1. The facade used to say Heineken's Brouwerij
Because Freddy Heineken felt at the end of the 1950s that the 'apostrophe s' in Heineken's Brouwerij didn't sound international enough, he removed the letter from the name and therefore also from the facade of the brewery on the Stadhouderskade, which at the time was still in full operation. In the photo accompanying this article you can still see the 's'. This old spelling explains why the words 'Heineken' and 'Brouwerij' now appear a bit far apart on the building. Incidentally, Heineken put the 'S' back for a one-off in May 2017 to mark its 150th anniversary.
2. The five-pointed star in the logo has been around for a while
We could not find a conclusive answer as to where exactly the five-pointed star comes from, but we did find that this star has graced the emblems of Heineken's brewery since 1884. In various guises: at first it was outlined in black, later coloured in red. After the Second World War, however, this red star acquired an odd aftertaste because it was also used in communism. After the Cold War the red star returned for good. But even recently a debate arose in Hungary about the symbol. The pentagon itself appeared even earlier, in the form of a song of praise to Gerard Heineken at the building of the brewery on the Stadhouderskade:
Geert Hein, Geert Hein.
The 'Five-Cornered Song' sung by Heineken staff on 17 May 1867 at the laying of the first stone (roughly: Geert Hein, Geert Hein, his name is small, his deeds are grand, he built a beer factory)
Z'n naam is klein,
Z'n daden bennen chiek,
Hij bouwde een bierfabriek
3. The first Heineken brewery was in the city centre
Before Gerard Heineken built his empire on the Stadhouderskade, in 1864 he bought the old brewery 'De Hooiberg' on the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal, which at that time had not yet been filled in and was therefore ideally reachable by boat. Heineken was able to take over the brewery for a good price, because the beer trade was not going so well. Less than three years after he moved into the building, the announcement came that the canal would be filled in after all, and Gerard went looking for a new location. The Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal was eventually filled in around 1883 and the old brewery, after a few twists and turns, is now a hotel: Die Port van Cleve. The history of this building can be found at the Stadsarchief (the city archives).
4. Until 1988 the beer was still brewed in Amsterdam
In the building on the Stadhouderskade that now houses the Heineken Experience, no beer has been brewed for almost 35 years. In 1988 Heineken moved production to a new complex in Zoeterwoude, near Leiden. A few years earlier the production of that other Amsterdam beer, Amstel, had also been moved there. Until 1988 Heineken claimed to brew 65 million litres of beer a year in our city. That is a great deal compared with the 5 million litres that are estimated to be made here now. On the site of the old brewery, behind the main complex, new buildings went up around a new Marie Heinekenplein. Er, Marie Heineken? Yes, she is family!
