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

[BrutalBrew]

I was wondering what type of beer heineken is, I really hate this beer. Taste like the beer is skunked to me. I want to make sure I dont brew anything like this stuff, corona and coors have the same taste to me at least , all horrible beers.

 

[pdxal]

Heineken is a skunked lager, as is corona. Coors, not so sure.
Clear and green glass allow too much UV through and the beer gets skunked.

 

[BuddyWeiser]

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

 

[dinnerstick]

it's ok here, nothing to get poetic over, but here it's all draught, can and brown bottles so at least it isn't skunked. why the hell they export in green bottles..... i can't fathom. why the hell is newcastle in clear bottles while we're on the topic? skunked brown isn't nice either

 

[BuddyWeiser]

I remember (LOL!) Amstel being the best beer on my visits to The Netherlands. Not Amstel Light (which is all I've ever seen in the U.S.)

But talk about weirdness involving exported beer! My only guess is that a country might be greedy of it's beer and not want to share with the rest of the world! Guinness being the one exception to the rule. Guinness Draught here in the remote regions of the Rocky Mountains is still very good and in a very dark bottle.

 

[Brewskii]

As to the original post, Heineken, and corona fall into BJCP category 1C "Premium American Lager" but I doubt Heineken would call it that!
However, the reason your giving for not liking it is a flavor defect that ( as others have mentioned) comes from being poorly protected from uv light waves ( clear or flint glass , green glass and cobalt or blue glass are the main culprits).
Many European beers market in glass of this nature when selling in the US and subsequently have become notorious for skunky or " light-struck" off notes. The lagers themselves are actually quite different when consumed fresh.
Note that there are hop extracts that commercial brewers can use that are chemically altered that don't skunk regardless of the package so not all beers in the uv vulnerable glass are skunky.

 

[Kmcogar]

I remember (LOL!) Amstel being the best beer on my visits to The Netherlands. Not Amstel Light (which is all I've ever seen in the U.S.)

But talk about weirdness involving exported beer! My only guess is that a country might be greedy of it's beer and not want to share with the rest of the world! Guinness being the one exception to the rule. Guinness Draught here in the remote regions of the Rocky Mountains is still very good and in a very dark bottle.

I agree with you about other countries being greedy. I used to work at a Irish pub called fado and they got their Guinness from Ireland.( a lot more money) Unlike most other places that have it shipped from a Canadian brewery. You definitely have to be picky where you go.

As for lagers like corona......there's a reason you have to put a lime in the beer. They said originally they put the lime in the beer to keep local insects from get into their beverage. Then American tourist thought it was supposed to be like that. I personally think they put the lime in their so it will taste better.

I also read that wayyyyyyy back in the day when there was no refrigeration they had to put fruit in the beer to make it taste better.

Bottom line, if you have to put fruit in the beer, it's not worth drinking.

 

[FlyDoctor]

Not that I'm a fan I the style in general, but I must add that there will be good examples and bad examples of any style. So, to avoid a whole category of beer due to one brand you don't like might be an over reaction.

 

[ACbrewer]

it's ok here, nothing to get poetic over, but here it's all draught, can and brown bottles so at least it isn't skunked. why the hell they export in green bottles..... i can't fathom. why the hell is newcastle in clear bottles while we're on the topic? skunked brown isn't nice either

Marketing... I was told one of the reason Corona took off was it was an oddity that you could get beer in a clear bottle - not brown. So people bought it because it was 'cool and the thing to do'.... After a while they can't ship it in brown bottles because the branding of the product is for green or clear glass.

 

[BrutalBrew]

Not that I'm a fan I the style in general, but I must add that there will be good examples and bad examples of any style. So, to avoid a whole category of beer due to one brand you don't like might be an over reaction.

