German craft brewer Crew Republic to buy itself back from AB-InBev

Germany | It was not to be. Only two years after getting into bed with each other, the Munich craft brewer Crew Republic and AB-InBev will go their separate ways again. Reportedly, this decision, which was announced on 25 October 2021, was taken by mutual consent.

The divorce will see Crew Republic manage its own distribution as of 1 January 2022. How this is going to happen remains to be seen.

Crew Republic and AB-InBev had sealed their partnership in August 2019, when AB-InBev’s ZX Ventures acquired a 20 percent stake in the Munich brewer – according to rumour.

Founded in 2011 by Mario Hanel and Timm Schnigula, the craft brewer had hoped to widen its distribution and increase sales, which had languished at around 10 000 hl beer annually. Its brewery in a Munich suburb, built in 2015, has a capacity of 12 000 hl and there was even talk about expanding capacity. However, sales must have fallen short of expectations, especially after covid-19 struck, despite AB-InBev tweaking prices.

Crew Republic has repurchased ZX Venture’s stake in it for an undisclosed sum.