What type of beer is heineken, so I can stay away

[spearko520]

i don't think you have to worry about accidentally brewing Heineken...

 

[emjay]

Pilsner Urquell without the skunk is a mighty fine lager.

This. I almost always have a few cans of Urquell on hand. It's a fantastic, very refreshing Pilsner that I think beer geeks often overlook far too easily. Kind of understandable though, since it's much more widely available in bottles that make it taste like crap... trying it again on tap and in cans YEARS after dismissing it as an awful beer was an absolute revelation for me.

 

[boo boo]

Heini in a can is a great lager as is my favorite PU, in a can. In a green bottle both these fine lagers taste skunky.

 

[CGVT]

If you can find a 5 liter keg can try it. It is pretty tasty. Not skunky at all.

 

[Yooper]

I guess ill try it from keg/can and give it a chance. But I'm not going to fly to Germany to get a un-skunked beer. If I ever go it wont be Heineken that ill be drinking. The reason for my title statement is from being told by several people Heineken and Corona are skunky on purpose. And from my experience over a long time of consistent nastiness I believed it. Like I stated in my question , Is this a style of beer? If so then IMO I would stay away from that style.

Heineken is a Dutch lager, not German. Although as Denny said, it's listed in the BJCP as "premium American lager", presumably because it's not "German" lager tasting.

I don't care for Corona, but I do like some other Mexican lagers like Negro Modela.

 

[cheezydemon3]

I hate (perhaps wrongly, but i am entitled) beers that just aren't that good final product, (i concede that brown bottles hurt sales so they went green, clear has no excuse) but have expansive, slick Ad campaigns like corona, guinness, fosters, dos equis although i also concede that if i owned a brewery that made a mediocre but semi-popular lager, i would pull out all the gimmicks too.
I hate this country's fascination with lager while i am at it. I think lager has become a market-forced marketing ploy, like green bottles.
Yes, lager has it's place, and there is great tradition, but the average person thinks Ale means a dark, heavy, high alcohol foreign beer.

 

[Bernie Brewer]

I guess ill try it from keg/can and give it a chance. But I'm not going to fly to Germany to get a un-skunked beer. If I ever go it wont be Heineken that ill be drinking. The reason for my title statement is from being told by several people Heineken and Corona are skunky on purpose. And from my experience over a long time of consistent nastiness I believed it. Like I stated in my question , Is this a style of beer? If so then IMO I would stay away from that style.

Who the F*** told you that? Whoever it was find them and *****-slap them for me. Nobody, not even the big brewers, is going to skunk a beer on purpose. If they don't know what they are talking about they should just keep their mouths shut. Grrrr.

 

[Brew-boy]

I bet Heineken is better in The Netherlands, as I've found Corona to be better in Mexico.

Yes it is I have had it in the Netherlands and it is Great!

 

[Denny]

Who the F*** told you that? Whoever it was find them and *****-slap them for me. Nobody, not even the big brewers, is going to skunk a beer on purpose. If they don't know what they are talking about they should just keep their mouths shut. Grrrr.

BINGO! We have a winner!

 

[ACbrewer]

I saw it on TV a few years ago, but can't remember what show it was. Something like "how it's made" on the History channel. The brewery had huge UV lamps and dosed the beer with intense UV to skunk it a little. I can't remember the brewery.

I'm not saying that Heineken skunks it at the brewery. They obviously don't since you say it isn't skunked out of a can.

The UV lamps here could be some form of anti microbal at work. Or maybe not.

 

[ACbrewer]

..., (i concede that brown bottles hurt sales so they went green, clear has no excuse)
... I think lager has become a market-forced marketing ploy, like green bottles.

I don't think brown hurt sales so much as that green was unique and helped sales one week and the numbers guys were over it like ... skunk on beer in clear glass....

