Dutch Beer Challenge 2026

You may have seen my video report on my day out in Rotterdam. Here's the boring, old wordy version.

Mostly, I judge in exotic places: Brazil, Chile, Singapore. Rarely in Europe. Even in my country of residence. Why is that? Because I rarely get invited and don't go hunting invitations. As I do for bits of South America I'd like to visit.

The last couple of years I have been invited to the Dutch Beer Challenge. And, despite it being in Rotterdam, I have accepted. Though, living in Amsterdam, I do feel obliged to slag off Rotterdam every now and again. It's part of our culture. Having said that, Rotterdam was the first city I lived in when I moved to Holland. When was that? Way back in the 1980s. Almost forty years ago. Where does the time go?

Thankfully, I can get to Rotterdam without needing to go into the centre of Amsterdam.Which I always try to avoid, if I can. It being a pure tourist hellhole currently. Even better, from Amsterdam Zuid I can get a fast train. One that uses the high-speed line. Saving me a massive 15 to 20 minutes.

Amsterdam Zuid is busy. Unsurprisingly, as it's commuting time. I'm in plenty of time for my train, giving me a chance to inspect how the rebuilding of the station is coming along. The new platforms for the metro look about done. While the train platforms are still very much under construction. I'm just looking forward to when the motorway is put underground. Currently, the platforms are jammed inbetween the tow carriageways. Leaving the impression of standing in the central divider of the motorway. Noisy traffic rushing past on either side.

The train is packed. Though I mange to grab a seat after Schiphol. I used to travel quite a lot by train. Not for work, but at the weekend. Dragging the kids on outings to all corners of the Netherlands. Including dragging them into pubs for a few frenetic drinks before bundling them back onto the train. Now they're older, these excursions have finished. And most of my travel is much further afield.

The No. 1 tram takes me through the incoherent jumble of the city centre and its "iconic" architecture to the east of the city. Where more fragments of the city's past erupt between the shiny modern blocks. My destination is the stadium of Excelsior, Rotterdam's third football club. At least it isn't Fejenoord.*

Judging is taking place in the bar inside one of the stands. Plenty of judges are already there when I arrive. Including quite a few I know. Not from Holland. Rather from judging in South America. I'm such a jet-setter. There's time for some chatting before the work starts.

I'm on a table with one Belgian and three Dutch judges. Meaning much of our discussions are in Dutch. Which is novel for me. It's usually English all the way when I'm judging.

We're on a lucky table and kick off with a flight of 17 non-alcoholic beers. My favourite. How often do I drink non-alcoholic beers voluntarily? Never. Only when I'm judging. If I don't want an alcoholic drink, I'll go for something else. Though I might consider an alcohol-free Catharina Sour.

They are improving, non-alcoholic beers. Clearly the technology has advanced considerably in the last 25 years. They even manage to taste pretty much like beer. Most of them.

We trundle along at a decent pace, getting through two-thirds of our allocated beers before lunch. Making the afternoon quite relaxed. Giving us plenty of time to savour the Barley Wines and Pastry Stouts. Finishing in plenty of time.

When judging is done, a bus whisks us off to De Koperen Kat brewery in Delft. In an industrial area to the south of the centre. We're early and have to hang around outside for a while.

It's a new brewery to me. Showing how terribly out of touch I am with the Dutch beer scene. It occupies a small corner of a much larger industrial building. Compact is how I would describe it.We're given a beer to keep our hands busy while we're given a short introduction to the brewery.

I get chatting to a very interesting bloke who works for Westmalle. And another who worked for several decades at Rodenbach. Always fun to meet new people. Especially ones from iconic Belgian breweries.

Our evening meal is very, er Dutch. For me, broodje kroket and chips. What can I say? It's filling.

I'm recommended D'oostPorter. Which is a Porter, surprisingly. A rather strong one, at 8.5% ABV. And rather nice. So nice, that I drink four of them. Full of roasty goodness.

The bus calls in at Delft station before heading back to Rotterdam. I get off there, as it's closer to home.

