Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) is a Namibian brewery which is based in

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 20 ...

, Namibia. It was founded in 1920.

History

The brewery was founded in 1920 when Carl List and Hermann Ohlthaver acquired four small breweries with financial difficulties. The breweries were merged under the name South West Breweries Limited (SWB). In March 1990, SWB changed its name to Namibia Breweries Limited when Namibia gained independence. Ohlthaver & List Group of Companies are still the majority shareholder. Since 2003, Namibia Breweries Limited has been working in partnership with Heineken South Africa. After 2010, NBL started to buy shares of Heineken SA, eventually reaching a 25% ownership of the Dutch subsidiary in South Africa. In 2014, Namibian Breweries Limited became the first brewer in Africa to switch to

solar energy Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an essenti ...

, and on a large scale. It invested in a 1.MW Solar Power plant installed on existing roof structures and covering up to 34% of its energy use. In November 2021, Heineken N.V. acquired the brewery along with Distell Group Holdings for $4.6 billion. At the time acquisition, the brewery was valued at 400 million euros.

Description

NBL brew all of their beers according to the

Reinheitsgebot The ''Reinheitsgebot'' (, literally "purity order") is a series of regulations limiting the ingredients in beer in Germany and the states of the former Holy Roman Empire. The best known version of the law was adopted in Bavaria in 1516 (by Will ...

(German purity law) from 1516. Other than the four top-selling beers NBL also produces some speciality beers like Urbock - a winter bock beer. Nambrew also distributes other beer brands like Erdinger Weissbeer,

Guinness Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ove ...

and

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

in the region. The low alcohol (2%), low calorie product ''Windhoek Light'' was endorsed by the South African Heart Foundation. Currently NBL exports 20.5% of its production to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and 22 other countries world-wide.

Products

Own products: * Club Shandy * Tafel Lager * Tafel Lite * Tafel Radler * Camelthorn * King Lager * Hansa Draught * Windhoek Draught * Windhoek Lager * Windhoek Light * Windhoek Non-alcoholic * McKane: Soda Water, Tonic Water, Lemonade, Dry Lemon and Cranberry * Vigo (malt soft drink): Marula, Wild Orange and Kiwano * AquaSplash Brewed under licence: * Amstel Lager * Amstel Lite * Heineken * Horizon * Strongbow Distribute: * Guinness * Erdinger * Erdinger Non-alcoholic * Foundry Cider * Archers Aqua (various flavours)

Bibliography

References

External links

* {{Authority control Breweries of Africa Buildings and structures in Windhoek Food and drink companies of Namibia Companies based in Windhoek Food and drink companies established in 1920 Namibian brands Diageo 2021 mergers and acquisitions