Estrella Galicia

José María Rivera Corral left his village near A Coruña at fifteen, made his way to Mexico, and returned to Galicia in 1906 with savings and an ambitious plan: a brewery and ice factory. He named it La Estrella de Galicia after his business in Veracruz. More than a century later, the Rivera family still runs the show, now in its fifth generation.

Hijos de Rivera remains entirely family-owned, a rarity among breweries of its size. The company has grown from regional producer to international player, shipping to over sixty countries and producing more than 200 million litres annually. Their flagship Especial lager, born in 1972, takes a full month to brew, with half that time spent in maturation tanks.

The alcohol-free journey started early. Estrella Galicia Sin launched in 1988, well ahead of the current wave of interest in alcohol-free options. The current 0.0 range uses an interrupted fermentation process rather than dealcoholisation, aiming to preserve the character of their pilsner-style beers from the start. The result is a golden lager with balanced maltiness and the subtle bitterness that defines the house style.

In the UK, you'll find Estrella Galicia at Tesco, Sainsbury's, and Waitrose, though the 0.0 variant has more limited distribution than their regular lagers. Ocado tends to be the most reliable source for the alcohol-free version. The brand has built visibility through motorsport sponsorship, becoming the official alcohol-free beer of MotoGP.

For a mainstream Spanish lager with genuine heritage behind it, Estrella Galicia 0.0 delivers an approachable entry point. It won't challenge dedicated craft AF breweries for complexity, but it brings proper brewing credentials to the supermarket shelf.

The Collection

Estrella Galicia 0.0

Estrella Galicia 0.0 Tostada