History
Beer is older than our calendar. According to archaeologists the culture of beer originated in old Mesopotamia, a country that lies between the Euphrates and the Tigris. Excavation work there found a clay tablet dating back to 6000 BC which contains the oldest known beer recipe. Beer production spread from Babylon to Egypt, where the pharaohs were just as enthusiastic. Ramses III even believed that a drink as noble as beer should be drunk from golden goblets. These goblets were a match for the famous Bavarian beer pitchers, holding as they did as much as 3.5 litres. The beer was valued so highly that it was also famous as an excellent sacrifice to win the favours of the gods. Alexandria, the city named after the Greek general Alexander, was the centre of beer culture around the beginning of our calendar, and ‘rythos’ was one of the most famous types of beer. Warriors and traders took beer to Greece.However, neither the Greeks nor the Romans liked the taste, in contrast to the indigenous people of the northern regions, the Germans and the Celts, who have gone down in history as cheerful boozers. It is always claimed that the highest ideal of Batavian men was to throw dice for their wives and to drink beer in Valhalla from the skulls of their defeated enemies. The fact that the women, then as now, wanted to distinguish themselves from other women was possibly the reason for the large variety of types of beer at that time.

The early years
In addition to the breweries in the medieval monasteries, other small breweries sprang up in virtually every community. Guilds were not formed until the beginning of the 14th century. In the 15th century the brewers’ guilds in various Brabant regions formed powerful, wealthy groups. For the rulers beer production was a major source of income. In the diocese of Breda taxes on beer were used to maintain the forts around the town. Towns such as Dommelen and ‘s Hertogenbosch owed their prosperity at that time to beer. During this period a start was made in Diest (Bel gium) on the regulations that would become legislation several centuries later. For example, in 1563 the weight was officially fixed of the grain that had to be used in brewing. However, brewing within this corporative framework meant that typical local beers were brewed that took into account the taste of the local population. Provinciality was at its most prominent when traders from other regions tried to bring strange beers into a town. Just as is the case now, these products, which were more expensive, were subject to import duties.The French Revolution (1792 - 1794) also hit the monasteries in The Netherlands hard. The priests were driven out, a lot of monasteries were destroyed and beer production came to an abrupt end.The craft industries and guilds were dissolved. Napoleon ended this period of upheaval in The Netherlands and restored economic life. Gradually the local breweries expanded to become proper companies. 1880 was without doubt a very important year in the history of beer; it heralded the transition from high-fermentation to low fermentation beers. Around this time there was another important change. Thanks to the discoveries of Louis Pasteur, the great French physicist, it was now possible to conserve (pasteurise) food and drink. Brewing schools were set up that took account of the publications of Pasteur on beer production. 

The period from 1900 to 1945
Around the turn of the century there were around 1,400 breweries in The Netherlands. In the towns and cities as well as in the villages the brewers belonged to the dignitaries, along with doctors, priests and notaries, thanks to their status and in particular their wealth. Beer was brewed in winter; there were no cooling installations as yet so brewing in summer involved too much of a risk of the beer being ruined. As a result of the First World War over half the breweries in The Netherlands were closed. Those that had the courage to start up again after the war mechanised their company or decided to merge with other breweries. In The Netherlands low fermentation (a production method in which the yeast works at a low temperature, approx 7 degrees, and settles at the bottom of the fermentation vessel) gradually gained ground.This period saw the major advertising campaign by Artois (1926) with the new Stella. The fact that Stella quickly became the most tapped café beer was due to a large extent to the care devoted to it. The beer was always tapped from the barrel and the cooling equipment was well maintainedso that a fresh pint could always be poured that was properly cooled.  

The period from 1940 to 1945 - World War II
The trouble started with food rationing in 1940.Most of the domestic barley was taken by the occupying forces, and anyone who wanted to drink a glass of beer in a café had to hand over a bread coupon. A solution was sought in the production of a lighter beer with a lower alcohol content. However, the supply of raw material became scarcer and it was clear that the breweries were unable to maintain production.But ingenuity won out. Instead of ordinary malt, types of malt were used that had an aromatised taste. At the Gève brewery in Brainel’Alleud ( Belgium) reductase, a sugar heated in an alkaline environment and then thickened to form a thick syrup, was produced for the first time. This reductase became one of the raw materials used in the production of beer during the war. There were sufficient hops. In order to improve the taste of the beer aromatics were added, such as gentian, chamomile blossoms and even lemon and orange skins. The closure of the bottles also caused problems: there was no metal or cork for the production of crown caps. The cork was replaced by cardboard with a layer of paper. Used crown caps were collected and reused. However, swing-top bottles provided a better solution; the rubber seals could be made from scrapped car and plane tyres. In 1941 the occupying forces and the ‘corporation’that had by now been set up introduced a compulsory deposit. The brewers had to deal with a great deal of administration during the war years: all kinds of lists and records had to be regularly filled in and sent off. 

The post-war period
In 1946 there were 412 breweries in The Netherlands; today there are only around a hundred of these still remaining. Over the last ten years there was a concentration – just as in a lot of other sectors – to the detriment of many small companies, although this tendency has done little harm to the family company structure, which has characterised this sector for centuries. The major companies have become more important as a result of both the expansion of the sale of their products at home and abroad and the absorption of smaller companies. A very good example is Heineken. In the meantime such a specialization has taken place in brewing that maltmaking is nowadays mainly left to specialistmalting plants, which work independently. Before the Second World War every villagehad its own brewery; now there is a strong regional concentration. 

The origin of Pilsener
There are few people in The Netherlands who have never heard of pils(ener). Which is logical, as over eighty percent of the roughly ninety litres of beer drunk by the Dutch on average each year is pilsener.The name Pilsener comes from a town in the Czech Republic called Pilsen, where this clear, light,foaming beer was first brewed. Obviously Pilsner Urquell from Plzen can still be bought. Pilsen’s brewing history goes back to 1295. 

Beer and ‘s Hertogenbosch
Back in the early years of Den Bosch (as ’s-Hertogenbosch is commonly called) a lot of small breweries were set up, just as in other towns and cities. These gradually disappeared or were swallowed up by the major brand Heineken. Nowadays there is still a large Heineken brewery, which produces several millions of litres of beer a day, which is packaged and shipped all over the world. However, there is also still one small brewery in the centre of the town at the Bar le Duc café. They brew their own beer, which is called “’t Kolleke”. There are various types of brews including “Oude Jan” (Old Jan) and “Jonge Jan” (Young Jan), called after the owners Jan van Kollenburg Sr. and Jr. The launch of this small brewery in 1999 breathed fresh life into a piece of old tradition in Den Bosch. Anybody staying the night in Den Bosch should definitely try this special beer.