H.B.M. Lager

H.B.M. Lager is the collective name for the Gerste Bier range brewed at Heineken's Stadhouderskade brewery from 1873 under the Heineken's Bierbrouwerij Maatschappij company name. Produced in two gravity grades — Gerste 1 and Gerste 2 — it was the dominant volume product of the early HBM operation, fermented with Heineken's D-yeast strain rather than the premium A-yeast reserved for Pilsener and export beers. A competitor at the time complained it was 'a beer quick to make for a significantly lower price.' As late as 1911 the Gerste range represented nearly half of all output from Heineken's Rotterdam brewery. Both grades were discontinued by 1920 as Pilsener rose to dominate the Dutch market entirely.