World's oldest monastic brewery sold amid slump in thirst for beer

The world’s oldest monastic brewery, Germany’s Weltenburger, is being sold to the Munich brewers Schneider Weisse as part of a consolidation in the sector in response to plunging sales.

- Deborah Cole

Beer has been brewed at Weltenburg Abbey, a stunning, active monastery on the banks of the Danube in Bavaria, for nearly 1,000 years.

Although the facility is 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 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.