Refreshing the parts other beers cannot reach
Roger Protz goes behind the scenes at the gigantic Heineken brewery in Amsterdam
Small country, big beer. Heineken is a beer colossus, the world’s fourth biggest producer and, the company claims, the most profitable. This success has been built by breaking out of the straight jacket of the Dutch market, with a population of just 14 million, and going global.
The figures spelt out to visitors to the Dutch head office and brewery at Zoeterwoude outside Amsterdam are mind-boggling. The group produces 118 million hectolitres of beer a year. It owns 130 breweries in 65 countries, employs 57,000 people, has such other famous brands as Cruzcampo (Spain), Moretti and Dreher (Italy) and Bingtang (Indonesia) in its portfolio, and is building a major presence in the emerging markets of China and Russia.
It’s all a long way removed from the humble origins of the company in 1863. Gerard Adriaan Heineken was so appalled by the depravity and drunkenness caused by gin drinking in Amsterdam that he told his mother he would make healthy beer for the masses if she would buy a brewery for him. Mrs Heineken dutifully broke open her piggy bank and bought De Hooiberg – the Haystack – brewery, the largest in the Dutch capital, with records going back to 1592.
Heineken was an instant success. Within a few years he had built a second brewery in Amsterdam and opened a third plant in Rotterdam by 1873. The Haystack closed long ago but it remains a potent symbol of the history and growth of the company, with every Heineken brewery throughout the world sporting a Haystack bar.
Hei.....
To read the rest of this article you can buy this issue
or subscribe to Beers of the World to have every issue delivered direct to your door.
By Roger Protz
Section : International Focus
Page number : 46
