This is when the real transformation of Dutch brewing took place. After 1955, with Heineken increasingly successful in the American market, Dutch exports and production soared. Between then at 1970, beer output more than quadrupled.
| Dutch beer output 1946 - 1970 | |||||
| year | output (hl) | year | output (hl) | year | output (hl) |
| 1946 | 1,873,000 | 1955 | 2,321,000 | 1963 | 4,408,000 |
| 1947 | 1,852,000 | 1956 | 2,485,000 | 1964 | 4,965,000 |
| 1948 | 1,514,000 | 1957 | 2,733,000 | 1965 | 5,402,000 |
| 1949 | 1,336,000 | 1958 | 2,941,000 | 1966 | 5,695,000 |
| 1950 | 1,413,000 | 1959 | 3,398,000 | 1967 | 6,571,000 |
| 1951 | 1,603,000 | 1960 | 3,552,000 | 1968 | 6,849,000 |
| 1952 | 1,611,000 | 1961 | 3,802,000 | 1969 | 7,841,000 |
| 1953 | 1,832,000 | 1962 | 3,965,000 | 1970 | 8,772,000 |
| 1954 | 1,978,000 | ||||
| Source: | |||||
| European Statistics 1750-1970 by B. R. Mitchell, 1978. | |||||
Pils came to dominate the Dutch market, with some of the older styles such as Licht and Donker Lager disappearing, the latter replaced by Oud Bruin. Münchener, a stronger dark Lager, gradually faded into extinction in the 1950’s and 1960’s.
| Heineken Rotterdam beers in 1949 | ||||||
| Bier | OG Balling | FG Balling | app.degree attenuation | % ABV | Colour | hops (gm/hl) |
| Pils for UK | 8.05 | 2.7 | 66.46% | 3 | 0.48 | 143.9 |
| Münchner | 12.7 | 5.6 | 55.91% | 4.9 | 14 | 147.1 |
| Oud Bruin | 8.15 | 3.6 | 55.83% | 3.1 | 19 | 116.3 |
| Pils | 12.2 | 4 | 67.21% | 4.7 | 0.8 | 214.8 |
| Pils. Export | 12.15 | 3.9 | 67.90% | 4.7 | 0.8 | 218.4 |
| Bok | 16.35 | 6.3 | 61.47% | 6.5 | 19 | 171.3 |
| Source: | ||||||
| Heineken brewing records held at the Amsterdam Stadsarchief | ||||||
Two new Pils versions were introduced: a low-strength one for the UK and a slightly tweaked full-strength one for the USA. All Heineken beers contained adjuncts: maize and sugar in everything plus caramel and colouring in the dark Lagers.
Dutch Lager styles around 1960
This comes from a booklet distributed by the Centraal Brouwerij Kantoor:
| Dutch Lager styles around 1960 | |||
| Beer | OG (Plato) | ABV | Description |
| Pilsener | 11 - 12 | 5% | Golden yellow and clear. |
| Münchener | 11.5 - 12.5 | 5% | Less heavily hopped than Pils with a full taste |
| Donker Lager (Oud Bruin) | 8 - 9 | 3.50% | Artificially sweetened |
| Bokbier | 16 | 6.50% | Warm robin-red colour, creamy head and special aroma |
| Dortmunder | 11 - 12 | 5% | Fuller but less heavily hopped |
| Stout | 16 | 6.50% | Especially nourishing. |
| Source: | |||
| "Het Bier is Weer Best", Centraal Brouwerij Kantoor, ca. 1960. | |||
It’s pretty much the same styles as are around today, except Münchener has disappeared and Meibok has become a new seasonal beer.
The last reference I can find to Münchener in Heineken’s advertising is from 22nd October 1965. It must have disappeared soon after that.
It’s surprising that Heineken’s Donker Lager survived WW II, being advertised until about 1955.
Heineken’s leading position in the Dutch market was cemented in 1968 with the takeover of their main rivals, Amstel. The number of breweries continued to decline, falling from 85 in 1945* to a meager 19 in 1979**.
By the 1970’s, The Dutch industry was highly concentrated, dominated by a handful of large breweries – Heineken, Oranjeboom, Grolsch and Bavaria – making almost exclusively Pils. It was the low point of Dutch brewing.
* Centraal Brouwerij Kantoor
** Nederlands Etiketten Logboek, 1998.
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