I was told about 15 years ago by someone from Ireland about Budwisser being the most popular beer in Ireland. Why? same reason as here(US) - Mass Marketing. [Note: That isn't to say more Bud is drunk than all the stout/porters combined, just that more Bud than a particular stout or porter]

 

[BrutalBrew]

I cant help but to think in a way skunky beer is a style. If heineken/corona/beck are consistsntly skunky in bottles. People have to actually like the taste or sales would have dropped and they would change the way they package the beer or stop selling it. But they do well enough to be around for awhile. So that said it might not be intentional but it has fans. Then again BMC sells a lot so maybe its the weak minded that follow the Tv adds thinking they will get a bunch of hot chicks in bikinis if they drink a beer. I wonder what beer ads are like in country's like neitherlands or Germany.

 

[pelipen]

Then again BMC sells a lot so maybe its the weak minded that follow the Tv adds thinking they will get a bunch of hot chicks in bikinis if they drink a beer.

I think you are more likely to pick up a bikini clad hot chick by giving her a corona or bud, than through beer geekery explaining why she should be drinking something better.


Most people aren't going to drop $40+ per case for bbq parties either. quantity over quality is still too pervasive here where price per can rules all. I'll drink water over corona. Hell, PBR over corona.
My friend throws me a can of heiny on a hot day, yeah, i'll down it. I'll never serve any of them at my events though. My money, my choice.
As a category, there are some damn fine examples. Beyond that, it's personal preference. Don't let a few bad apples spoil the bunch.

 

[FlyDoctor]

Maybe this has already been said - apologize in advance if so.

But - I just had a Munich Dunkel exported to the US in green bottles (tasted great!!), and there was NO skunk whatsoever, and for that matter, I've never had a skunked Nukey either.

It is unfathomable that these beers are unaffected, yet EVERY Heineken tastes the same - slightly skunkey. I'm in the camp that this is on purpose - they must have had dome feedback that folks in the US liked it this way, and they ra with it.

Hershey Chocolate, as an analogy, suffered from a sour milk taste as in the olden days by the time the mik reached them it had soured a bit. As tech increased, and milk didn't sour, folks didn;t like it as much. Now they build the sour into the taste on purpose (at least this is the story I heard...) I think the Heineken issue is similar.

There are Heineken Cans and kegs - can't say I noticed a difference to be honest...perhaps they were UV'd prior to packing...

Thats is all...

 

[CGVT]

If it was on purpose it would taste that way in a can or on tap.

It doesn't.

It is not on purpose.

 

[BrutalBrew]

I beleive that corona is posed to taste that way. However they get the taste via light or what ever. Maybe even Heineken does on there bottles but not cans/kegs for verity. Like stated from someone before. If people are used to the taste and like it so they leave it that way. If they know there beer is skunked due to shipping/green bottles whatever, and do nothing to change it then it's on purpose IMO. I'm going to do some search's for ****s and grins just to see if I can come up with credible info.

 

[TimTrone]

The UV lamps here could be some form of anti microbal at work. Or maybe not.

Sounds right to me. Especially if they were using the lights near the bottles. Highly doubtful they are used to skunk beer. Doing that on purpose is most likely a sin.

 

[bovineblitz]

I bet Heineken is better in The Netherlands, as I've found Corona to be better in Mexico.

It is a bit better. It's pretty refreshing in a coffee shop :fro:

 

[BrutalBrew]

here is what Ive came up with. quote from Heinekenusa.com
"In April 2007, Heineken USA and FEMSA Cerveza extended an agreement that made Heineken USA the sole and exclusive importer, marketer and seller of FEMSA’s beer brands in the United States through 2018. These brands include Dos Equis, Tecate, Sol, Carta Blanca and Bohemia. The agreement joined the two most complementary imported beer brand portfolios in the United States for the long term.

On September 1, 2008, Heineken USA assumed the rights to import, market and sell Newcastle Brown Ale in the United States. This addition to the Heineken USA portfolio serves as a platform for future growth as the brand will be one of the top national sales priorities for the organization, along with brands Heineken Lager, Heineken Premium Light and Dos Equis. The acquisition of importation rights for Newcastle Brown Ale by Heineken USA follows the acquisition of Scottish & Newcastle plc ("S&N") by Heineken N.V. and Carlsberg A/S, which was finalized following approval by the shareholders of Scottish & Newcastle and Heineken N.V. and the endorsement of a range of regulatory bodies, on April 28, 2008."

