8
"We want to stay small-scale"
Amstel licence
in Norway
New look El Aguila
fleet of lorries
De Ridder B re wen: David amongst the Goliaths
Launch starts soon
"The De Ridder Brewery is a wholly owned subsidiary
of Heineken-Holland, but we have our own production,
distribution, marketing and sales. Our position is
comparable to that of Heineken's smaller foreign
breweries, which means we can make use of all sorts of
concern facilities.
Main thrust
Interests in Limburg
Bock beer as an experiment
More than you think!
Heineken's beers in
Holland
Beers imported by
Heineken:
In the near future Norwegians will be able to toast each
other with a glass of Amstel. The beer will be brewed un
der licence in the Hamar brewery in the town of the same
name, about 120 kilometres north of Oslo. Amstel beer
will retail in 35-cl and 50-cl bottles.
Ideal
When Heineken acquired
De Ridder about five
years ago, the personnel
greeted the move with suspicion.They
expected that the brewery would be
closed down and its production
transfered to one of the Heineken
breweries. Slowly but surely, however,
they realised that Heineken was
investing in the brewery and the
conviction grew that De Ridder
Brewery will continue to exist."
Mr. Jvan Herpen is the director of the
brewery in Maastricht in Limburg,
Holland's southernmost province. He
is in charge of a brewery which, with
its capacity of about 35 ,(XX) hectolitres
a year, is one of the 'Davids' on the
Dutch brewing scene.The 26 full-time
employees are working hard to
increase that capacity. "We are
growing steadily, yet we still opt for a
traditional, small-scale approach with
a strong sense of nostalgia." Anyone
entering the brewery office cannot fail
to recognise the aura of nostalgia.
Superbly decorated ceilings and
antique furniture breathe the
atmosphere of by-gone days.
The De Ridder Brewery focuses
primarily on the hotels, pubs and
restaurants trade. Its pilsener lager is a
popular product with licensees. In
addition, De Ridder brews Maltezer
beer and brown ale.The heavier
Maltezer (6.5% alcohol) is mainly
sold in bottles to Dutch liquor stores.
De Ridder's stronghold is the Province
of South Limburg. "Naturally we also
want to supply De Ridder beer to
catering establishments in the rest of
the country, but the main thrust of
our work is in the neighbourhood of
Maastricht. De Ridder is the last
remaining brewery in Maastricht. At
the end of last century the city still had
36, mostly small breweries. De Ridder
is important to the citizens of
Maastricht.The local population are
proud that they still have their 'own'
beer. We at the brewery intend to
encourage that sense of pride",
explains Mr. Van Herpen.The feeling
of local belonging is also fostered by
advertisements written in Maastricht
dialect and published in the local
papers. Beside this, De Ridder
actively sponsors many events. The
most important ones are the Ridder
Tour, a cycle race for professionals
held just after the end of theTour de
Franceand the Ridder Regattaa big
rowing contest for students which
takes place on the river Maas in
Maastricht. Mr. Van Herpen: "For a
brewery like De Ridder events like
this are a perfect public showcase for
our products and our image."
By Heineken standards the brewery in
Maastricht is a very modest operation
So why was it acquired five years ago?
Mr. Van Herpen: "First and foremost
Heineken wanted to strengthen its
interests in Limburg. You mustn't
forget that beer consumption in
Limburg is generally higher than in
the rest of the Netherlands. A second
reason for the acquisition was a minor,
though pronounced shift in attitude
amongst licensees who 'wanted to try
something different', for instance to
meet the wishes of their guests or to
restyle the image of their business.
Limburg brands play a prominent role
in that process, since many people in
the hotels and bars trade are looking
for another, more distinctive brand of
beer. And we can provide them with
it."
Apart from De Ridder lager, Maltezer
and brown ale, the brewery started
brewing De Ridder Bock Beer two
weeks ago.The quantity is small and is
available in kegs to the catering trade
"Clearly it's still an experiment. We
will be watching how things turn out.
If there is enough interest, we'll be
brewing bock beer again next year and
perhaps bottling it as well." No full-
scale advertising campaign has been
set up for this experiment, but the
bock beer is served in a specially
designed glass. Besides, beer mats,
posters and dispenser stickers have
been designed to draw the attention of
bar customers to the presence of the
new De Ridder product.
When Dutch people talk about
beer in their country, the
Heineken and Amstel pilseners
are the first brands that cross
their lips. And yet Heineken's
activities on the Dutch beer
market are more widespread
than many people would think.
In Holland Heineken markets
many other brands and types of
beer: from pale to dark, and
from heavy to light. What
products do we have on the
Dutch market?
Heineken pilsener lager
Heineken Bock beer
Heineken Old Brown
Amstel pilsener lager
Amstel Bock beer
Amstel Old Brown
Amstel Gold
Amstel 1870
Van Vollenhoven Stout
De Ridder pilsener lager
De Ridder Maltezer
Duvel
Abdij Affligem (dark and
'tripel')
Campbell's Scotch Ale
Caves Brueghel (Gueuze
Lambic and Kriek Lambic)
HannenAlt
Brewmaster Fust
Whitbread Pale Ale
An attractive photo of the De Ridder Brewery on the banks of the-Maas in Maastricht city centre.
Four people who are closely involved in the brewing of Amstel beer in Norway. On the
left: Hugo de Sitter.of Heineken Technical Services (HTB). Next to him: Hamar
brewery manager Bj. Nygaard, general manager M. Dobloug and sales manager T.
Sanner.
The launch of Amstel in
Norway follows the abolition
of the Norwegian beer cartel.
A cartel is a market agreement made
between competing businesses.The
Norwegian breweries had joined
forces to form a cartel and make beer
distribution subject to strict rules.
Each brewery sold its beer only in its
own region.
When the cartel was disbanded in
February this year, contacts were
established between the Hamar
brewery and Heineken.These
contacts gave rise to the licensing
agreement for the brewing,
distribution and marketing of Amstel
beer.
Amstel beer is the ideal complement
to the Hamar brewery's range. Hamar
already has two brands of beer; a
regional brand brewed in the
company's own brewery, and another
brand, called Mack, which is
distributed nationally by the Hamar
brewery.The Mack brewery is located
within the Arctic Circle. Hamar was
looking for a foreign beer with a good
international reputation and found
that Amstel beer met all its
requirements. Because of the close
contacts between Hamar and Mackit
has been agreed that Amstel beer will
also be distributed within the Arctic
Circle.
The Amstel license will not affect the
position of Heineken beer in Norway.
Heineken beer is brewed under
licence by the Nora group.
The thousand or so dark-green lorries in use by El Aguila are to be given a fresh, new
coat of paint. The lorries used for the transport of Heineken beer will be resprayed in
the familiar white and green colour scheme. The Aguila delivery lorries will be painted
in red and white (see photo). The entire operation will take quite some time. The
Madrid city delivery vans should be ready this autumn. Spain's capital city will then be
able to boast a top-notch presentation of Heineken and Aguila beers in freshly painted
and spick-and-span delivery vans.