Test your Amsterdam beer knowledge with these fun facts
Beer has been Amsterdam’s fuel for centuries. Breweries such as Heineken once started there and – ha, you probably didn’t know this yet – many Amsterdam mayors were brewers. It’s remarkable that Amsterdam grew so large through beer, because Amsterdam had brackish water: not an ideal ingredient for beer. Even more fun facts about beer to impress your friends with:
Amsterdam consistently ranks in the top five on lists of ‘beer cities in Europe’. The number of breweries in the city, now 45, continues to grow. Just like the number of specialised beer cafés. And that’s striking, because in 1980 there were only 15 breweries left in the whole of the Netherlands.
Experimental brewers
There are around 400 different types of beer worldwide. Their flavours differ, but they are all made according to the same process using the basic ingredients water, grain, hops and yeast. Brewing consists of seven steps, from malting (processing grains into dried, germinated kernels) to bottling, with milling (crushing the dried malt), mashing (converting starch into fermentable sugars), lautering (filtering the remaining sugar-rich liquid), boiling (the wort and adding hops) and fermentation (converting sugar into alcohol) in between. The slightest deviation in one of these steps results in a different type of beer. Many contemporary brewers, for example, add extra ingredients to their beer. From coriander and orange peel to seaweed and plums. Brouwerij de Prael makes beer from rainwater, Lowlander makes beer from discarded Christmas trees and organic brewery Troost turns rescued potatoes into Pieperbier. And did you know that people are already experimenting with brewing beer in outer space?
Beer awareness
In the Middle Ages, everyone drank beer: men, women, children and the elderly. Beer was good for anaemia and a weak stomach, and it only made sick people better. Until the early 20th century, beer had a fairly harmless image. It was even used in the fight against alcoholism as an alternative to jenever. How different things are now. This year, the first alcohol-free bar in Amsterdam even opened!
Weak beer
During the Second World War, there was a shortage of all kinds of raw materials. Barley was rationed and the beer became increasingly weaker. In 1949, annual beer consumption fell to a historic low. To restore confidence and stimulate beer consumption, brewers organised a joint campaign in 1949 with the slogan: ‘The beer is at its best again’.
Just one more…
In 1806, Amsterdam had 1,793 establishments referred to as taprooms or beer houses. Amsterdam’s oldest café is 414 years old. Apparently, Piet Hein considered liqueur distillery and drinking house De Druif on Rapenburgerplein his local pub. Feeling hungry and in the mood for a Dutch beer? On the Herengracht in Amsterdam you’ll find beer café Proeflokaal Arendsnest. Go here for a unique beer tasting, because there are no fewer than 52 beers on tap.
Want to learn even more about beer?
Then head to the Amsterdam Museum, where the exhibition Beer. Amsterdam, City of Beer and Brewers. runs from 9 April through 30 August 2020. An interesting detail: beer was already brewed in-house in the historic Amsterdam Museum building on Kalverstraat when it housed a monastery and later an orphanage. Using cultural-historical objects, both contemporary and old art, and important archaeological pieces, the exhibition explores the brewing process, the way beer has been represented and the café culture that emerged from the 17th century onwards. Afterwards, you can enjoy a special Amsterdam Museum beer in the museum café.
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