Finding the station entrance is a challenge. The station has been moved underground and the old building is now a restaurant. The new station is hidden under a council building. And has a very Alphaville vibe.

It's quite a while until the next train to Amsterdam Centraal. Luckily, there's one earlier going to Venlo via Schiphol. Calling at Amsterdam Zuid.

When I'm almost home, there's a sound of breaking glass behind me. Something has been thrown - or shot - at the bus, shattering a window. The couple sat behind me, right next to the break, look pretty shaken up. The bus pulls up just before the next stop, and we're told to wait for the next bus. Fortunately, it's my stop. No need to wait for another bus.

What was that? I don't think a stone, as there wasn't one inside the bus. My guess is an air rifle pellet.

What an unusual end to the day.



* My Dutch team is Sparta, the other Rotterdam club. For various complicated and irrelevant reason which I won't go into here.



Delftse Stadsbrouwerij De Koperen Kat
Schieweg 15, 
2627 AN Delft.
https://www.dekoperenkat.nl/ 

 

The video report. 

 

Dutch Beer Challenge 2026

 I go to Rotterdam to judge the Dutch Beer Challenge. By train and tram. It's so much fun.

 

Pubs

When I was at university I went to the pub most days. Sometimes twice, afternoon and evening sessions. The first in the student union bar, the second in the Cardigan Arms.

In my first few years in the real world, it was much the same. Friday lunch, Friday evening, Saturday evening, Sunday lunch. Those were obligatory. There were usually a couple of weekday evenings, too. Friday evening was the highlight of the week, kicking off straight after work. A pub crawl around a part of Leeds where the Tetley's was good: North Street, Cross Green or Hunslet. I almost forgot the club. Burley Road Liberal Club. We'd be there playing snooker a couple of nights a week.

Down in London to program, my pub visits weren't much reduced. A couple of lunchtimes and a few post-work evenings with colleagues for a start. Then a couple of evenings with other friends. It could easily average out to more than one session per day.

This isn't a confession of rampant alcoholism. Many sessions were only a pint or two.

Now I think of it, it was in New York that I started to lose the pub habit. I never drank at lunchtime and rarely went for beers after work with colleagues. The only exception being Friday night darts at Manhattan Brewing. Otherwise, it was just the occasional visit of a local Staten Island bar. As they were pretty crap, I didn't bother often.

Though in Rotterdam, I usually called in Boezembrug on the way back from work. Just for a bottle or two (no sane person drank the draught beer) and a game of pinball. And try not to get bothered by the annoying anarchist hippy. 

Swindon was surprisingly good for pubs. And beer. Which encouraged me out quite often. Though less than in my single days. Drinks sometimes on a Friday lunchtime with colleagues. The odd time after work. Every now and again the odd pint in the pubs on our estate. Weekend evenings in the Old Town drinking Morrels and Wadworth. Or down the railway Village for Archers.

Settling in Amsterdam, pubs might be on the cards a couple of times a week.At least the first time around.

Melbourne revived the pub man in me. I dropped by the Canada most days on the walk home from work. Just to cool down. With a schooner of Cooper's Stout. Plenty of visits later in the evening with Dolores.to the local pubs with draught Coopers.

Definitively back in Amsterdam, pubs played prominent role again. At least three or four sessions a week.Saturday and Sunday Happy Hour in Rick's Café. A few jars in Café.Belgique once or twice a week.

After the kids came along, I'd take them to the pub on weekend afternoons. Café Belgique if I could be arsed to go into town. Bedier if I couldn't. Evening sessions were pretty much a thing of the past.

When the kids became teenagers, the afternoon sessions dried up. What was left? The odd evening with mates.

Now I'm down to once a week. Saturday afternoon with Andrew and the lads down Butcher's Tears. And that's it, pretty much.

Why do I visit pubs so much less? Part of it is just being at a different stage of my life. But money has a lot to do with it, too. A couple of drinks each for me and Dolores can top 30 euros. I can't afford to do that six or seven times a week.

