What does Heineken Light taste like?
 

What does Heineken Light taste like? For some odd reason it's not available in my state.(according to a customer service rep I spoke to at Heineken)

Thanks!

I drink Heineken exclsuively and I never even knew there was a Heinie Light. Guess its not available here either.

Heineken Light - not bad if you like a light beer - and I find it lighter than Miller Lite or Bud Lite. I find regular Heineken too strong as well as regular beers.

Loyal Miller Lite fan, but I've been meaning to try it out.

I always thought Amstel was essentially Heineken Light. Oh well, chalk this one up to the wonderful marketing folks who brought us "Sunday" jerseys for Baseball teams.

Anyway, my GF ordered one the other week. The taste reminded me of Lowenbrau. Now if only they came in the 7oz stubby bottles like Lowenbrau did...

I'd rather get one of these: http://www.beertender.nl/domains/bee...tcode=homepage

:)

It's a bit too light for my tastes. I was a loyal Amstel drinker until I recently tried Sam Adams light... I've never been a fan of American beers, but this definitely changed my mind.

From what I can tell, Beertender is not available to the USA. Now I know what I'm buy when I visit Amsterdam next month. I'm brining home a Beertender and a few 4-liter kegs of Heineken!!! :)

Be sure to get a Euro to USA voltage/plug adapter ;)

Yeah, I don't understand why nobody has started marketing it over here...

OTOH: Holland had the Senseo machines back in 2000 and it took 3 years for it to make it to the US so who knows, perhaps we'll see the Beertender soon...

While I don't think it's always been true, Amstel and Heineken are currently made by the same company; however, from a marketing standpoint, I suspect there's a prestige advantage to the Heineken brand name.

One of my colleagues at Brewing News, Hank Stewart, did a column and did a number on "Heineken Premium Light" (it's full and official name) in our April issue. He calls it "the newest entry in the bland, boring, emphasis-on-the-label world." However, Hank does add, "But I'll admit the label is pretty cool".

Hank says the folks at Heineken are spending "between $40 and $50 million (depending on who you believe -- ADWEEK or The New York Times) to introduce HPL."

I haven't tried HPL yet, either, but at this time of year I think I'd rather have a nice fresh Maibock. (I was at a tapping party for the release of their seasonal Maibock at a nearby Gordon Biersch brewpub last night -- very tasty. If there's a GB in your neighborhood, try it before they run out.)

I also suspect local laws have something to do with it.
In the county where I live, they have they have some really silly laws:

1. no sale of alcoholic beverage at supermarkets/7-Elevens,
1030pm-630am. (630am? so people can buy a 6-pack on the way to work? :D )

2. Keg sale not permitted to anyone under 25, not 21. If you're more the 25, you can buy a keg, but the clerk is required to make a copy of your driver's license, after you paid for the keg and the deposit.

3. No person may purchase more than 24-can/bottle during each visit. (just drop off the first 24-can case in your truck and walk back to the store and buy another case.... I guess they don't want you to hurt your arms carrying too many beers? :D )

Oh well.... at least I don't live in one of those dry counties... :)

I wonder if the US Customs has any laws that say I can't being beer in 4-liter mini kegs back? Gotta look that up first... As for the 220v plug, my electrician put one in my kitchen a couple of years ago. :) :) :)

IMO, if one has to ask, one has not tasted a decent beer. So it'll probably taste fine to that individual.

Interesting fact, when Heineken introduced their "keg cans" to the US market, they initially had complaints from consumers that it did not taste the same as Heineken bottles. The problem was that the cans protected the beer from light and thus avoided the light-struck or "skunked" taste for which Heine (and all other light lagers imported in green bottles) is known. They solved the "problem" by intentionally exposing the beer to UV rays prior to canning.

In terms of customs, there is absolutely no federal law against bringing 4 liters of beer into the US. Technically, only the first liter can be duty-free, but I would be very surprised if they actually imposed a duty on the other 3. Even if they did, the duty would be a very small amount. Depending on where you're flying into, though, additional state laws may be an issue. If the state considers a 4 liter container beyond "personal consumption," they may try to make you go through the commercial importation procedures or seize it. Unless you're dealing with a totally backward ABC state AND a complete ... in customs, though, my guess is you'll roll right on through.

Wow! Thanks for that info! I've always bought the bottles,
not the keg cans. Nothing like a cold glass bottle in the
summer heat... :)

Cans are best for minimizing light damage; that's why you're starting to see some microbreweries, like Colorado's Oskar Blues, use cans.

You should also try to avoid beer that's been stored in coolers illuminated by flourescent lights -- the emission spectrum of flourescents is particularly bad for beers. Incandescent lights or, best of all, as dark as possible, is what a place that takes care of its beer will use.

