Amstel (beer)
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Amstel is a brand of beer of the Amstel Brewery (Amstelbrouwerij), which was first brewed on the Mauritskade in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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[edit] Overview
Amstel offers a varied assortment of beer types. Among them Amstel Lager, Amstel Light, and Amstel 1870 are the most popular. The first uses predominantly light pilsner malt, although some dark malt is also used. It is sold in 75 countries. Amstel Light is the #1 imported light beer in the United States with only 3.5% abv. Amstel 1870 is the darkest of the three and slightly sour.
[edit] History
The brewery was founded on June 11, 1870 in Amsterdam and named after the Amstel River, the waters of which also served for refrigeration. By 1872, the Amstel Brewery brewed annually 10,000 hectoliters pils. For the purpose of storing the beer, winter ice from the canals was kept in special double walled cellars. Originally, the beer was mostly drunk in Amsterdam. From 1883, it was also exported to Great Britain and Indonesia.
[edit] Organization
The Beiersche Bierbrouwerij de Amstel (Amstel Bavarian beer brewery) was created in 1892 as a joint stock company. In 1915 the production of Amstel had increased twenty-fold and in 1926, Amstel consisted of a third of the Dutch beer exports. In 1941, Amstel, together with Heineken overtook the capital of the Amsterdam brewery Van Vollenhvens bierbrouwerij, which was closed in 1961.
[edit] Overseas
In 1954, Amstel built a brewery in Surinam. A few years later, Amstel was the first Dutch brewery to export beer in cans. At this time, the total exports of Amstel beer amounted to 101,000 hectoliters. In 1958 a subsidiary of Amstel produced its first beer in Jordan. In 1960, the third subsidiary of Amstel was opened - the Antillean brewery on Curaçao. 1963 saw the opening of two new breweries, one in Puerto Rico and one in Greece.
[edit] Heineken
In 1968, Amstel was bought out by its competitor Heineken. In 1980 the Amstel Brewery in Amsterdam was closed and the production was relocated to Zoeterwoude. The building on the Mauritskade was torn down. Only the former administration building was kept and has meanwhile become part of the Hogeschool van Amsterdam.
[edit] Trivia
Amstel is a sponsor of the ProTour cycling race Amstel Gold Race.