When I started drinking, it was almost exclusively in pubs.This may seem strange to those not quite as ancient as me, but beer used to be cheaper in pubs than in shops. I almost never drank at home just for that reason. Plus bottled beer was way inferior to a good pint of cask.

The latter consideration might also play into Dutch pubs being less attractive. In the UK, cask will tempt me into a pub. While here pubs don't sell anything better than the Abt I drink at home.

Rotterdam

When was I last in Rotterdam? It's so long I can't say with any certainty.

I think it was when I was still writing city guides for the NLM flight magazine.I regularly made research trips to the city looking for new places. When was that? 2004 or 2005. More than 15 years, at any rate. That's a frightening thought. But why would I visit Rotterdam? Other than maybe going to watch Sparta play.

I'm not counting a couple of times that I've changed trains there. At least they've improved the station. There used to be individual little roofs over the platforms. Not that much use on a windy day. Now a single roof spans all the platforms.

I took a train from Amsterdam Zuid, despite it entailing a change. I'd rather not go to Amsterdam Centraal, if I can avoid it. Plus changing trains is a piece of piss. All I needed to do was walk across the platform to my connecting train. No trouble at all and no delay. It's not something I'd be very keen to do on the UK, where the trains are far more chaotic.

I was off to meet Robbie from Glasgow. Who was catching a ferry to Harwich later in the evening.

Public transport is so well organised here. My journey by bus, train and metro was all done using a single card. It makes life so much easier.

Not getting out of town much nowadays, I was more interested in the countryside slipping past the window than usual. The trees have far fewer leaves out here. Most are just skeletal hands reaching for the sky.

Stopped in a station, I noticed a rather sinister sign on an office building:

"WE WON'T STOP UNTIL YOU'RE ALL CONNECTED"

Note the use of "we" and "you". Sounds like they're going to connect us up whether we want it or not.

The Rotterdam metro is more useful than Amsterdam's, Eve after the opening of the Nord-Zuid line. Big chunks of the city remain miles away from any line. In comparison, the Rotterdam system is far more coherent with lines running out of the city in all four points of the compass.

I headed for Delfshaven. The nice bit of Rotterdam. The only 17th-century bit left after the wartime bombing. It wasn't originally part of Rotterdam, but the harbour for neighbouring Delft, until engulfed by 19th-century sprawl.

The original plan was to meet in Oude Sluis at 13:00. Until Robbie discovered that it didn't open until 14:00. Instead, he suggested we kick off in brewpub Pelgrim, which is just around the corner. I'd no problem with that. It would be a chance to try some of their beers for the first time in ages.

As I was late, Robbie was already well into a beer when I rolled up.

Being a cold day, I plump for a Dubbelbock at a warming 8% ABV. It's really rather nice.Chewily drinkable, is how I'd describe. It's good to see Robbie. It's been a couple of years. Not quite as long as the last time I'd visited this city.

He filled me in on some of the research he's been doing into the origins of Schwarzbier. I'm glad someone is looking into it. There are some pretty dodgy stories knocking around.

Next, we both ordered a Vagabond, described as an Export Stout. It's also a warming 8% ABV.

Oude Sluis is probably my favourite Rotterdam pub. Built around 1900, it's arse hangs out over the water. While not huge, it's bigger than many Amsterdam cafés. A couple of massive relief images adorn its walls. Reminding be a bit of the corner bar in Zum Uerige.

The draught list only runs to 7 or 8 beers, but there are plenty of bottles, mostly Belgian. Including ones from an impressive 11 Trappist monasteries. There are so many of them brewing, nowadays.

They had La Trappe Bock on tap. Tasting rather similar to their Dubbel. Not that I'm complaining. I used to drink loads of La Trappe Dubbel in Café Belgique.

Robbie tried 0.0% La Trappe. The barman warns him:

"You know that's alcohol-free, don't you?"

Robbie's verdict "Not awful. Rather thin, like a Dark Mild." it's OK, but he won't be ordering another in hurry.

