From 1959 to 1963, DAB switched from the old wooden to new aluminium barrels. The Hansa Brewery, a local competitor, was acquired in 1971. On its grounds, DAB erected a new modern brewery, finished in 1983, at the time the largest of the Ruhr area. However, the cost of the acquisition of Hansa was substantial, and burdened DAB for years to come. Questionable decisions by the company management in the 1990s exacerbated the situation, leading to a collapse of the company brands and the increasing production of generic brands to make use of the capacities. Even the acquisition of the brand names of another local competitor in economic difficulties, the Kronen Brewery, could not stop the downward trend which to this day, even though the company is the last brewery in Dortmund, has not been fully stopped.