Very true , I thought the "skunky" taste was there on purpose. Ive tryed both several times in my 20 years of enjoying beer and they have been very consistent on tasting like skunk pee. Ive had them from IN and in CA. Same skunk taste. So I figured it was a style of beer , coors has the same taste to me at least, but veryy watered down, all taste like skunk pee. ( not that ive tryed skunk pee to compare) You would think in southern CA corona wouldnt be as skunky (being closer to Mexico) as in corn feed Indiana, but its exactly the same. Ive noticed Beck and few others have that same taste. Ive always stayed away from beer in green bottles. Figuring the skunk style was put in green bottles due to all tasting the same. I did know green bottles dont block light as well, but my thinking was if they didnt want there beer to taste like crap then they would do something about it by now.

 

[downtown3641]

I agree with you about other countries being greedy. I used to work at a Irish pub called fado and they got their Guinness from Ireland.( a lot more money) Unlike most other places that have it shipped from a Canadian brewery. You definitely have to be picky where you go..

Off topic, but Fado is a godsend before 12:30 Caps games.

 

[bk0]

Back in the day I enjoyed Heineken quite a bit. At least it has flavor, unlike the typical BMC lights.

 

[VladOfTrub]

Heineken in a can doesn't have the skunk funk of the bottle.

 

[CGVT]

Heineken in a can doesn't have the skunk funk of the bottle.

If you like the style it is pretty good in cans, or in the "keg can" or on tap. No skunk taste at all.

I'll have one once in a while if I see it on tap.

 

[Brando_i]

Funny I've never ever had a skunked Newcastle.... Ever, and I've probably drank a couple hundred gallons! At least more then I should have.

There are a lot of clear/green bottled brews that don't skunk IMHO.

 

[copyright1997]

If you like the style it is pretty good in cans, or in the "keg can" or on tap. No skunk taste at all.

I'll have one once in a while if I see it on tap.

I used to travel A LOT for work, and frequently stayed at an Embassy Suites in NYC. They had a free happy hour with bud, coors light, and heiny on tap. I drank the Heiny. Can't tell you how many I had, but definitely my fair share, and still have a soft spot for it on tap.

 

[cheezydemon3]

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

Anything tastes better when you are half drunk on a beach.....not sure about the netherlands.

As far as I AM concerned (watch as I piss people off)

Guinness is 1 dimensional overly creamy regurgitated charcoal milk.

Corona is AWFUL beer. Just try one without a lime and see what face you make in a mirror.

Heinekin is bleh, at least it has some bitterness even if it is from the pee hole of a small mammal.

Any beer THAT popular from another country, by default sucks.

 

[pelipen]

If you do much travel in Asia, you'll quickly grow to like Heineken and Carlsberg, because a lot of places have them and the local stuff is good for mopping floors.
Fortunately that has been changing.

 

[Bradzukie]

I remember (LOL!) Amstel being the best beer on my visits to The Netherlands. Not Amstel Light (which is all I've ever seen in the U.S.)

But talk about weirdness involving exported beer! My only guess is that a country might be greedy of it's beer and not want to share with the rest of the world! Guinness being the one exception to the rule. Guinness Draught here in the remote regions of the Rocky Mountains is still very good and in a very dark bottle.

I went to Amsterdam once and the Amstel was delicious. That's all I drank there. But I do agree, Heineken sucks.

 

[TimTrone]

The real Amstel is awesome! Too bad they won't import Heineken and Amstel. We get the short end of the stick on that one.

 

[Obliviousbrew]

I went to Amsterdam once and the Amstel was delicious. That's all I drank there. But I do agree, Heineken sucks.

Amsterdam has so much ti offer in craft beers that I dont understand why people have heineken/amstel. There is Jopen, Ij, De Molen, Emelisse, De Prael and many many others. Also some very good beer bars like in de Wildeman and Arendnest or the Beer Temple (which specializes in american craft beer). Nothing against Amstel or Heineken but there is so little time and so many beers!

 

[Brewskii]

Funny I've never ever had a skunked Newcastle.... Ever, and I've probably drank a couple hundred gallons! At least more then I should have.

There are a lot of clear/green bottled brews that don't skunk IMHO.

