The world’s oldest monastic brewery, Germany’s Weltenburger, is being sold to the Munich brewers Schneider Weisse as part of consolidation in the sector in response to plunging sales.
Beer has been brewed at Weltenburg Abbey, a stunning, still active monastery on the banks of the Danube in Bavaria, for nearly 1,000 years.
Although the facility is still owned by the Catholic church, the Benedictine monks handed over production of the brand’s award-winning lager and signature dark brews half a century ago to hired staff from the Bischofshof brewery, which will also be sold to Schneider.
The diocese of Regensburg and Schneider Weisse agreed on the sale after several years in which Weltenburger’s business was in the red, meaning the church had to inject its own funds to prop it up, local media reported.
Never been to Weltenburger, but I used to go to Kloster Andechs with my dad and grandmother to get their pork knuckles. Something about going to a kloster (abbey) and seeing the monks living there like it’s still the 1500s is very cool. Kloster Andechs was founded in 1458 with an official writ for operating as a tavern, and has been brewing since then. Imagine living in a place that’s been around and doing the same thing for 560+ years.
Hell, in Phoenix, shit gets torn down for being 20 years old.
At least it seems to stay with a local company that is actually interested in continuing brewing beer there? Germans tend to be quite invested in their beer, so this seems more like a “become part of our brand as-is and we’ll continue financing you” situation, which is a win-win for everyone.
