Tuesday 21 September 2021

Dutch beer production 1925 - 1970

Yet more Dutch numbers. This time showing the remarkable recovery of the brewing industry after WW II. Much of it powered by exports. And Heineken. Especially in the later years.

Production in the interwar years mirror the waxing and waning of the world economy, with the  impact of the Wall Street Crash of 1929 plainly visible.  Just as in the UK, just when things were starting to pick up in the late 1930s, an annoying was came along to mess everything up.

The continued increase in output in the first couple of years of the German occupation came at a price: a big reduction in strength. By the end, it wasn't intoxicating at all. Unlike in the UK, where at least average strength never dropped below 3% ABV.

At the start of WW II, a huge percentage of Dutch beer came from just a couple of breweries. Out of total production in 1939 of 1,508,000 hl, Heineken (Rotterdam) brewed 232,226 hl and Amstel 279,801 hl. Assuming Heineken's Amsterdam brewery produced something similar to their Rotterdam plant, along with Amstel they must have been responsible for half of all Dutch beer.

Dutch beer production 1925 - 1970
year hl year hl year hl
1925 1,944,000 1941 2,247,000 1956 2,485,000
1926 2,033,000 1942 2,076,000 1957 2,733,000
1927 2,058,000 1943 2,286,000 1958 2,941,000
1928 - 1944 1,848,000 1959 3,398,000
1929 2,319,000 1945 1,157,000 1960 3,552,000
1930 2,280,000 1946 1,873,000 1961 3,802,000
1931 2,103,000 1947 1,852,000 1962 3,965,000
1932 1,807,000 1948 1,514,000 1963 4,408,000
1933 1,609,000 1949 1,336,000 1964 4,965,000
1934 1,512,000 1950 1,413,000 1965 5,402,000
1935 1,373,000 1951 1,603,000 1966 5,695,000
1936 1,262,000 1952 1,611,000 1967 6,571,000
1937 1,298,000 1953 1,832,000 1968 6,849,000
1938 1,382,000 1954 1,978,000 1969 7,841,000
1939 1,508,000 1955 2,321,000 1970 8,772,000
1940 1,764,000        
Source:
"European Statistics 1750-1970" by B. R. Mitchell, 1978, pages 268- 288.

 

 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Did any other well populated, serious beer drinking countries have so much concentration at that time? Ireland and Guinness is the only other example I can guess at. I don't think Budweiser/Busch in the US was close to that kind of dominance back then if I'm reading this right.


https://eh.net/encyclopedia/a-concise-history-of-americas-brewing-industry/