The Beer Taster

Country of origin Holland Type Lager

For my premiere post, what better to review than the world’s premier beer? Heineken is available in all but the most cobweb-ridden corners of the world and outsells even Guinness and Budweiser. It’s brewed and consumed in vast quantities on every inhabited continent – and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was available in a scientific station discotheque in Antarctica, too.

So, why the love affair with the iconic green bottle from Holland? Let’s just say it’s both good quality and dependable. It’s not the best beer in the world, but it is a very good one, and wherever you are in the world, you know what you’re going to get with Heineken.

For those who have never tasted it – and that must be a proportion of society similar to those who’ve never heard an Elvis record or watched a football match – Heineken is of a malty persuasion, too much so to be described as crisp, but is extremely drinkable and moreish.

I was once asked which single brand of beer I would take with me to a desert island. Presuming this island had a fridge, I plumped for Heineken. Again, not because it’s the best, but because it’s the most reliable. Some beers you have to be in the right mood or situation for, but a Heineken is always welcome.

And while we’re talking about desert islands, it is Heineken’s omnipresence in the bars of the world which aid its cause. Beer, after all, is as much a social experience as a matter of taste. I’m a well-travelled man and there’s many a night in many a place where a Heineken has been the perfect accompaniment to a set of new people and surroundings.