Beer in the Netherlands Information & Beer in the Netherlands Links at HealthHaven.com

The former Heineken brewery in Amsterdam, now a museum

Beer in the Netherlands is known for the pale lagers, especially Heineken and Grolsch, which are exported globally. Grolsch is the leading import lager in the United Kingdom. Heineken is the world's third-largest brewer of beer, after Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller.

While pale lager makes up the majority of beer production and consumption in the Netherlands (95% according to the Centraal Brouwerij Kantoor), most Dutch brewers also brew specials. The most common is Bok, brewed in Autumn and Spring, a tradition closely related to German Bock beer.

The Netherlands exports the largest proportion of beer of any country in the world - approximately 50% of production, according to The Brewers of Europe. In 2004, almost 1,300 million litres were exported out of a total production of 2,300 million litres.

[edit] Beer culture

The beer culture in Netherlands is a bit different from, for example, Belgium and Germany. Beer is regarded as either a delicacy or just a way to get drunk, the latter being predominant among youngsters who are allowed to buy alcohol (not liquor) from the age of 16. Pilsener is the most consumed type of beer in the Netherlands. Other popular beers are mostly imported from Belgium. Also, some Dutch brewers emulate Belgian beer styles such as white beer and abbey beer, also Weizen beer is now brewed by Grolsch. There are many places for the hard-core beer-lovers, such as the beer shops (Berts Bierhuis in Utrecht, De Bierkoning in Amsterdam) and pubs with large stocks of different beers (Kafe België, Utrecht; De Geus, Enschede; De Pintelier, Groningen; Café De Wildeman and Café De Spuyt, Amsterdam; Café Samson and Café Jos, Nijmegen; 't Arendsnest, Amsterdam; De Beiaard, Enschede; Kandinsky, Tilburg). Good beer in the Netherlands is often regarded to be higher in rank than most wines, opposed to countries such as France or the UK where beer is often still seen as a workers' drink.

[edit] Breweries

There are four main brewery companies in the Netherlands: Heineken (which also brews Amstel), Grolsch, Bavaria and Inbev. According to the Centraal Brouwerij Kantoor, Heineken has around 50% of the market and the other three 15% each. Between them, the large companies operate eight breweries. In addition to the multinationals, there are five independent lager breweries and around forty five small, new microbreweries and brewpubs. A dozen other companies own no brewing plant themselves and have their beers brewed by third parties, either in the Netherlands or Belgium. The new breweries mostly brew top-fermenting beers roughly similar to those from Belgium, though there are also examples of British-style ales and traditional lagers. Although beer is a popular beverage throughout the country, some provinces or parts of the Netherlands have their own 'distinctive' beer. For example, in the south and southeast of the country bitter beers are popular, like Brand beer. Bavaria is popular in Noord-Brabant and Grolsch ıs a big favourite in the eastern provinces. Better known brands such as Heineken and Amstel are mostly regarded as 'normal' or even inferior beers when there's also Hertog Jan available. This may sound strange to many foreigners who regard 'the' Dutch beer Heineken as a premium beer.

Dutch beer packaging

[edit] See also

Dutch Breweries

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links