When it comes to choosing a beer, you have plenty of choices, but few can rival the name recognition of Heineken. This famous Dutch beverage is popular all over the world and well-loved for its strong, bitter taste.
When many people think of the standard taste of beer they likely think of Heineken for good or bad. Heineken is actually the most internationally produced lager so to many it will be the benchmark for their comparisons to other beers.
To sum it up Heineken is a very popular beer brand but how did it start? Well, let’s uncover more about Heineken by exploring its early days and seeing how its journey to one of the world’s most popular beer brands came about.
The Early Days
Gerard Heineken is the man we can thank for setting up this beer brand, the entrepreneur developed a passion for brewing in his young adulthood and over time this would form the brand we know today! The first brewery he opened was in what we now know has Amsterdam but when it was built he hadn’t yet perfected his recipe.
Developing the recipe for Heineken took some time, Gerard wanted to create a more premium lager which stood out from the others available. Once his recipe was perfected Heineken stamped every bottle with his name which quickly caused the brand to grow very popular in his native country.
In fact, many people considered the name/ brand Heineken to be a national symbol of quality and over the next century, the Heineken brewery began to expand. Gerard’s children and grandchildren continued to work within the Heineken company and over time slowly began its expansion.
Heineken Today
Over four generations of the Heineken family have worked within the company and they continue to show the passion its founder had when creating the Heineken brand. Heineken says their continued popularity is down to their promise to always provide a premium beer.
They do this by utilizing only high-quality, pure natural ingredients. We can’t really talk about the ingredients of Heineken without mentioning the A-Yeast. This extra-ingredient is what provides the rich, balanced taste Heineken is famous for.
Because, of this yeast Heineken beer is also fermented in horizontal tanks instead of the more commonly used vertical ones. These conditions provide better pressure for the yeast and create a better balance and richer taste.
Heineken also commits to a longer brewing period of 28 days to ensure the same great taste with every bottle. It’s estimated that around 25 million Heineken beers are drunk every day in some form and the beer is available in over 190 countries all around the world.
Certainly, impressive when you consider it started out has one man’s passion project. Heineken today still follows its founder's promise and commitment to providing high-quality, premium beer in every bottle.
The Heineken range has also naturally expanded over time and you’ll find a great assortment of different styles under the brand. Its standard golden bitter beer is still it’s most popular but there are beers available to suit all tastes.
Heineken’s alcohol free beer is well worth highlighting as one of the most popular alcohol free/ low-alcohol beers currently available. Heineken 0.0 is designed to offer the same great taste as regular Heineken but with no alcohol. So, if you are trying to cut down your alcohol consumption you can still enjoy the great taste of Heineken beer.