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? )

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? )

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.