Tetra-hydro isomerized hop extract

http://www.hopunion.com/1021_TetrahydroIsomerizedHopExtract.cfm?p4=open

 

[WilliamWS]

Very true , I thought the "skunky" taste was there on purpose. Ive tryed both several times in my 20 years of enjoying beer and they have been very consistent on tasting like skunk pee. Ive had them from IN and in CA. Same skunk taste. So I figured it was a style of beer , coors has the same taste to me at least, but veryy watered down, all taste like skunk pee. ( not that ive tryed skunk pee to compare) You would think in southern CA corona wouldnt be as skunky (being closer to Mexico) as in corn feed Indiana, but its exactly the same. Ive noticed Beck and few others have that same taste. Ive always stayed away from beer in green bottles. Figuring the skunk style was put in green bottles due to all tasting the same. I did know green bottles dont block light as well, but my thinking was if they didnt want there beer to taste like crap then they would do something about it by now.

The skunkiness is there on purpose, at least for Corona. Corona in cans they actually strike with high powered lights prior to packaging so it still has their signature flavor.

 

[gr8shandini]

I agree with you about other countries being greedy. I used to work at a Irish pub called fado and they got their Guinness from Ireland.( a lot more money) Unlike most other places that have it shipped from a Canadian brewery. You definitely have to be picky where you go.

All Guinness sold in the US is from Ireland. If your distributor was charging extra for "Irish" Guinness, you were getting ripped off.

http://www.guinness.com/en-us/faqs.html

All the GUINNESS® sold in the UK, Ireland and North America is brewed in Ireland at the historic St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin.

As for the green glass that many European beers are packaged in, the story I heard is that post WW-II, there was a shortage of brown glass in Germany, so they used green. Around the same time, demand for imported beer in the US was growing and the green bottles were seen as an indicator of a "premium" beer. When the shortage was over and Germans switched back to brown, sales dipped in the US, and they went back to green bottles for export. I imagine Heineken also went green to capture the "premium import" vibe.

 

[Denny]

The skunkiness is there on purpose, at least for Corona. Corona in cans they actually strike with high powered lights prior to packaging so it still has their signature flavor.

Proof? I find it kind of hard to believe.

 

[Bradzukie]

Amsterdam has so much ti offer in craft beers that I dont understand why people have heineken/amstel. There is Jopen, Ij, De Molen, Emelisse, De Prael and many many others. Also some very good beer bars like in de Wildeman and Arendnest or the Beer Temple (which specializes in american craft beer). Nothing against Amstel or Heineken but there is so little time and so many beers!

This was just before my real craft brew drinking days that I went there. We had a 26 hour stop in Amsterdam on our way to Bahrain for a deployment. I don't remember much from the stop, just lots of delicious amstel, walking a teammate through the Sheraton like a dog cause he couldn't walk, and then finding him the next morning flooded the floor of the hotel and he was in the bathtub with water right up to his nose. He was fine, luckily he was tall. His new nickname was "Scuba Steve". That was a pretty good deployment!

 

[cheezydemon3]

Sorry....must......NOT.........YOU HAD 24 HOURS IN AMSTERDAM AND YOU SAT THERE SWILLING AMSTEL LIGHT???????????????

i think I just crapped my pants.

 

[BaronVonMeisterburger]

Several beers are skunked on purpose with UV lights or sunlight.

I assume Heineken is one of them since every one I've ever had is skunked to the same degree.

 

[badbrew]

If you tried corona in the big bottles in mexico with lime, I think you might have a different opinion. The clear bottles here suck though I agree. And heineken sucks too I agree as does lowenbrau and miller while we're at it. I can take down coors and bud though if that's all you got.

 

[Denny]

Several beers are skunked on purpose with UV lights or sunlight.

I assume Heineken is one of them since every one I've ever had is skunked to the same degree.

Try it from a can...no skunk. It's actually a damn good Euro lager. I've never heard of beers being purposely skunked and I'm afraid I'm gonna need some evidence before I can accept it.