He has to get off around six. Handily, he can take a metro directly to the ferry terminal. We couldn't have stayed out that much later. It was the day the pubs started closing at 20:00.

I picked some additions to the sandwiches I brought with me: two bags of crisps and a can of Gulpener Gladiator. That kept me going.

Heineken's 1935 Lagers

I recently recorded as joint talk with Peter Symons about beers from Heineken's pilot brewery in 1935. It goes into excruciating detail about what they were brewed from and how they were brewed. One for the real obsessives.

Too detailed? Possibly. Rather that than too sketchy.

More Heineken mashing schemes

Just four nights away and it's incredible how much of a backlog has built up. Of things that need to get done. And there was me thinking that life would be simpler once I'd got employment out of the way.

I've not the time to tell you all the fun I had in Germany. Maybe tomorrow. Instead, I've got some lovely decoction mashed for you. They complete the set of Heineken beers. I had worried that the pilot brewery wouldn't have made any batches of these two beers, Heineken's session Lagers. The first book contained none. Fortunately, there are some brews in the second book.

I was surprised that the mashing scheme of Domker Lagerbier was so complicated. It's a lot of effort for the equivalent of Mild Ale. Just like Beiersch, there's a triple decoction. Except the use of rice adds an extra level of complexity. At over 8 hours, it's the longest of any of the schemes.

The scheme for Licht Lagerbier is generally the same as for Pils, except some of the times are different. Especially during the sparging process.

Donker Lagerbier 30th Mar 1936
step	duration (minutes)
Mash in at 34º C (93º F)	5
Mash in rice at 17º C (63º F)	5
Draw off first decoction and raise to 70º C (158º F)	15
Raise decoction to 100º C (212º F)	15
Boil first decoction	15
Rest whole mash at 50.5º C (123º F)	15
Draw off second decoction and raise to 70º C (158º F)	20
Raise decoction to 100º C (212º F)	10
Boil second decoction	25
Rest whole mash at 65º C (149º F)	10
Draw off third decoction and raise to 100º C (212º F)	5
Boil third decoction	20
Mash at 72º C and mash out (162º F)	60
Sparge at 67º C (153º F) and rest	60
Draw off main wort	75
Draw off second wort	130
Total time	485
Source:
Heineken Brouwjournalen van de proefziederij, 1935 - 1957 held at the Amsterdamse Stadtsarchief, document number 834-1789.

Licht Lagerbier 23rd Mar 1938
step	duration (minutes)
Mash in at 50.5º C (123º F)	10
Mash in rice at 28º C (82º F)	5
Draw off first decoction and raise to 70º C (158º F)	30
Raise decoction to 100º C (212º F)	15
Boil first decoction	15
Rest whole mash at 64.5º C (148º F)	30
Draw off second decoction and raise to 100º C (212º F)	15
Boil second decoction	15
Mash at 75.5º C (168º F) and mash out	45
Sparge at 71.5º C (161º F) and rest	45
Draw off main wort	45
Draw off second wort	150
Total time	420
Source:
Heineken Brouwjournalen van de proefziederij, 1935 - 1957 held at the Amsterdamse Stadtsarchief, document number 834-1789.

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1956 Heineken (van Vollenhoven's) Stout

Just for a change, here’s another Heineken Stout recipe. This time, it’s one with the standard production grist. Rather than the weird one with mild malt and roast barley.

As this comes from one of the detailed pilot brewery records, I’ve exact details about the process. Which is always nice.  But let’s kick off with the grist.

Many of the elements are the same as in their dark Lagers: caramel mout, kleur mout and “donker”, which I assume means dark Munich malt. Though there’s quite a bit more roasted malt than you’d find in the Lagers. There’s also a bit of sugar which was added in the copper.  I’ve no idea what it specifically was. But I do know that they had played around with CDM (caramelised malto-dextrose) so I’ve plumped for something dark, in the form of No. 3 invert.

There was just a single type of hops: Saaz from the 1953 harvest. Quite a lot of them. And, unlike with their Lagers, more were added at the start of the boil rather than at the end.

