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.