Heineken differences?

OK I admit this has nothing to do with homebrew, but I thought I'd come to the experts with this. I had a work trip down to Nassau this week and today, I had a Heiny with lunch. Now, normally I think that stuff tastes like skunk piss, but it was that or Bud Light. Today's beer, this was definatley different. It was in an entirely different bottle, very smooth, malty, and tasted almost like a helles lager or something.

Is there a difference between what they are selling to us dumb Americans and the rest of the world? If so, why? I did some quick research and Heineken claims that all their beer sold all over the world is the same. If that's so, then the all the Heiny Ive had before today tasted like it was bottled 40 years ago.

May be a difference in how old the beer was, based on different shipping routes. Maybe.

Maybe you were eating the perfect meal to pair the Heineken with to bring out these flavors.

Was yours in a brown bottle or a can? If not, maybe yours was one of the lucky green bottled ones that weren't skunked.

From what I understand, the long shipping routes + green bottles allow Heiny to get pretty skunky by the time we get it in our hands. I have had the same experience, though.

Heineken is quite good in some circumstances. If you get it in cans it tends to be a lot tastier. Paired with the right foods, it's pretty good. I had quite a few in Amsterdam while I was there and boy, does a cold Heineken sooth the throat and taste great... it was either that or Amstel in the coffee shops, easy choice

SWMBO and I go diving in Bonaire every chance we get, which isn't nearly enough. The first time I had a Heineken there I could instantly tell the difference...it was quite refreshing and didn't have that skunky funk. I imagine that since Bonaire is Dutch, they get their shipments faster than USA.

Last month I brought some Heineken back from Bonaire and had a blind taste test with 3 people...Bonaire Hein vs. USA Hein. ALL 3 blind tasters preferred the Bonaire glass. One even dumped his USA glass after tasting both.

Swmbo and I went to Amsterdam for a week last summer. Let me say, Heineken is mothereffin delicious over there. I don't even know how many 1L mugs of that stuff I drank. Since Heineken is a domestic over there, it's fresh from the source. That truly is a great beer if you can get it fresh.

I actually liked Heineken when I was in Europe, but tried it again when I got back and it tasted like donkey piss, which isn't very good.

So I wouldn't be surprised if it's different. A lot of big breweries, even Guiness and Fosters, have different breweries around the world and can slightly vary the recipe. So I wouldn't be surprised if there are changes in what we get, or if it's just skunked by the time it gets here, and compounded by the fact that it's friggin everywhere but most people dont like it.

Im glad Im not the only one, I thought for a minute I was going crazy. It was in a green bottle, but definatley for a different market than the us, as it was a 500mL bottle and all the markings were different. Ant it was delicious. Made me mad about what we get at home.

Next I'll have one in Mexico next week and see if that's the same.

Why does Heineken continue to bottle in green bottles knowing that their beer gets skunked?

steinsato said:

Why does Heineken continue to bottle in green bottles knowing that their beer gets skunked?

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I believe they do so intentionally as the skunky flavor can desirable in certain beers. I've never had a Heineken before, but I know I kind of enjoy the skunky flavor that can come through in beers like Beck's and Spaten.

BraveSirRobin said:

I believe they do so intentionally as the skunky flavor can desirable in certain beers. I've never had a Heineken before, but I know I kind of enjoy the skunky flavor that can come through in beers like Beck's and Spaten.

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Also Heineken's green bottle is synonymous with the product itself which is probably why they don't drop the bottles.

There's a local micro brew here called Straub who's green bottle is a trademark of the product, however they also ship in brown bottles as well. Sometimes I wish companies would go this route with bottling.

Tends to taste **** in UK too, but not bad in Netherlands, and that's just a ferry ride away. We had some weaker, UK licence brewed cack for years though. Honestly am amazed it didn't kill the brand dead in the UK.

Even in Amsterdam Heineken is pretty awful.

Trademark or not, if it's jeapordizing the quality of the beer, it isn't worth it.

Heineken in green bottles, packed in cartons and then into containers on a ship. The green bottle on that trip is not an issue. Light is not skunking anything until it hits the stores and is taken out of the carton. If you were to buy it in a carton that has not been open you could eliminate the green from the issue. More than likely its the huge temperature fluctuations on the ship that have a big effect on the beer combined with it sitting in a display case that is brightly lit.

I've had Heineken in Amsterdam and it was fine, of course I was drinking a lot of Genever with it so who really knows?

In reality for me, I just don't much care for lagers and only drink them cold on hot days. I brew one a year just because I feel I have to.

Reminds me of all those silly Corona commercials, with the clear bottle out in the sun... Skunk our crappy beer, pour some lime juice in it, and then maybe, just maybe, it'll taste better.

i always heard that imported bottled/canned beers are pasteurized in order to be brought into the US. I have no idea if that is true, or how it works, but it would explain things.

supermarkets kill beer quicker than a rapist on meth kills 16 year old virgins.

It's just the way of the world.