The beer was lagered for three weeks. In the tank there was a bag with half a kilo of hops per hectolitre. Which is an awful lot.  More than I can recall ever seeing in a British Stout.

I’m pretty sure this was marketed as van Vollenhoven’s Stout. A beer originally produced by one of Heineken’s Amsterdam rivals which they took over and closed in the 1940s.

1956 Heineken Stout
Munich malt 20 L	6.50 lb	40.00%
pilsner malt	3.50 lb	21.54%
crystal malt 60 L	3.75 lb	23.08%
carafa III	1.00 lb	6.15%
No. 3 invert sugar	1.50 lb	9.23%
Saaz 150 mins	2.50 oz
Saaz 90 mins	1.75 oz
Saaz 30 mins	1.50 oz
Saaz dry hops	4.00 oz
OG	1073
FG	1018
ABV	7.28
Apparent attenuation	75.34%
IBU	56
SRM	45
Mash at	122º F
Raise to	154º F
Sparge at	167º F
Boil time	150 minutes
pitching temp	54º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread ale

Let's Brew - 1953 Heineken Stout

Yet another in my series of weird Heineken beers. From their pilot brewery, obviously.

It’s clear that they were experimenting with Stout recipes. Over a period of three weeks, they brewed three batches of Stout, each with a different grist. One had a more typically Dutch mix of pilsner malt, caramel mout and kleur mout. And weas hopped with Saaz. The other two used mild ale malt as base. In one case along with caramel mout and C.D.M. sugar (caramelised dextro-maltose). And this one with just roast barley.

The result is a very English-looking beer. Never in my life would I have expected to see Heineken using mild ale malt. It’s not as if it would have been available from a Dutch maltster. Next month, they reverted to the more standard Dutch-style grist. Judging by the number of identical brews, these weren’t experiments, rather small batch production runs.

The hops in this batch were all from Kent, a combination of Fuggles and Goldings, both from the 1953 season.

Based on some other brews of Stout, I’ve guessed that this was infusion mashed and top fermented.

If this version hit the market, drinkers must have noticed the difference from the usual beer. If only because it was much darker: 460 EBC as opposed to 230 EBC. And the hops were so different, English rather than Czech.

Pilot brewery records are so much more fun than those from full-size plants. There are always all sorts of weird brews. Like the Barclay Perkins decocted Mild from 1915.

1953 Heineken Stout
mild ale malt	15.00 lb	86.96%
roast barley	2.25 lb	13.04%
Fuggles 150 mins	3.75 oz
Goldings 60 mins	1.75 oz
Goldings 30 mins	1.25 oz
OG	1073
FG	1018
ABV	7.28
Apparent attenuation	75.34%
IBU	79
SRM	36
Mash at	154º F
Sparge at	165º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread ale

Let's Brew wednesday - 1957 Heineken Dortmunder Union

Now here’s a really weird one. A Heineken attempt to clone Dortmunder Union Export. Not for sale, but as a Christmas beer for their employees. They didn’t brew a huge amount of it, just 15.9 hl, as it was pm their pilot plant. No idea why they picked this beer to imitate. Though DUB Export was pretty popular in Germany at the time.

There’s not much to the grist. Well, at least I don’t think it is. There are four different types of malt, most of which I assume are pilsner malt. Though I’m not totally sure. Two are described as “Tcheco”, which must be an abbreviation of “Tchecoslovakia”, which is Dutch for Czechoslovakia.

Another is described, rather enigmatically “B.”. My first thought was broeimout. But that would make the colour too dark. After fiddling around in BeerSmith a bit, I found pale Munich malt gave the right colour. Perhaps it stands for “Bavaria”.

The hops were all Roudnice from the 1956 harvest. Roudnice being a town between Prague and Usti nad Labem. I’ve assumed that they’re something like Saaz. I’ve increased the quantity by a third as the alpha acid content is listed as 5% in the brewing record.

300 gms. of gypsum were added to the brewing water.

