Namibia Breweries
Windhoek, Namibia · Est. 1920
Tally's Take
Why this matters
A German colonial legacy that stuck: Windhoek is still brewed to the Reinheitsgebot, which almost nobody outside Germany bothers with.
The Museum
Timeline
- 2023Acquired via Distell
Comes to Heineken in 2023 on completion of the Distell transaction, which reorganised much of southern African drinks under Heineken Beverages.
The Beer Library
Beers
Windhoek Lager
Year-RoundPale Lager
A leftover of German colonial Southwest Africa: still brewed to the 1516 Reinheitsgebot purity law, a century after the Germans left.
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How it changed hands
1 recorded move- 1920Founded
- 2023Acquired via Distell
Comes to Heineken in 2023 on completion of the Distell transaction, which reorganised much of southern African drinks under Heineken Beverages.
Today the chain tops out at Heineken N.V..
Show your working
Sources
- controlConfirmed
Namibia Breweries is controlled by Founder / family.
Heineken Holding N.V. Annual Report 2025 · Heineken Holding N.V. · 2026-04
PrimaryHigh reliabilityAccessed 2026-08-05Reviewed 2026-08-05
Only the claims above are sourced. Everything else on this page is the archive's own research and has not yet been tied to a document — which is worth knowing rather than hiding.
Straight answers
Common questions about Namibia Breweries
- Who owns Namibia Breweries?
- Namibia Breweries is owned by Heineken N.V.. Namibia Breweries is based in Windhoek, Namibia.
- Is Namibia Breweries still independent?
- No. Namibia Breweries is owned by Heineken N.V. and is no longer independent.
- When was Namibia Breweries acquired?
- 2023. Comes to Heineken in 2023 on completion of the Distell transaction, which reorganised much of southern African drinks under Heineken Beverages.
- When was Namibia Breweries founded?
- Namibia Breweries was founded in 1920 in Windhoek, Namibia.
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