PILSENER
AMSTEL
the establishment of yet another
brewery. But Messrs. De Pesters and
Van Marwijk Rooy predicted that the
'Beiersch Bier' (Bavarian beer), com
parable to today's pilsener lager,
would have a golden future in the
Dutch brewing industry. And the
breweries which brewed that
'Bavarian beer' could be counted on
the fingers of one hand.
In the year 1870, however, it was
no simple matter to brew this type of
beer. Cooling was crucial to the brew
ing process, unlike 'ordinary' beers in
which fermentation took place at
room temperature. By contrast, lager
required a fermentation temperature
of eight degrees Celsius and a storage
period of two months in tanks cooled
to just above freezing point.
The Amstel Brewery took ice from
the city canals in the winter period
and placed that in the double walls of
the storage cellars so that the quality
of the Amstel beer was guaranteed.
That meant, however, that the brew
ery was completely dependent on the
winter weather. Brief periods of frost
meant that little ice was available.
From 1881 the Amstel Brewery's
dependence on natural ice came to an
end when an ice machine was instal
led in the brewery.
In 1933 a start was made on
exports of Amstel Beer to the
United States.
*///->
'U-r/.
%-ys.
Milestone
Thirteen years after the brew
ery's establishment the first mile
stone was reached. Amstel took a
look outside Holland's borders; in
1883 exports were started to England
and Indonesia, an indication that the
management had high ambitions.
In the decades that followed the
Amstel Brewery developed favoura
bly. The production capacity was
steadily increased and, despite set
backs such as the First World War
and the sometimes strong falls in per
capita consumption, Amstel succeed
ed in gaining an ever stronger posi
tion within the Dutch beer market. In
the area of exports Amstel also per
formed well. By 1926 as much as one-
third of all Dutch beer exports origi
nated from the Amstel Brewery.
The 1930s and the Second World
War were again difficult times for
Amstel. Shortly after the installation
of the first bottling line for the domes
tic market and the construction of a
splendid head office building, the
brewery felt the full brunt of the eco
nomic crisis. Nevertheless the Amstel
The bottling of Amstel Beer in 1912. The
brewery showed strong growth in that
period.
THE WORLD OF HEINEKEN