That explains the amstel comment earlier

What Ive found about the skunk taste is Nothing from heineken its self. But there is A LOT of threads and blogs about this. I researched credible beer sites ,not just peoples opinions on forums. Seems from my quick research is that the skunky taste is actually from a couple of reasons. The hops they use cause a very small skunky like taste. This will be there wherever you get it. But It does seem that Heineken IS different in a can/keg. Reason is the beer IS skunked on top of hops when it imports to places due to age and green bottles letting in light. A lottttt of people actually DO LIKE the skunky taste, (If they like it then its up to them) So Heineken does keep the green bottles for that reason and its known for the green bottle. There seems to be a big liking of the skunkyness. So what we have in the USA is 2 different Heineken's. 1) skunky green bottled. 2) original in the cans/kegs They didn't plan it this way but that's how its turned out.

 

[brewski08]

call me crazy, but i don't think heinekins are skunky...i think that's just the taste that comes with their grain bill and other ingredients.

i'm pretty sure all the big breweries like BMC, corona, new castle, heineken, etc. that all use clear or green bottles also use isomerized hops. isomerized hops aren't effected by light and take some extremely harsh conditions to become skunked.

although i'm not a fan of heineken, i don't credit its taste to skunkiness.

my two cents.

 

[Malticulous]

I've had some 32 oz brown bottles of Corona extra (I've seen them here and in Nv.) Nice bottles that I fill for friends. No skunk. I still don't like the beer that comes in them. Unskunked it is not as good as a skunked Heineken. An unskunked Heineken it pretty good. A home brewed Premium American Lager is almost as good as a CAP. CAP is by far the best adjunct lager. You have to make it yourself though.

 

[jamoke]

I spent a few years in Holland back in the 80's and went thru the Heineken Brewery tour in Amsterdam many times. (great tour, nice perks on your birthday)

There are really two different kinds of Heineken, the stuff they make domestically for Holland, and the green bottle stuff for export. They are (were) purposely made in different breweries, used different methods of brewing, and produced two distinctly different beers. The export is a strict 5% ABV and the domestic ABV varies and is typically quite a bit higher.

The domestic beer was (is) put in brown bottles and the export beer packaged in green bottles and cans. I remember being told that export packaging was green so that the two could never be confused (due to the different ABV and export laws)

I loved the brown bottle and domestic draft Heineken, and do not enjoy the green export anymore after knowing what the domestic stuff tastes like.

The often found skunk flavor of the green bottles is most definitely unintended and caused by light.

 

[AllHopAbandon]

Dutch person here. I just wanted to add some things to this thread that I know about Heineken. Some things have been mentioned before, but here's a list:

Heineken is obviously not skunked on purpose. Skunking is caused by bad handling after it has been shipped.

The green bottles are for export only, here in Holland Heineken is sold in brown bottles. Marketing is a powerful tool, that why you see green bottles in the US. In fact, the first time I saw Heineken in a green bottle was when I was in NY. For reasons unknown (well, marketing) Heineken is available in green bottles here too now.

Heineken and Amstel are not much different from eachother. Heineken aquired Amstel in 1968 (!) and the brewing methods are similar, except for the yeast and lagering time. Not sure if this applies to Amstel brewed outside of the Netherlands too, but locally brewed Amstel is very similar to Heineken. Amstel is brewed on several loctions in the world, every single drop of Heineken is brewed in The Netherlands.

Heineken is considered to be a pilsner by the brewery itself. BJCP guidelines don't mean much in Europe and some (home)brewers even think the BJCP guidelines are misguided and inaccurate on certain aspects. Of course 'beer styles' is really a continuous spectrum so trying to categorize them is always an approximation, or a compromise between (historic) accuracy and indentifiability of certain styles. Go to Belgium and ask a local where you can get a nice Golden Strong Ale and he'll have no clue what you mean.

