After 225 years and seven generations Belgium’s Bosteel family decided to sell Brouwerij Bosteels in Buggenhout, halfway inbetween Brussels and Antwerp, to AB InBev. The world’s largest brewing group, also based in Belgium, won a battle against Dutch Heineken group and Belgium brewer Duvel Moortgat, who were said to be also interested in the specialty brewer. The product portfolio of Boostels include Kwak, a “historic Belgian beer which is still served in its original kwak glass” , Tripel Karmeliet, a “three-grain beer with character” and DeuS, “a sparkling divine drink”.
Belgian media report a not confirmed sales price of EUR200m (US$225m) for 100 per cent of the company. The purchase follows AB InBev’s strategy to invest in high potential local craft brewers with a recent shift towards European breweries.
Latest investments include:
Goose Island, Chicago/Illinois (March 2011); Blue Point Brewing, Long Island/New York (Feb. 2014); 10 Barrel Brewing, Boise/Oregon (Nov. 2014); Elysian Brewing, Seattle/Washington (Jan. 2015); Golden Road Brewing, Los Angeles/California (Sept. 2015); Breckenridge Brewing, Denver/Colorado (Dec. 2015); Four Peaks Brewing, Tempe/Arizona (Dec. 2015); Camden Town Brewery, London/UK (Dec. 2015); Devils Backbone Brewing, Roseland/Virginia (Apr. 2016); Birra del Borgo, Rome/Italy (Apr. 2016); Brouwerij Bosteels, Buggenhout/Belgium (Sep. 2016)
AB InBev is currently in a takeover of world's second largest brewing group SAB Miller which will add additional craft brewers to its portfolio.
