Holland is the name of a maritime region in the western part of the Netherlands that is divided into two provinces, North and South Holland (Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland, respectively). When combined, these provinces include the Netherlands’ three largest cities, Amsterdam, The Hague, and Rotterdam, as well as the cities Gouda, Edam, Delft, Haarlem, Leiden, and Alkmaar. It comprises about 13% of the total area of the Netherlands and about a third of the population and contains 25 breweries. The total number of breweries in Holland reached its peak of over 700 in the mid-15th century, with Gouda having the highest concentration followed by Delft, Harlem, Schiedam, Dordrecht, and Rotterdam. Beer was not a luxury but a daily necessity as, having being boiled, it was safer than water. With the introduction of coffee and tea in the mid-17th century beer consumption plummeted and by 1890 only 57 active breweries remained. With the introduction of lager, repressive taxes on low alcohol beers, and two world wars, there were only two breweries left by 1980.

Dutch beer label from around 1933. Holland had over 700 breweries at one point in the mid-15th century, before the introduction of coffee and tea caused a steep decline in beer consumption. pike microbrewery museum, seattle, wa

The beer renaissance began in 1984 when the Alkmaarse Brewery opened in the city of Alkmaar in the province of Noord-Holland; although it closed in 1988, it inspired many of the small independent brewers that are now scattered throughout North and South Holland. It remains a very young market with 93% of the brewers and contract-brewers having started after 1985 and 50% of those after 2003.

See also netherlands, the.