00:00A glass of Helles from Langbroi, a small family brewery in northern Bavaria.
00:06For 170 years, it's served the local community.
00:09Now it's closing.
00:11Owner Richard Hopf says rising energy costs, driven by the war in Ukraine,
00:16and increasingly price-conscious customers are to blame.
00:19In uncertain times, more people are reaching for cheaper, mass-produced beer, often at half the price.
00:25We've been seeing double-digit losses for two years straight.
00:30And the question is, when will things improve and get back to normal?
00:36There's no way to know.
00:39And there's another problem. Beer consumption in Germany is steadily declining.
00:44Langbroi tried to adapt, adding fruit juices, sodas and lower alcohol options.
00:50But the extra income wasn't enough.
00:52Hopf needed urgent funds for a new brewing system.
00:56His current one dates back to the 1960s, and he couldn't afford to wait any longer.
01:02We're not in a comfortable situation.
01:04We've got a backlog of investments we need to make.
01:07If we could afford to ride this out for a few years, maybe we would.
01:11But it's just not an option.
01:14For Langbroi's 20 employees, these are their final days at the company.
01:18Jens Oetjen has worked here for 35 years.
01:23He even knows the owner's grandfather.
01:26Finding a new job isn't easy.
01:29I'm in my late 50s, and honestly, I don't know what's next.
01:33I'm still looking.
01:34His younger colleague has a slightly brighter outlook.
01:40He's applying to the big breweries, but they're farther away.
01:43Will I find something I can walk to like this?
01:47No, but I will find a good job somewhere.
01:51300 kilometers south near Munich is Andex Monastery, home to one of Germany's most historic breweries.
01:59The monks have been brewing beer for centuries.
02:02While they also feel the pressure of rising competition, they're holding their ground.
02:06Today is St. Joseph's Day.
02:10Hundreds of pilgrims and visitors have gathered.
02:18After church, they make their way to the Bräustübel, the monastery's traditional beer hall.
02:25Andex beer is a must.
02:27And anyone named Josef or Josefa gets one on the house.
02:31We always come here for St. Joseph's Day, since we were in high school.
02:38It's a great place to visit, and this is just part of the experience.
02:45We're loyal to Andexer beer.
02:47We live near Lake Amazee and come here all the time.
02:52Nearly one million people visit Andex every year, many of them for the beer.
02:57Lately, the alcohol-free options have been growing in popularity.
03:05The monks picked up on this trend early and now offer two varieties.
03:10People are drinking less of the traditional beer.
03:13That's very apparent.
03:15But we're glad we have such great alternatives.
03:18Most people can't even tell they're alcohol-free.
03:20Keeping the brewery profitable is essential.
03:28It's one of the monastery's main sources of income.
03:31And for more than 500 years, that income hasn't run dry.
03:37We take our time with our products.
03:40Our beer is allowed to mature properly.
03:43Monastic products are known for exceptional quality,
03:46and we take that very seriously.
03:50At the Andex monastery, the expertise of our monks lives on in this tradition.
03:56Just a few years ago, the monastery invested hundreds of thousands of euros
04:01in a modern brewing system, partly to cut energy costs.
04:06Still, Andexer beer is twice the price of industrial brands.
04:09That's why sales and export manager Alexander Reis focuses on quality and regional identity.
04:17We're really active in the summer.
04:20At festivals, music events, anywhere we can present our beer.
04:27Tradition and regional routes are a perfect fit for us.
04:31And it's one of our strengths.
04:32Exporting is another key part of their business, and it's growing.
04:40Many tourists leave Andex as loyal fans,
04:43continuing to buy the beer when they return home.
04:48One of our newest markets is Asia, which we're now expanding into.
04:53But we're also steady in places where we've had a presence for years,
04:56like Italy, the US, and Scandinavia.
04:59You have to take care of those markets, put in the effort.
05:08Back at Langbroi, Richard Hopf is already thinking ahead.
05:12Maybe a new role as a business consultant.
05:15Other brewers are already calling him
05:17for advice on how to shut down their own operations.
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