Heineken buys craft brewer Hibu

Is this a chain reaction? After Birra del Borgo, located in Borgorose near Rome, was sold to AB-InBev in 2016, Belgium’s Duvel Moortgat snapped up a minority stake in Birra del Ducato, located in Soragna, a town halfway between Milan and Bologna. Though the deal was sealed late in 2016, it was only disclosed in July this year.

Also in July this year the craft brewer Birradamare from near Rome was bought by the Canadian-American Molson Coors, while the craft brewer Toccalmatto from near Parma, joined forces with the Belgian brand house Caulier, whose own beers are mostly produced by the de Proef brewery.

As if not to be left out, in October 2017 the craft brewer Hibu was acquired by Heineken’s subsidiary Dibevit, a small company in the Heineken group specialising in the distribution of specialty beers.

Hibu’s founder Raimondo Cetani, commented: “It was time to grow. Partnering with Dibevit gives us the opportunity to continue doing what we have done to date and gear up for more.”

Hibu was founded in 2007. It has a brewery in Burago di Molgora, a small town 20 km northeast of Milan and a pub called Hibu On Tap, nearby. According to its website it also runs a bar, Il Locale, in Copenhagen.

All craft brewers, which are bought by stock market-listed Big Brewers will have to leave their trade association Unionbirrai, whose statutes prescribe independence. But with over 1,000 Italian craft brewers, it could take the Big Brewers a while before they have depleted the ranks of Unionbirrai.