Cervecería y Maltería Quilmes (locally [seɾβeseˈɾi.aj malteˈɾi.a ˈkilmes]) is an Argentine drink company founded in 1890 in the city of Quilmes in Greater Buenos Aires. The company was established by Otto Bemberg, a German immigrant, in 1890 as a beer manufacturer.^[5] Since 2002, Quilmes is owned by AmBev, the largest beer manufacturer in the world.^[6]

Apart from beer, the company bottles and commercialises bottled waters, soft drinks, sport drinks, energy drinks, and wines, through several brands (some of them properties of parent company Ambev and other brands under licenses of PepsiCo, Nestlé, among others).^[7]

Quilmes has manufactured several varieties of beer through the years, such as low-alcohol, bock, stout, lager, red lager, lager, and pilsner. Quilmes is the largest beer manufacturer of Argentina.^[8]

Immigrant Otto Bemberg, who had arrived in Argentina in 1852, established a brewery in the city of Quilmes in 1890. His product was marketed under the Quilmes name, which was the former indigenous denomination of the city. The company donated money to build the Quilmes hospital in 1918.^[5]

The company grew quickly, and by the 1920s it was the most popular beer brand in Buenos Aires. Since then, it has become something of a national symbol and has 75% of the beer market share in Argentina. It sponsored the Argentina national football team, and the colours of its labels are Argentina's light blue and white.^[9]

In 1993, the company launched Liberty, the first non-alcohol beer in Argentina, and four years later, the Quilmes Light, a low-alcohol version. By 1998, Quilmes beers exported to the U.S. and Europe ^[9] In 1999, Quilmes acquired Baesa, the largest Pepsi plant in Argentina.^[6]

In 2002, Brazilian company Ambev (formed by the merger of Brahma and Antarctica)^[4] bought 37.5% of Quilmes S.A. for US$600 million in an agreement that gave AmBev control of the Quilmes brand in Argentina. The merger of the two companies created, for a brief time, the world's third-largest beverage producer.^[2]

As of 2005, Quilmes had plants in Quilmes, Zárate, Tres Arroyos, Corrientes, Tucumán, and Mendoza. It is also exported to Peru, Ecuador, Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, the United States, Spain, Israel, Dominican Republic, France, UK, Italy, Australia, and several other countries. It sold a yearly total of around 17 million hL of beer and 8 million hL of soft drinks and other products.

In 2006 AmBev increased its share of the company to over 91%, effectively taking full control of the Quilmes name for US$1,200 million.^[2] Therefore since 2002 AmBev paid US$1,800 million for the company. ^[11]

In February 2020, Quilmes entered to the wine market after acquiring Dante Robino winery in Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza. ^[6]

As of September 2021^[update], Cervecería y Maltería Quilmes bottles and markets the following line of drink products:^[7]

Some brands commercialised by the company, fltr: Quilmes beer, Brahma beer, Gatorade sports drink