Skol was initially created to be a global beer brand. Allied Breweries (UK), Labatt (Canada), Pripps-Bryggerierna (Sweden) and Unibra (Belgium) formed a new company called Skol International in 1964. Its aim was the creation of a world-wide beer brand, Skol, which could be licensed, manufactured and marketed across the world. Since then participation in the company has changed significantly.
Currently, Skol is the most popular beer in Brazil. Originally produced by Caracu, which was bought by Brahma in 1980. Brahma merged with Antarctica and became Ambev, then InBev and later AB InBev. AB Inbev is the biggest beverage company in the world, larger than Coca-Cola in revenue. Skol beer became internationally recognized as a Brazilian beer, though not initially conceived in Brazil.
Carlsberg holds the license outside Africa and South America. Unibra holds the license for Africa.
The merger between Allied Breweries and Carlsberg, created Carlsberg-Tetley's, who used to brew the beer at their brewery in Leeds until the brewery was closed in 2011.
During the 2012 Reading and Leeds Festivals, three cans of Skol were given to each over-18 weekend ticket holder. Although they were free, there was a lot of controversy over the beers with many showing their dislike towards the lager through pages on Facebook after the festival ended.
The name is related to the Scandinavian toast "skål". For a period, the Hagar the Horrible cartoon character was used for promotion.
The beer brand has been awarded a Gold Award at the 2012 World Quality Selections, organized by Monde Selection. This is the second international award the Skol beer has won.