The Netherlands are renowned for its pale lagers, particularly Grolsch and Heineken. Grolsch is the main imported lager into the UK, with Heineken being the world’s fourth biggest beer brewer, after InBev, Anheuser-Busch and SABMiller.
Pale lagers make up 95% of Dutch beer production and consumption. The majority of Dutch brewers also make brew specials, the main one being Bok which is brewed in the autumn and spring.
50% of Dutch beer is exported all over the world, over 1,500m litres p.a.
The Netherlands Pilsner is the most popular beer. Some Dutch brewers copy Belgian beer styles like abbey beer and white beer. Grolsch have now started to brew Weizen beer.
The Dutch are more likely to rank good beer higher than most wines, whereas, that would not necessarily be the case in the UK or France.
Popular Dutch Beer
Dutch Breweries
The four leading breweries in the Netherlands are: Heineken (which brews Amstel as well), Grolsch, Bavaria and Inbev. Heineken is considered to have approximately 50% of the beer market.