Lagering lasted 60 days. 

1957 Heineken Dortmunder Union
pilsner malt	10.50 lb	80.77%
Munich malt 10 L	2.50 lb	19.23%
Saaz 120 mins	0.67 oz
Saaz 60 mins	0.67 oz
Saaz 30 mins	1.00 oz
OG	1058
FG	1012
ABV	6.09
Apparent attenuation	79.31%
IBU	22
SRM	5
Mash single decoction
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	44º F
Yeast	WLP830 German Lager

Dortmunder Union 26th Sep 1957
step	duration (minutes)
Mash in at 52º C (126º F)	10
Draw off decoction and raise to 72º C (162º F)	5
Rest whole mash at 72º C (162º F)	15
Raise decoction to 100º C (212º F)	15
Boil decoction	15
Mash at 72º C (162º F) and mash out	5
Sparge at 65º C (149º F) and rest	30
Draw off main wort	90
Draw off second wort	85
Total time	270
Source:
Heineken Brouwjournal van de proefziederij, held at the Amsterdamse Stadtsarchief, document number 834-1786, page 50.

Let's Brew - 1936 Heineken Märzenbier

Another in my series of styles you didn’t expect a Dutch brewer to make. This time it’s Oktoberfest favourite: Märzen. Though, at 16º Plato, it’s too strong to be sold as Märzen in Germany. There it’s a maximum of 14º Plato.

It is amber in colour, mind. A fairly pale shade of amber, but noticeably darker than Pils. That’s coming from a fair percentage of caramel malt. I’ve guessed at its colour, but it gives a shade that matches fairly well 0.95 Brand. Which is what is listed in the brewing record.  There’s nothing else in the grist. No adjuncts, unlike their other pale Lagers which all contained rice.

Why did Heineken brew a Märzen? Because they wanted a spring seasonal beer, similar to Bok in Autumn. Meibier a few years later was another attempt. Neither was a success.

Just one lot of hops, Barth Hallertau from the 1934 season. I do at least know that they were the exact doses and timings of the hops. Thanks to the extremely detailed records of the pilot brewery. Well done, Heineken. It almost makes up for the shittiness of the ones from the main brewery. Almost.

Those detailed records mean I also have a full mashing scheme:

Märzenbier 18th Jan 1936
step	duration (minutes)
Mash in at 52º C (126º F)	20
Draw off first decoction and raise to 70º C (158º F)	45
Raise decoction to 100º C (212º F)	15
Boil first decoction	15
Rest whole mash at 65º C (149º F)	75
Draw off second decoction and raise to 100º C (212º F)	15
Boil second decoction	15
Mash at 74º C (165º F) and mash out	5
Sparge at 70.5º C (59º F) and rest	10
Draw off main wort	60
Draw off second wort	90
Total time	365
Source:
Heineken Brouwjournal van de proefziederij, held at the Amsterdamse Stadtsarchief, document number 834-1786, page 50.

 

They weren’t exactly pleased with results. A handwritten note says:

“Niet zeer goed, te zoet en te flauw, bijlucht.” 

Which means:

“Not very good, too sweet and too bland, odd flavour.”

1936 Heineken Märzenbier
pilsner malt	13.75 lb	93.22%
crystal malt 60 L	1.00 lb	6.78%
Hallertau 120 mins	0.125 oz
Hallertau 60 mins	0.50 oz
Hallertau 20 mins	0.67 oz
OG	1066
FG	1010
ABV	7.41
Apparent attenuation	84.85%
IBU	12.5
SRM	8.5
Mash double decoction
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	44º F
Yeast	WLP830 German Lager

 

 

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1935 Heineken Bok

Not only Pils was brewed in Heineken’s pilot brewery in Rotterdam. There were also a couple of brews of Bok. In this case, the trial was using non-softened well water.

The grist is surprisingly complex, including a total of five malts. Two – pilsner and dark Munich malt – form the base. The remaining three are coloured malts: broeimout, caramelmout and kleurmout. The first is a strange type of malt which wasn’t cooled during the germination process which caused it to stew. This is a description from Dutch brewing dictionary (https://www.encyclo.nl/begrip/Broeimout).

