Brewery's 346-Year Run Ends: Mannheim Landmark Closes as Last-Ditch Talks Collapse
Published on 07/14/2026 at 07:14 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The 240 employees of Eichbaum-Brauerei learned on July 13 that their jobs would disappear. For a planned transfer company that was supposed to cushion about 30 workers through the transition, the money simply wasn't there. The shock spread quickly through the plant.
The Mannheim brewery, founded in 1679, had been fighting for survival since filing for insolvency in self-administration in October 2025. Creditors gave the green light to a continuation plan as recently as March 2026, but declining demand and a structural cost deficit proved impossible to reverse. General representative Dr. Christoph Glatt called the closure unavoidable—the company lacked the necessary funds and could not service overdue loans.
Months of talks with potential buyers went nowhere. The brewery held discussions with Park & Bellheimer and the Lafayette investment group, among others, but no deal materialised. The Mannheim site could not be saved.
One partial success did emerge: the rights to the Karamalz brand were sold to Veltins. That injection of cash was not enough to keep the overall business liquid. The factory site on Käfertaler Straße is now up for sale, with Mannheim's university hospital already expressing interest.
Georg Dohr, the works council spokesman, sharply criticised the nine-month insolvency process. The Food, Beverages and Catering Union (NGG) is demanding transparency and a swift social plan. Mannheim mayor Christian Specht said he was disappointed and called the shutdown surprising.
Production has not stopped overnight. Existing orders will be filled through the end of September. In parallel, the company's assets are being gradually liquidated, with proceeds from the sale of equipment and the land flowing into the insolvency estate for creditors.
For a brewery that had stood for nearly three and a half centuries, the end came with machinery still running and a workforce still hoping.
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