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

[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.

 

[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 ***** 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 bitch-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 bitch-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.