“In the case of broeimout, there is no cooling during the germination process, so that the temperature rises quite high and the flour body dissolves a great deal. Due to the higher germination temperature, it is not necessary to kiln at a high temperature.

The colour of the malt darkens due to the germination heat alone to about 30—40 EBC. However, broeimout cannot be 100% of the grist, as many enzymes have been destroyed by the higher temperatures. Amber malt is sometimes also called broeimout, but this does not always necessarily the case.”

The kleurmout wasn’t added at the start of the mashing process with the other grains, but added to the lauter tun just before the third decoction.

The hops were all Leitmeritz I from 1934. That’s the German name of a town in Czechoslovakia and I’ve assumed the hops were something like Saaz.

1935 Heineken Bok
pilsner malt	7.25 lb	44.06%
Munich malt 20 L	7.25 lb	44.06%
caramel malt 60 L	0.33 lb	2.01%
caraamber	1.50 lb	9.12%
carafa III	0.125 lb	0.76%
Hallertau 120 mins	0.33 oz
Hallertau 60 mins	0.50 oz
Hallertau 30 mins	0.67 oz
OG	1070
FG	1022
ABV	6.35
Apparent attenuation	68.57%
IBU	12.5
SRM	19
Mash double decoction
Boil time	150 minutes
pitching temp	44º F
Yeast	WLP830 German Lager

Bok 5th Aug 1935
step	duration (minutes)
Mash in at 36º C (97º F)	20
Raise whole mash to 50º C (122º F)	5
Draw off first decoction and raise to 70º C (158º F)	30
Boil first decoction	30
Rest whole mash at 53º C (127º F)	15
Draw off second decoction and raise to 70º C (158º F)	20
Boil second decoction	20
Rest whole mash at 64º C (147º F)	10
Draw off third decoction and raise to 100º C (212º F)	5
Boil third decoction	20
Mash at 74º C and mash out (165º F)	5
Sparge at 74º C (165º F) and rest	60
Draw off main wort	65
Draw off second wort	150
Total time	455
Source: Heineken Brouwjournalen van de proefziederij, 1935 - 1957 held at the Amsterdamse Stadtsarchief, document number 1785-1792, page 10.

 

 

 

 

Heineken (Rotterdam) hops in 1942

I almost forgot this one. The last little snippet about Heineken's beers in WW II. It's pretty short and shouldn't take up too much of your time. This should be it for a while. At least until they get those other records from the pilot brewery digitised. Then the whole sorry exercise will kick off again.

The hops employed, as far as I can tell, were all German. Which makes a lot of sense. Germany had a large area dedicated to hops. And Heineken was hardly likely to buy hops from the USA.

The hops were starting to get older, all being from the 1940 harvest. As they had been in 1941. The vast majority were a single type of Hallertau. Most of the beers containing no other type. The one exception being the stronger version of Pils, which had three in total.

Heineken (Rotterdam) hops in 1942
Date	Beer	Style	hop 1	hop 2	hop 3
26th Jun	Li	Licht Lagerbier	Kr Hallertau 1940
26th Jun	Beiersche	Münchener	Kr Hallertau 1940
29th Jun	Do	Donker Lagerbier	Kr Hallertau 1940
28th Jun	P dun	Pils	Kr Hallertau 1940
1st Jul	P	Pils	Kr Hallertau 1940	Breitsch 1940	L. R 1940
Source:
Heineken brewing record held at the Amsterdamse Stadsarchief, document number 834 - 1760.

 

Heineken's Rotterdam brewery in the 1920s

I'm most of the way through cooking a chicken curry. Not sure it's like a genuine curry. But it's tasting pretty good. I started cooking it a day or two ago. Once the cauliflower is cook through, it's done. Not all that hot, as Dolores doesn't like it too spicy. I'll just mix in some ground chili into my serving.

