Heineken is the most famous Dutch beer brand whose production dates back to the mid-19th century. Positive reviews of Heineken beer made it the number one beer brand in the middle price range - not only in the homeland, but also in many countries, including Russia, the USA and even the Czech Republic. The history, manufacturers and reviews of the famous beer - later in this article.
History of creation
Heineken Brewing Company was founded by Gerard Adrian Heineken in 1864. As the son of a well-to-do Amsterdam family, he, at the age of 22, bought a brewery called the Haystack. At first he was engaged in the production of ale, but in 1869 he began to prepare classic yeast beer. In 1874, thanks to good sales and the growing popularity of beer, Gerard Heineken opened a second factory in Rotterdam. The beer closest to the modern classical taste under this brand appeared in 1886, when a certain doctor Elyon, a student of Louis Pasteur, developed the unique “Heineken Category A Yeast” - to this day this yeast is a key ingredient in the cult beer. In the photo below - Gerard Adrian Heineken.
In 1917, Gerard Adrian transferred the management of the company to his son, Henry Pierre Heineken. He held the main post for 23 years, and then for another 11 years he simply took part in all the affairs of the brand. It was he who developed methods to maintain consistent beer quality during large-scale production. After the end of World War I, Henry Pierre realized that beer needed to be exported - so Heineken was the first foreign beer to appear in the USA after the prohibition was repealed.
In 1940, the son of Henry Pierre - Alfred Henry, nicknamed "Freddy", took over as head of the company. He was a powerful driving force behind the continued expansion of Heineken, and, leaving the management in 1989, he still continued to actively participate in the life of the company until his death in 2002. One of Freddie’s strategies was a fairly new at that time chain of purchases of competing factories with their subsequent closure - so Heineken increased the price of its shares.
Current situation
The current president of the company is Jean-Francois van Boxmeer. By 2006, Heineken had more than 130 breweries located in 65 countries around the world, and today this number continues to grow at a tremendous speed.
Production
The annual production of beer by the company is more than 120 million hexoliters, of which a little less than half is Heineken. Classical beer of this brand is characterized by a light (but not clarified) sort of largen, filtration and pasteurization. It has 5 revolutions and 11 percent density. Appearance of Heineken beer is original, recognizable and simple - green color, retro-style font and red star are the patented elements of the brand.
Composition
Manufacturers keep the full composition of Heineken beer a secret - these are, for example, the ingredients of Category Yeast. However, the basic elements are the most classic for natural beer - water, light barley malt and hop products. The taste is easily recognizable - rich, soft, "voluminous", with a genuine and slightly specific flavor of unique yeast.
Russian production
The answer to the question: "whose beer is Heineken?" definitely one - the Dutch. However, under the supervision of the main office of the company, they produce it in those countries in which they sell it. Simply put, Dutch beer bought in Russia is likely to be made in Russia. The Heineken United Breweries appeared on the territory of the Russian Federation in 2002, and under their management there are now seven factories. Specifically, two of them are producing the same beer: Heineken Brewery in St. Petersburg and Heineken Siberian Brewery in Novosibirsk. The president of the Russian branch of the company is Etienne Stripe. Reviews of Heineken beer, as a rule, say that the local is much worse than the original, brought from Holland. Perhaps this is due to the fact that most of the brewing products are delivered from other countries and some of the properties they need are lost.
But manufacturers unanimously argue that the delivery of finished beer to the Russian market will affect not only the quality and freshness of the drink, but also its price - after all, transporting a huge batch of alcohol through customs is much more expensive than a batch of products for its manufacture. However, it is still possible to purchase original Dutch bottles, or, for example, German and American ones, which are also very praised in Russia, but in small quantities. They are sold in shops of elite alcohol, as well as in supermarkets, implying the presence of imports: the originals of beer, drinks (for example, Coca-Cola), chocolate and other goods.
Volumes
Today there are seven forms of production of classic Heineken beer - these are glass bottles of 0.33, 0.5 and 0.65, tin cans (0.5) and a keg (5 liters), and kegs of 20 and 30 liters. Among the glass options, the most popular is the volume of 0.33 liters - for some reason it is believed that taste and aroma are better preserved in it. And among large volumes, consumers give positive feedback to the 5-liter Heineken beer keg - it is convenient for a large company, and the denser material, unlike a regular half-liter can, does not spoil the original taste.
Consumer Reviews
Recently, reviews of Heineken beer from Russian consumers have ceased to be purely positive, as it was five to ten years ago. Many note a deterioration in taste, calling it "soapy," "empty," "whatever, but not beer." However, the fans of the famous beer had, are and will be - analyzing the reviews, we can highlight several points that regular customers like most. Among them: a light taste that causes nostalgia, the absence of a hangover syndrome in the morning after heavy consumption, naturalness. As already mentioned above, Heineken beer in 5-liter barrels is awarded special praise in reviews. Most likely, this is due to the high popularity of the product: quickly selling out, it always remains fresh, which, of course, has a positive effect on taste. Many people also notice that in bars the taste of draft beer often differs from bottle and can. Most likely, this is due to the special conditions of storage and use of beer kegs of this brand.
Reviews of non-alcoholic beer "Heineken"
In 2017, the long-awaited release of Heineken with a blue label meaning zero percent alcohol content took place. The taste was preserved with the help of special technologies, and along with the degrees the calories left the new version of the famous beer, there are only 69 left (in the smallest 0.33 liter bottle), while the classic Heineken contains 140 calories of the same volume. The non-alcoholic version is available in standard volumes - 0.33, 0.5, 0.65 bottles and 0.5 liter cans.
Many buyers have left online reviews of Heineken non-alcoholic beer - mostly positive. Longtime fans of beer without degrees really liked the lack of sweetness inherent in many non-alcoholic versions of famous brands. Consumers also praised the novelty for maintaining taste harmony, which is the hallmark of Heineken. Among the negative opinions are the same as on the Heineken alcohol. If you really didn’t like the usual, then you need to understand that non-alcoholic will not like it even more so.
Conclusion
All beer lovers should definitely try Heineken - at least in order to make up their own, unbiased opinion about it.