The Netherlands: Drop in number of breweries for the first time in 15 years

For the first time in 15 years, there was a drop in the number of breweries in the Netherlands compared to the previous year. The Netherlands now has 740 breweries, which is 40 less than during the start of 2024. This was reported by Statistics Netherlands. Many small breweries quit operations due to the rise in costs, which makes beer production less profitable, NL Times reported on March 1.

There were 75 breweries in the Netherlands in 2010, almost ten times less than now. This growth is mainly due to smaller breweries. Between 2010 and this year, there was an increase of 380 breweries that were run by one person. In addition, another 160 breweries that were run by two people were added, and 75 beer companies with three to five working people.

The turnover in the sector grew by just eight percent between 2016 and 2022 despite the significant rise in the number of breweries. Operation costs rose much harder during this time, by 26 percent.

Noord-Brabant has the relatively highest amount of breweries, with 160 beer manufacturing locations. Noord-Holland (145 breweries), Zuid-Holland (110), and Gelderland (95) follow. The provinces with the fewest number of breweries are Flevoland, Groningen, and Zeeland.

The reduction in the number of breweries does not come as a surprise to Nederlandse Brouwers, the association for Dutch breweries. According to the association, the Netherlands has more breweries per person than traditional beer countries like Belgium and Germany.

"But if breweries have to close because they cannot survive financially due to high costs and sharply increased taxes, that is very sad. That is not a good development," the organization responded. They confirmed that it is mainly the smaller breweries that are struggling financially.

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