 

[BaronVonMeisterburger]

Try it from a can...no skunk. It's actually a damn good Euro lager. I've never heard of beers being purposely skunked and I'm afraid I'm gonna need some evidence before I can accept it.

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.

 

[TimTrone]

Sorry....must......NOT.........YOU HAD 24 HOURS IN AMSTERDAM AND YOU SAT THERE SWILLING AMSTEL LIGHT???????????????

i think I just crapped my pants.

He meant the regular Amstel, not the light. For some reason we can't get regular amstel in the states, but it's a million times better than Amstel light or Heineken.

 

[rockfish42]

Heineken actually brews Amstel now.

 

[Yooper]

I absolutely HATE to preface a post this way, but here goes:

This one time, in Amsterdam....................................

I sat in a sidewalk pub waiting for a bus. (I used to live in Germany, and spent lots of time in Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Austria, etc). Anyway, I had about a two hour wait for the bus to Frankfort (where I lived). I drank Heineken, fresh from the tap about 5 minutes from the brewery. It was awesome! No skunk, and a lovely lager perfect for a warm summer day. Unfortunately, I drank too much, missed that bus, and spent a couple more days in Amsterdam. Or, fortunately, depending on how you look at it. My boss didn't look on it too kindly, since I missed a couple of days of work.

Anyway, much like any European lager served in green glass (Grolsch, Pilsner Urquell, Heineken, St. Pauli Girl, Beck's), the beer is actually pretty darn good at the source. Pilsner Urquell without the skunk is a mighty fine lager. Heineken in the metal "keg" is pretty darn good, as I had some last fall at the neighbors. Don't write off a whole wonderful class of beers that have been stored and served improperly. That's like saying "I had a bad Sam Adams in Chicago, and I'll never buy one in New York!". Pretty short sighted.

 

[Bernie Brewer]

I absolutely HATE to preface a post this way, but here goes:

This one time, in Amsterdam....................................

I sat in a sidewalk pub waiting for a bus. (I used to live in Germany, and spent lots of time in Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Austria, etc). Anyway, I had about a two hour wait for the bus to Frankfort (where I lived). I drank Heineken, fresh from the tap about 5 minutes from the brewery. It was awesome! No skunk, and a lovely lager perfect for a warm summer day. Unfortunately, I drank too much, missed that bus, and spent a couple more days in Amsterdam. Or, fortunately, depending on how you look at it. My boss didn't look on it too kindly, since I missed a couple of days of work.

Anyway, much like any European lager served in green glass (Grolsch, Pilsner Urquell, Heineken, St. Pauli Girl, Beck's), the beer is actually pretty darn good at the source. Pilsner Urquell without the skunk is a mighty fine lager. Heineken in the metal "keg" is pretty darn good, as I had some last fall at the neighbors. Don't write off a whole wonderful class of beers that have been stored and served improperly. That's like saying "I had a bad Sam Adams in Chicago, and I'll never buy one in New York!". Pretty short sighted.

What she said.

 

[Bradzukie]

He meant the regular Amstel, not the light. For some reason we can't get regular amstel in the states, but it's a million times better than Amstel light or Heineken.

Yes. Regular Amstel. Thanks for clarifying that for him.

 

[Kmcogar]

Off topic, but Fado is a godsend before 12:30 Caps games.

Your welcome

 

[BrutalBrew]

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.

 

[Denny]

If you mean " is skunky a style of beer?" , then no. The BJCP lists Heiniken as a premium American lager, which is kinda wacky since it's not am American beer.

 

[BrutalBrew]

After hearing some explanations I think It might be a beer I would like during a hot day. Now Ive gone from hating the beer to wondering what it really taste like fresh. I might try to find some in a can or on tap. Maybe a pony keg. Corona Ive tried in Mexico , I used to go down when I lived in Southern CA. Taste the same to me. Im not really a fan of mexican beer. But the beautiful thing about beer is all the style , you dont have to like them all. Even if I dont like it ,someone out there does.