Bier & Co. Amsterdam B.V. is a drinks wholesaler, which specialises in the import of beers from round the world. The company was created by the fusing together of two small import firms in 1987 into the “Cooperative Union U.A. Beer import/export wholesale.
With only a small van in the beginning, next with a small truck and then with a large truck the Belgian countryside was thoroughly searched for small, unusual breweries.
This search was slowly widened to other countries inside and outside Europe.

The imported beer was initially only sold to a small but steady group of clients in and around Amsterdam. These clients and Bier & Co. Amsterdam B.V. had a lot in common: obstinacy, a strong sense of freedom, continuously seeking new business and challenges, opposition to the established order and the tendency to continuously “fight against windmills” like Don Quixote. It is precisely this pioneering mentality that has made Bier & Co. Amsterdam B.V. what it now is. Many of the currently “normal” special-beers were first brought to the Netherlands by Bier & Co. Amsterdam B.V., and many successful beer brands started this way.

The demand for special-beers grew steadily and the circle of clients is steadily becoming broader. There is co-operation with an increasing number of mostly small, independent, drinks wholesalers, in order to serve clients all over the country. In the beginning of the nineties the co-operative was changed into a company and softdrinks, wines and spirits were brought into the assortment. This way, a complete package of drinks could be offered to clients. In 1998 Bier & Co. Amsterdam B.V. moved to new modern premises in the western docklands of Amsterdam.

Currently, Bier & Co. Amsterdam B.V. has grown into a company with more than twenty workers and with, next to the main branch in Amsterdam, under the name “Man van Drank” branches in east Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Leiden.
Bier & Co. has also set up, together with drinks wholesaler Astein in Asten, a joint venture under the name of “AB&C Global Beer Promotions”. AB&C represents a number of small and middle-sized quality breweries from the Netherlands, Belgium, France, England and Germany.

In the last few years the organisation has become professionalised. Efficiency and effectiveness have been increased, but what remains conscious is the pioneering mentality of which the most important elements are:

• An enormous love for special beers and a strong affinity with independent, often smaller breweries;
• A very large and continuously renewed assortment of special-beers (about 800) in bottles as well as barrels;
• A great knowledge of special-beers through which unusual questions can often be answered;
• A strong and direct bond with the client which ensures that the client is not treated like a number;
• Very flexible and client-friendly service;
• No nonsense and complete independent.

Therefore, Bier & Co. Amsterdam B.V. remains rightfully a “SpecialBeerWholesaler”.