The Netherlands: Royal Swinkels to stop brewing at its Brouwerij De Molen in the Netherlands

Dutch brewery giant Royal Swinkels intends to wind up production at its craft Brouwerij De Molen in the Netherlands, amid rising competition and declining local beer consumption, Yahoo Finance reported on January 28.

A consultation request was submitted to the local council earlier this month, the company said, which set out its plan to cease production at the site from September 2025.

Brouwerij De Molen is located in the town of Bodegraven, in the western Netherlands.

Explaining the rationale for the move, Royal Swinkels said: “Unfortunately, it has become clear that it is not possible to make a profit in the current setup. For these reasons, production in Bodegraven will stop.”

It added that competition in the local and European craft beer sector had surged, while demand for beer in the Netherlands had dropped, putting "many" craft beer brands under strain.

“As a result, the brewery in Bodegraven has been operating at low capacity, putting its results under pressure for some time.”

The De Molen site employs 12 people who will be impacted by the decision, Royal Swinkels confirmed.

The business added that it had been renting the brewery which has “a difficult lease contract, making the location not sustainable for the future”.

All equipment from the Bodegraven site will be moved to another Royal Swinkels location which is "yet-to-be-determined", so that “it can be used for other purposes," the Bavaria brewer said.

The company added that De Molen beers would remain available for purchase after September 2025.

Set up in 2004, De Molen makes different styles of beers such as stouts, porters, IPAs, and a barrel aged barley wine.

According to its website, in 2017 it brewed approximately 11,000 hectoliters.

Currently, half of its beers are exported to around 30 countries, including Japan, Brazil, India, Canada and the US.

Royal Swinkels is a Lieshout, Netherlands-based brewer. It owns 16 brands of beers such as Swinckels', La Trappe, Cornet and Rodenbach. It has 2 malt houses in the Netherlands, plus nine breweries situated in both its domestic market and Belgium, Cuba and Ethiopia.

In November, the business added a new beer and distribution business to its portfolio in Georgia.

Royal Swinkels agreed to pay around $63m for the assets from Georgia Capital, an investor in businesses in the country.

As part of the deal, Georgia Capital was expected to divest its 92.4% equity stake in the assets, which markets Black Lion beer and sells Heineken under licence.

The shareholding was to be acquired by a newly formed holding company, Dutch Holdco, based in the Netherlands.

Upon the completion of the deal, Georgia Capital was to retain a 20% stake in the newly formed Dutch Holdco, with Royal Swinkels holding the remainder.

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