Declining beer consumption and rising costs push the family-owned brewery into self-administration, while operations continue.
What had circulated for days is now confirmed: the traditional Franconian brewer Brauhaus Altenkunstadt Andreas Leikeim GmbH & Co. KG has filed for insolvency under self-administration. The company, known nationwide for its characteristic swing-top bottles, cited a prolonged decline in sales and revenues combined with rising costs as the reason for the step. With an annual output of around 200,000 hectoliters, Leikeim ranks among the mid-sized private breweries in Bavaria.
According to managing director Andreas Leikeim, the brewery ran into a liquidity bottleneck after years of negative volume and turnover development. Falling beer consumption in Germany, higher energy and raw material costs and the lingering economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic further intensified the pressure on the business.
Despite the insolvency filing, production and deliveries will continue. Around 100 employees are currently working at the Altenkunstadt site, and wages are secured for the time being through insolvency benefits. As part of the self-administration procedure, various restructuring options are now being examined together with a court-appointed supervisor.
Founded in 1887, Leikeim has remained an independent family brewery for five generations. In recent years, the company had already tried to counter market headwinds by expanding exports, investing in non-alcoholic beers and soft drinks, and implementing cost-saving measures. These initiatives, however, were not sufficient to offset the structural challenges facing the German beer market.
Leikeim’s plan insolvency fits into a broader pattern of consolidation in the German brewing landscape. Recent months have seen site closures at Bischofshof Brauerei in Regensburg, Brauerei Irlbach in Irlbach and Privatbrauerei Lang in Jandelsbrunn, and an insolvency in self-administration of Eichbaum Brauerei in Mannheim, where proceedings began on 1 January 2026.
For consumers and beer enthusiasts, the immediate message is clear: Leikeim beers will remain available for now. Whether the swing-top specialist can successfully emerge from restructuring will depend on how convincingly the brewery can adapt its portfolio and cost structure to a shrinking and increasingly competitive market.
