Dutch Beer production by type 1938 - 1954

I know. More numbers. But some of them are just so juicy. How could I leave them on the vine?

One large change – which was either precipitated of accelerated by the war – was in the type of beer being produced and consumed.

Rather surprisingly, the most popular class of beer pre-war was Lagerbier. That is, either Pale or Dark Lager of 3.5% ABV. The equivalent of Pale or Dark Mild, these were the beers consumed in draught in the cafés of the large cities in the West of Holland: Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Den Haag. Heavy beer – the 5% ABV Pils and Münchener – sold in rather lower quantities, but was more popular in the provinces.

The other two classes were far less popular. Extra Heavy was Bokbier. As this was only available for a couple of months a year, it’s no surprise its sales were modest. Its high price doubtless played a role, too. The Intermediate class of beer was only produced by a limited number of breweries. As the name implies, it was halfway in strength between Lager and Heavy.

Sales of Lagerbier collapsed after the war, as did those of the Intermediate class. It’s quite likely that the rise of Pils was connected to rising living standards with drinkers upgrading to Pils. Something similar happened in the UK with a move from Mild to Bitter. Eventually, Lagerbier totally disappeared.

By 1950 Heavy Beer, which at that point was almost all Pils, claimed more than 80% of sales. It would only go on to consolidate its position as most popular style in the 1960s and 1970s, leaving Holland a virtual monoculture.

Bokbier – after an initial post-war burst of enthusiasm – settled back down to around 1% of the market. Perhaps drinkers had just been thrilled to get their hands on a properly strong beer again.

Dutch beer production by type 1938 - 1954 (hl)
Year	Lager	Intermediate	Heavy	Extra heavy	Total
1938	663,650	30,303	565,189	10,214	1,269,336
1939	747,458	32,986	605,576	12,091	1,398,111
1946	668,838	18,077	1,090,303	12,188	1,789,406
1947	388,834	9,731	1,191,739	8,998	1,599,302
1948	257,986	7,915	1,020,550	23,499	1,309,950
1949	174,240	6,717	807,996	18,822	1,007,775
1950	166,471	6,894	880,865	14,232	1,068,462
1951	160,244	6,732	901,933	13,744	1,082,653
1952	161,328	4,592	945,166	13,423	1,124,509
1953	188,973	2,965	1,078,995	12,486	1,283,419
1954	198,588	1,789	1,195,980	14,139	1,410,496
Source:
De Nederlandse Brouwindustrie in Cijfers, by Dr. H. Hoelen, Centraal Brouwerij Kantoor, 1955, held at the Amsterdam City Archives, page 39.

Dutch beer production by type 1938 - 1954 (%)
Year	Lager	Intermediate	Heavy	Extra heavy
1938	52.28%	2.39%	44.53%	0.80%
1939	53.46%	2.36%	43.31%	0.86%
1946	37.38%	1.01%	60.93%	0.68%
1947	24.31%	0.61%	74.52%	0.56%
1948	19.69%	0.60%	77.91%	1.79%
1949	17.29%	0.67%	80.18%	1.87%
1950	15.58%	0.65%	82.44%	1.33%
1951	14.80%	0.62%	83.31%	1.27%
1952	14.35%	0.41%	84.05%	1.19%
1953	14.72%	0.23%	84.07%	0.97%
1954	14.08%	0.13%	84.79%	1.00%
Source:
De Nederlandse Brouwindustrie in Cijfers, by Dr. H. Hoelen, Centraal Brouwerij Kantoor, 1955, held at the Amsterdam City Archives, page 39.