Heineken N. V.
Heineken N. V. is a Dutch company that is one of the most famous names in beer dating back to 1873. The company exports beers to 192 countries including the United States, and claims that 25 million Heineken beers are served every day worldwide. This is our Heineken Beer Review.
Heineken Original
Heineken Original is Heineken N. V.’s flagship beer. The Heineken website has a lot of information about how they brew the beer, its history and familiarity, and the special “Heineken A-Yeast.” There is a lot less about what the beer is actually like. What they say is “For over 150 years, a ceaseless commitment to premium taste and quality have made Heineken® the most iconic beer brand in the world. When you see the red-star on the green bottle, you know every ice-cold, crisp sip will deliver that richly satisfying flavor with subtle fruity notes. A tradition of taste that has lived on for over a century and a half thanks to the simplicity and quality of the ingredients and the meticulous attention to the brewing process.”
You have to dig deeper to find out Heineken Original is a lager (although it does say that on the bottle). The site seems to be saying “We have been around a long time so our beer must be good.”
Heineken Original has a 5% ABV, 2g protein, 11g carbs, 0g fat, a 23 IBU and 142 calories. It has a “Poor” rating on Beer Advocate.
Heineken Beer Review
If you read our review of Corona Extra, I chose it over Heineken when faced with just those two as viable choices. I also trashed Heineken as an old beer that was no longer the premium option it once was. A couple days later I was faced with the same two choices and decided to give Heineken a chance. Maybe I was a little too harsh. It was somewhat better than Corona but had a strange aftertaste that others have also noticed. Corona was much cleaner.
I don’t think Heineken Original deserves the “poor” rating on Beer Advocate, but I wouldn’t call it premium either. I checked prices at Total Wine and More, where a case of Heineken costs $1.50 more than Corona. At Beverages and More, a 12 pack was a $1.00 more. That’s not a huge premium, but I’m not convinced that Heineken is worth the higher price. Heineken 12 packs are generally about $2.00 less than some far better craft beers. This isn’t the 1970s and I don’t know where Heineken fits in the beer market anymore. It is not cheap and it is certainly not premium.
For a better import beer recommendation, see our review of Franzikaner Weissbier.
For beer nutritional information of all beers we have reviewed see Beer Nutritional Information.