I'm going with a little report of a visit to Heineken's Rotterdam brewery in 1928 today. Not wildly informative, other than a couple of little details.

With “Industry” to Rotterdam.
An excursion to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Arnhem department of the Society of industry and trade.
The Arnhem department of the Netherlands Society for Industry and Trade has a reputation, if not in Holland, then certainly in Arnhem, in the field of organizing excursions. The later generations of members of the department know how well the board, and of all administrators to the highest degree the secretary, is able to organize trips, which provide the members with an extraordinarily pleasant and visually broadening day. That has been the case as long as we had the pleasure of experiencing excursions from “Industry”, and that was also the case on Wednesday 19 September, when an excursion was made to Rotterdam on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Arnhem department. To a greater extent: because it turned out to be a glorious anniversary excursion, which all participants, about thirty in number, will look back on fondly for a long time to come. The secretary, Mr. L. Thieme, has this time given extraordinary care to the preparations and he has succeeded in bringing the department members and guests an excursion that exceeded all expectations. Everything contributed to that. The chairman of the department, Prof. J. Klopper, was a cheerful and excellent leader of the group, which left the train at ten o'clock in the morning at the Rotterdam Maas station to immediately board waiting coaches to show his interest in Heineken's famous brewery. We note in advance that the excursion attracted considerable interest from the board of the Rotterdam Department of the company: from that side everything had been done to make the visit as pleasant as possible for the people of Arnhem by letting them, with the care of some board members for the provision of information. As a result, the journey through the northern and western districts of Rotterdam was a success in all respects. The ultimate goal was: Heineken's brewery, where the Management Board undertook the task of introducing the men of Industry, to the layout of the large, interesting company, which is again undergoing considerable expansion. Next to the factory, work is underway on a gigantic building (37 Meters high — the Rotterdam Witte Huis is 42 M), which will be intended to house part of the company.

In the brewery we became acquainted with the interesting process to which the barley is subjected in order to obtain the well-known Heinekens beer. At present the barley is still supplied from abroad — mostly from Czechoslovakia — but in consultation with the agricultural college, a trial is now being conducted with native barley. We became acquainted with the cleaning of barley, with the germination process, we visited the magnificent brewing hall, furnished after the design of the architect Kromhout, a beautiful hall, which arouses general admiration. The huge copper kettles set up here are capable of producing 400,000 litres of beer per day. It is remarkable that the gigantic brewery works almost entirely mechanically. An extremely small staff, no more than two or three men, is required for the control of many factory installations.

The brewing hall was followed by a visit to the gigantic cellars, to the cooling tanks, the fermentation cellar, the 'lagering cellar', in which enormous enamelled lagering casks have been set up. It is possible to store a quantity of 130,000 H.L. here! This was followed by a walk through the rooms, where the beer barrels are automatically filled, to another, where the empty barrels are automatically cleaned, to the expedition rooms and to the ice factory.

Finally, the management of the Heineken's brewery reunited the guests for lunch in one of the characteristic bars, which is part of the bowling alley at the factory. Here the Director welcomed everyone. At the table they had the opportunity to get acquainted with the excellent product of the brewery.

Heineken's brewery passes for the most modern enterprises in Europe: the product is known all over the world. Do you know that the Prince of Wales is accustomed to take Heineken beer with him on his travels?

With loud expressions of approval, Prof. Klopper thanked the Management of the brewery for the wonderful reception that was enjoyed here.
Arnhemsche courant 20-09-1928. 

Handy to know where their barley came from: Czechoslovakia. And not Dutch, which wasn't considered good enough for brewing. By the time WW II rolled around, that had changed, and Holland as producing most of its own barley. Just as well when forei8gn supplies dried up during the conflict.

400,000 litres a day is about 125,000 hl a year. Quite a lot less than the 299,053 hl they brewed om 1939. It also means that they had a lagering capacity that was about equal to their potential annual production. Seems a bit over the top to me.

The Prince of Wales in 1928 would have been the later Edward VIII. Not so sure I'd want to associate my beer with him.