Sunday 26 July 2015

Dutch Lager Styles 1870 - 1960 (part six)

Heineken’s wholesale prices  1904 – 1911
That wasn’t Heineken’s complete range of beers. It looks as if there were some beers which were only produced in Amsterdam: Gerste, Münchener and Export.

Heineken wholesale prices 1904 - 1914
beer type cents per litre
Gerstebier 8
Lager 8
Rotterdamsche Gerste 11
Münchener 14
Export 14
Beiersch (donker) 13
Pilsner (licht) 13
Bock 15
Source:
1904-1914 - "Korte Geschiedenis der Heineken's Bierbouwerij Maatschappij N.V. 1873 - 1948" (p.218)

My guess would be that the Gerste was a lower gravity version of the Gerste brewed in Rotterdam, that is a dark, bottom-fermenting beer which wasn’t lagered. Export must be a type of Dortmunder, with a gravity of around 14º Plato. Münchener I suppose was a stronger version of Beiersch, again with a gravity of around 14º Plato.


Comparative prices in 1911

In this 1911 pricelist, you can see the relative prices of different types of Lager:

Price relative to ABV
Beer ABV price per bottle cents per 1% ABV % cheaper than Pils
Gerste 3.7 11 2.97 26.14%
Lager 3.4 9 2.65 41.67%
Pils 4.8 18 3.75
Source:
Advert in Rotterdamsch Nieuwsblad, 16th September 1911, page 4.

Rotterdamsch Nieuwsblad, 16th September 1911, page 4.

Pilsener was, relative to its alcoholic strength, the worst value for money, as this table demonstrates:

Pils was 26% more expensive per unit of alcohol.

No comments: