Where is Sol brewed?
By Mark Porter Last checked 9 September 2026 How we check
Sol is sold as a beer from Mexico. It is brewed in Britain.
What to drink instead 6 beers on the same shelves that are what they say
Listed by Tesco, Asda and Morrisons when last checked. The product pages are among the sources below.
| Format | UK strength | Units | At home |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 x 330ml bottle | 3.4% | 1.1 units a bottle | 4.2% |
| 24 x 330ml bottle | 3.4% | 1.1 units a bottle | 4.2% |
Every beer on the shelf by strength · How the units are worked out
More about the brand: rights, style, when it was created, where it is brewed at home
Partly verified
At least one of those three claims rests on a secondary source or an inference, a disagreement between sources is still open, or a split supply has a format that has not been read.
UK ABV, UK origin statement and the Mexican ABV are all sourced. The specific UK brewery site is not published; Sol is not named among the Manchester brands in the Guild of Beer Writers piece, so no UK brewing site is recorded.
every current retail listing read (Tesco, Morrisons 15 x 330ml and 24 x 330ml, Asda 15 x 330ml) prints country of origin United Kingdom and 'Brewed by: Heineken UK Limited', and Heineken UK's own beer page lists Sol as 'Brewed in the UK'. Against that, when the strength was cut to 3.4% in February 2025 The Drinks Business wrote that it 'is now produced in Zoeterwoude in the Netherlands' and Somerset Live that it would be 'shipped from the factory in the Netherlands', and the 24 x 330ml pack lists a Heineken Amsterdam address alongside Edinburgh. In 2020 Heineken UK's brand director placed Sol at its Tadcaster brewery. The pack fields say Britain and the trade press says the Netherlands; the row keeps the pack reading and is held at partly verified, with no site named, until a bottle is read in hand or Heineken UK says where the 3.4% beer is brewed. Sol cans were not found at any chain.
The small print on the base of a current can or bottle, giving the producer name and address, would settle this.
In short
On the shelf, Sol presents as Mexican: Mexican name and sun logo, 'Cerveza' pack copy, Mexican beer positioning, founded Mexico City 1899. The beer in UK shops is brewed in Britain by Heineken UK; which site is not established. In Mexico the same beer is 4.2%. Here it is 3.4%, which is 0.8 percentage points weaker. That puts it a tenth of a percent under the 3.5% threshold at which UK alcohol duty drops sharply. The brand belongs to Heineken N.V. (Heineken Mexico / Cerveceria Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma). On the recipe: Sold in Britain as a Mexican beer but brewed here and at a lower strength than the Mexican original. The label says: "Brewed in the UK; brewed by Heineken UK Limited."
This page is about the packs sold in supermarkets. Draught in pubs can come from a different brewery, and this page does not cover it unless a format table says so.
Formats on record
Every pack format read so far says the same thing. This is what each one says, so you can check the one in your hand against it.
| Format | Supply | Label text |
|---|---|---|
| 15 x 330ml bottle | Brewed in Britain | Country of origin: United Kingdom. Brewed by: Heineken UK Limited, 6 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2BD. |
| 24 x 330ml bottle | Brewed in Britain | Country of origin: United Kingdom. Brewed by: Heineken UK Limited, 6 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2BD. HBBV, Tweede Weteringplantsoen 21, 1017 ZD Amsterdam, NL. Under Supervision of Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma, S.A. de C.V., Monterrey, Mexico. |
Who has brewed it here
| Years | Brewer | Site | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 to now | Heineken UK (Heineken acquired the FEMSA beer business, including Sol, in 2010) | Not established | tesco.com |
What changed
- 9 September 2026: verification level was verified, now partly verified
- 8 September 2026: strength note were rewritten (source)
Questions people ask
Where is Sol brewed?
The beer sold in the UK is brewed in Britain by Heineken UK; the site is not named in the sources.
Is Sol brewed in the UK?
Yes, according to the sources on this page; the site is not named.
Is Sol really Mexican?
The branding is Mexican, but the beer sold in Britain is brewed in the UK.
Who owns Sol?
Sol is owned by Heineken N.V. (Heineken Mexico / Cerveceria Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma), headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In the UK the brand is handled by Heineken UK Limited.
What strength is Sol in the UK?
Sol is 3.4% ABV in the UK. In Mexico it is 4.2%. A UK pint is 1.9 units.
Is Sol weaker in the UK than in Mexico?
Yes. The UK version is 3.4% against 4.2% in Mexico, 0.8 percentage points weaker.
See also
Side by side with Corona Extra.
Every beer sold as Mexico · Every brand owned by Heineken N.V.
Sources
- Tesco (tesco.com), 5 September 2026: 3.4% vol, 'Brewed in the UK', brewed by Heineken UK Limited
- Heineken Mexico (heinekenmexico.com), 8 September 2026: Sol in Mexico is '4.2% Alc. Vol.' on Heineken Mexico's own brand page (re-read 8 September 2026; Sol Chelada 3.5%, Sol Clamato 2.5%).
- petebrown.net
- Tesco (tesco.com)
- Drinks Retailing (drinksretailingnews.co.uk)
- sol.com
- The Drinks Business (thedrinksbusiness.com), 24 February 2025: On the cut of Sol to 3.4%, as quoted second-hand: the beer 'is now produced in Zoeerwoude [Zoeterwoude] in the Netherlands'. The page itself could not be read directly (access refused).
- Somerset Live (somersetlive.co.uk), February 2025: Regional press on the Sol cut, as quoted second-hand: 'Production of the lower-strength beer will start on Tuesday, and it will then be shipped from the factory in the Netherlands to pubs and shops in the UK.' The page itself could not be read directly.
- Talking Retail (talkingretail.com), 12 November 2020: Heineken UK brand director quoted: the brand 'is now brewed with solar energy following the installation of 4,000 solar panels at its brewery in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire'.
- Morrisons (groceries.morrisons.com), 9 September 2026: 15 x 330ml bottle, read on 9 September 2026: 3.4%; Country of origin United Kingdom; 'Brewed by: Heineken UK Limited, 6 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2BD.'
- Morrisons (groceries.morrisons.com), 9 September 2026: 24 x 330ml bottle, read on 9 September 2026: 3.4%; Country of origin United Kingdom; 'Brewed by: Heineken UK Limited, 6 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2BD. HBBV, Tweede Weteringplantsoen 21, 1017 ZD Amsterdam, NL.'; 'Under Supervision of Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma, Monterrey, Mexico'.
- Asda (asda.com), 9 September 2026: 15 x 330ml bottle, read on 9 September 2026: 3.4%; Country of Origin United Kingdom; 'Brewed by: Heineken UK Limited, 6 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2BD.'
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