HOLLAND'S GREATEST
BREWERY
The following is a reprint of an
article which appeared in the
WORLD NEWS BULLETIN, a
publication circulated among the
thousands of tourists throughout Eur
ope and is published in Amsterdam,
Holland.
ANY stranger, passing through the
L Ferdinand Bolstraat in Amster
dam, one of the town's busy shopping
streets, will be surprised suddenly to
see a long fence on one side, decorated
with the gayest paintings. They pic
ture scenes from many different coun
tries, and their jolly, sunny, atmos
phere brightens up considerably this
street, called after Ferdinand Bol,
himself a painter of great merit in his
day.
I am sure, could he see the fence, he
would be proud of Heineken's. For
the fence has been decorated in this
most attractive manner under Heine-
ken's orders.
Behind the fence is part of their
brewery grounds, where new con
structions are under way, which will
result in an important expansion of
their Amsterdam brewery.
Heineken's Brewery is, of course,
one of Holland's great industrial en
terprises, and known and honoured
the world over by lovers of good beer.
Its history goes back many centuries;
its first official mention that we know
of, dates back to 1620, when the
owners of the ''Hooiberg" ("Hay
stack") Brewery were listed among
the organizers of the Amsterdam
Brewers' Guild. Even then, the brew
ery played an important part in the
economic life of Amsterdam, and reg
ular exports took place, mostly to the
East and West Indies.
The "Hooiberg" Brewery was
destined to become one of the world's
greatest. When Mr. G. A. Heineken,
who was the owner of the business at
one time during the 19th century,
had given the brewery his name,
things got really moving. (It is in
teresting to note that the "Hooiberg"
brand was still partially used for
Heineken's products until appr.
1920.) Mr. Heineken was very con
scious of the importance of the scien1
tific and research side of his beer pro
duction; he engaged experts from
many countries to fill posts in the
brewery. His foresight has had a
lasting effect: not only did Heine
ken's become a chief supplier of yeast
to a large number of brewers in Hol
land, Germany, and other countries
as an immediate result, but continu
ous research has become one of the
great traditions in the Heineken's or
ganization until this day. Nowadays,
Heineken's research laboratories in
Rotterdam, where internationally
famous chemists are constantly doing
important work, lead and control the
scientific side of the production in
Holland and abroad. One of the great
features of the Rotterdam part of the
organization is Heineken's own cul
tivation of pure yeast culture.
It was almost inevitable that an
active concern like Heineken's should
feel the need of expansion. To quote
from an article, published by the.
"American Brewer" Magazine, thi
year 1873 saw Mr. Heineken "estab-"
lishing a second brewery at Rotter
dam, Holland's second port, to sup
ply the southern provinces. Time has
richly justified the wisdom of his de
cision. Rotterdam is today one of the
world's great ports. And the 'beer
with the star' has become a favourite
around the world."
PilillMliilliiS
By the end of the 1930's, large
quantities of Heineken's Beer were
regularly shipped to countries like
Britain, United States, Belgium,
Netherlands West Indies, Middle and
Far East, West Africa. Since the last
war, Heineken's looked into further
possibilities, and not without suc
cess. A controlling interest, or a very
important say in the affairs of brew
eries in Malaya, Egypt, Indonesia,
Belgium, Belgian Congo, West-Afri
ca, etc. was acquired. Early this year,
Heineken's own brewery at Caracas,
Venezuela, started operations. There
the same brand of beer is sold now as
in Holland, and everywhere else.
Heineken's carry on. Moderniz
ing and consolidating all the time.
Heineken's face the future with jus
tified confidence and plenty of
plans. Their up-to-date sales or
ganization and modern publicity
methods play an important part in
present results and prospects for fu
ture successes. It has been said that
it is almost possible to travel round
the world on Heineken's Beer. The
day does not seem far off when we
shall be able to drop the "almost."
A view, as taken from a KLM plane, of the Heineken's Export Brewery in Rotterdam
where all the export beer to the foreign markets of the world is brewed.