About exposing bottles to light on purpose: I once did a tour of the Kirin Brewery in Japan and that's exactly what they did. Not for skunking, but for checking the bottles for imperfections BEFORE filling.

 

[spearko520]

call me crazy, but i don't think heinekins are skunky...i think that's just the taste that comes with their grain bill and other ingredients.

i'm pretty sure all the big breweries like BMC, corona, new castle, heineken, etc. that all use clear or green bottles also use isomerized hops. isomerized hops aren't effected by light and take some extremely harsh conditions to become skunked.

although i'm not a fan of heineken, i don't credit its taste to skunkiness.

my two cents.

this - there are millions of green bottles in circulation every day from many different breweries- everyone has been bitching about heineken being skunky for as long as i can remember. Maybe you just don't like heineken. i drink yuengling lager regularly, it comes in green bottles- sometimes it doesn't taste as good. Beer is like that.

 

[cheezydemon3]

It would be insanity for a brewer to make a beer, and brew something crappier to send to the rest of the world......right?

 

[Denny]

if it was on purpose it would taste that way in a can or on tap.

It doesn't.

It is not on purpose.

this!!!!^^^^^^

 

[BrutalBrew]

I finally found Heineken in a can...

http://www.guy-sports.com/fun_pictures/beer_can.jpg

 

[cheezydemon3]

That looks PS'd.

They wouldn't ship it like that, would they?

Maybe the do and it is alternately used to ship skunk urine and not cleaned out too well.

 

[cval]

I don't care for Corona, but I do like some other Mexican lagers like Negra Modelo.

otherwise it's just wrong

 

[HawksBrewer]

I used to work at a Irish pub called fado and they got their Guinness from Ireland.( a lot more money)

The one on Clark in Chicago??? Don't live too far from there...

 

[BrutalBrew]

That looks PS'd.

They wouldn't ship it like that, would they?

Maybe the do and it is alternately used to ship skunk urine and not cleaned out too well.

If it is real then its just a sticker on a tank. Its a joke from past post. Its no more meant to be real. Its advertising. I don't think NASCAR has Viagra under the hood.

 

[cheezydemon3]

If it is real then its just a sticker on a tank. Its a joke from past post. Its no more meant to be real. Its advertising. I don't think NASCAR has Viagra under the hood.

Of course it is real my good man! Heinekin in a giant tanker. As real as the fact that people ship skunk urine from place to place when there is a shortgaage.

 

[HawksBrewer]

As real as the fact that people ship skunk urine from place to place when there is a shortgaage.

+1 to this. Period. Let me know when the urine truck passes through Chicago so I can get a refill on my bottled pee water.

 

[BrutalBrew]

Lol

 

[spearko520]

does urine skunk? because i keep all mine in those clear jars...

 

[brewski08]

i'm really surprised some anti-snob snob/hipster hasn't come to heinekin's rescue yet?

 

[spearko520]

that seems like a really complex super hero.

 

[rockfish42]

that seems like a really complex super hero.

Oh it is, you've probably never heard of it, I liked it before it became popular...

 

[cheezydemon3]

OK the tanker is unrealistic for the home uriner, but a local Skunkery here has used balsam barrels fairly cheap. I use them for my "hineykin" and my "Urona" clone recipes. Unfortunately they are BIG.

Smallest one is 50 gallons.

for some reason I had the urge to see if I could do 50 1 gallon brews and dump them on each other. It took 7 1/2 years.

By the time I pitched the last gallon, the brew was so skunkified it was almost undrinkable........almost!!

 

[Calichusetts]

These threads are annoying, I used to drink Becks, Heine, etc all the time without it being skunked. I'd take any Euro lager/pilsner over the american counterpart if I am out in the yard doing some work. In fact, I still do.

Urquell is an amazing beer in this "skunk" catagory, and played a major part in the history of beer. If you don't like this catagory of beer, don't drink it. But saying its all skunked and tastes like piss only does two things: Get you a thumbs up from the hipster hophead crowd and show that you are really good at being ignorant and stereotyping a beer catagory