Prince Luitpold saves small brewery from bankruptcy

At the end of July Prince Luitpold of Bavaria bought the 400 year old Oberbräu, located in Holzkirchen some 30 kilometres to the south of Munich, thus saving it from bankruptcy.

The privately owned Oberbräu, which in 2006 sold 40,000 hl beer and achieved a turnover of EUR 5 million, has been struggling for years.

Prince Luitpold must have had his eyes the brewery for some time as the region south of Munich towards the Alps is gradually being transformed into a Paulaner-only market.

Such are the consequences of consolidation. If you want to sell your beer in this traditional high-consumption region, you’d better get your own pubs and distribution.

Apart from securing distribution for his own beers, the Oberbräu has the added benefit of allowing Prince Luitpold to render his production more efficient. Prince Luitpold plans to combine the production of his various lagers at Oberbräu, his wheat beers at his Fürstenfeldbruck brewery and his Dunkles at his castle brewery in Kaltenberg.

The Oberbräu will be renamed “König Ludwig Brauhaus Holzkirchen“. 40 jobs have been saved.