Amstel Brewery (Amstelbrouwerij) is a Dutch Brewery founded on June 11, 1870 on the Mauritskade in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and named after the Amstel River, the waters of which also served for refrigeration. It was taken over by Heineken international in 1968, and the brewing plant closed down in 1982 with production moving to the main Heineken plant at Zoeterwoude. On March 12, 2007 Heineken N.V announced that it has taken an in-principle decision to construct a new brewery in South Africa where Amstel Lager will be marketed, sold and distributed in South Africa by the Cape Town-based Brandhouse Beverages (Pty) Ltd, a joint venture between Heineken, Diageo and Namibia Breweries.