Light does go through glass, but different colors of glass allow in varying amounts and frequencies. The best shade to minimize light damage is brown glass (which is why it's the most common glass used for beer bottles). After brown, the least-bad color choices commonly used for beer bottles are green, blue (not used much now, but it used to be), and worst of all, clear.

Heineken Light was being passed out for free in DCA bars. I like it much better than Amstel Light - which I find is a little bitter.

Heineken Light is not available here either. Hopefully it will come around soon because I love Heineken and try to lean towards the light beers to keep my waistline down haha.

As I understand it, Heineken Light is being phased in around the U.S. but it will eventually be available nationwide; if it hasn't gotten to your hometown yet, give it a few more weeks or months.

It is available here (in Los Angeles). I am also a real fan of Heineken. I can actually daydream that I am back in Amsterdam when I open a bottle, if I try hard. Sort of like a mini-mental vacation. :) I, too, am a fan of light beers and I was over-joyed when I saw a cardboard display at my local market. It tastes pretty close (if not exact) to the non-light version. The only problem I am finding is that it sells out very quickly. Even at our huge mega-supermarket "Ralphs" which carries an impressive beer selection. Both times I went to look for it, I got the last 6 pack. Good luck, to you!

have it in southern california.. had the 6 pack in bottles. was ok. prefer the fully loaded heineken but was a decent light beer. good taste. wasn't too bad.

News to me
 

I've never seen it either. Sounds interesting.

I'm anxious to give it a try. My understanding is its just being phased in here in the Chicago area. I like Heineken, but its the only beer on the planet that give me a headache. Maybe I'll have better luck with this stuff.

But on the other hand, I find Amstel light to be an absolutely insipid, watery product. If this is the same bland stuff with new packaging, I'm sure my first will be my last....as was the case with Michelob Ultra.

Rolled out in Chicago on April 1st. It is good, traditional Heineken taste, just slightly lighter/watered down. In fact, it is too light and I wouldn't switch from traditional Heineken.

I just saw the commerical for Heineken Light last night... I still haven't seen it in the store but I will keep looking.

I found it today!! A huge box of it at Costco. I am surprised it is really good. I drink miller light and other light beers but I prefer heavy beers so this is a great catch. Light but has a non-light taste if that makes sense! :p

Heine is probably the worst Dutch beer out there (besides Amstel). Although this is true of most countries that produce good beer. They only send out the crap and keep the good stuff for themselves, particularly DE. When I was in NL, I became quite enamored with Domelsch (sp?), which is miles above Heine in taste, and cost about the same there. Grolsch isn't too bad, but it's not as good as the local stuff.

Even in the US you see this. For example, one of the best (IMO) breweries in the country, Deschutes in Bend, OR, can only be had on the west coast. There is absolutely no way to get it on the East coast no matter where you go. Sure, you can get Anchor Steam and Rogue and Sierra Nevada and such, but these are all piss in comparison to Deschutes, particularly their seasonal blends. For my money, the summertime Twilight Ale is the best light ale I've ever had, and I've had lots and lots of ales, both light and dark. Their stout and porters are also phenomenal. If you are ever in WA/OR and love beer, I would highly, highly recommend trying these out.

And if you're in Olympia, WA on a Thurs. (although I can't really see why you would be, unless you're a lobbyist or politico), go to the East Side Tavern, but go early, as it gets annoyingly crowded after about 9 or so. The reason to go on Thurs is that they have 2 dollar pints of microbrews (of which they have nearly 40 on tap) that are almost universally all good (although the best tend to come from OR). A good way to sample the various beers in of the Pacific NW.

You can't get Oregon's Deschutes (or Colorado's New Belgium, or Virginia's Old Dominion or etc. etc. etc.) everywhere because these companies are too small (hence the term "microbrewery") to economically distribute nationwide. And by that I don't just mean the expense of shipping to an area, but also things like the cost of marketing, of signing up a local or regional representative -- and also the cost in lost sales by reducing the amount of beer available to sell in their local or regional territories.

But stop and think: if you found a great bakery in San Francisco, would you be surprised that you couldn't find their pies on store shelves in New Jersey? Different product, same issue.

Finally tried one in Memphis last weekend. Not bad, but not impressive, either. I didn't finish it, so the waitress comped me with a free Stella instead. (Turns out the restaurant had been given a free supply of Stella by a distributor wanting them to carry it).

Now THAT was an upgrade!

Clear is worst of all - that explains Miller High Life. :td: :(

I agree and understand that clear is generally not good. That said...there are a couple of decent brews that come in clear bottles. Sleeman's up in Canada comes to mind. Presumably brewers/vendors/customers are smart enough to store the merchandise properly.

As for Miller High Life.... I remember this as having once been halfway okay stuff. At least for a "macro-brew". I'm talking in the seventies and early eighties. But I agree the current version is pretty awful. I doubt if its just the clear glass.... they seem to have tinkered with the formula....and not for the better!