The second war was even more traumatic for Dutch brewing than the first. Again the major problem was the disruption to world trade it caused, disastrous for an industry dependent on imported raw materials. The figures for beer output are deceptive, as there were successive cuts in beer gravity as the war progressed, starting in January 1941.
| Heineken Lager gravities 1940 - 1942 (º Plato) | |||||
| 1940 | Jan 1941 | Jul 1941 | Aug 1941 | Oct 1942 | |
| Licht Lager | 9.2 | 7 | 6.5 | 5.5 | 3.9 |
| Donker Lager | 9 | 7 | 6.5 | 5.5 | 3.9 |
| Pils | 12 | 10 | 8.5 | 7.5 | 7.7 |
| Beiersch | 13 | 8.5 | 7.5 | 7.7 | |
| Sources: | |||||
| "Het Vaderland", 16th January 1941. | |||||
| Heineken brewing records held at the Amsterdam Stadsarchief, document number 834 - 1760. | |||||
Initially, Pils was reduced from 12º Balling to 10º and Lager (Light and Donker) from 9º to 7º*. By July 1941, Pils was down to 8.5º Balling and Lager 6.5º. In August 1914, Pils was 7.5º Balling and Lager 5.5º. In October 1942 Pils was 7.7º Balling and Lager a puny 3.9º Balling**. In the last year of the war just over 1 million hectoliters of weak beer were produced.
| Dutch beer output 1940 - 1945 | |||
| year | output (hl) | year | output (hl) |
| 1940 | 1,764,000 | 1943 | 2,286,000 |
| 1941 | 2,247,000 | 1944 | 1,848,000 |
| 1942 | 2,076,000 | 1945 | 1,157,000 |
| Source: | |||
| European Statistics 1750-1970 by B. R. Mitchell, 1978. | |||
* "Het Vaderland", 16th January 1941.
** Heineken brewing records held at the Amsterdam Stadsarchief, document number 834-1760.
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