black lager marked by notes of coffee and licorice contributed by the coupage of four malts with different degrees of roasting. Its hops are Nugget and Sladek.

1906 Galician Irish Red Ale: copper-colored beer with ruby highlights. It is the result of blending four malts and four hops to form an Irish-inspired red ale.

Estrella Galicia Gluten Free.

Estrella Galicia 0.0 (non-alcoholic): Estrella Galicia 0.0; Estrella Galicia Negra 0.0 and Estrella Galicia Tostada 0.0.

Special Editions: Estrella de Navidad; Estrella del Camino; Estrella Pimientos de Padrón; Estrella "Pulpo á Feira".

Estrella Galicia Cerveza de Bodega and 1906 Cerveza de Bodega. These are unpasteurized beers that go directly from the brewery to the point of sale. The absence of pasteurization requires that they be transported in specialized vehicles with tanks that maintain refrigeration. Storage in breweries takes place in the same way, maintaining the carbonation levels with which it leaves the brewery cellars, which gives it its freshness and particular characteristics.

From Wikipedia’s article on Hijos de Rivera Brewery, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Subsidiaries and ownership

Subsidiaries

From Wikidata.1

Employees over time

  • 20148771

Revenue over time

As stated on Wikidata, in the currency reported.

Revenue

Hijos de Rivera revenue by year1465.5M EUR in 2017+41% since 2015
0200.0M EUR400.0M EUR600.0M EUR2015: 329.5M EUR329.5M EUR20152016: 400.0M EUR400.0M EUR2016+21%2017: 465.5M EUR465.5M EUR2017+16%
  • 2017465.5M EUR1
  • 2016400.0M EUR1
  • 2015329.5M EUR1

Timeline

  1. Dec 26, 1980Founded Founded in A Coruña1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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