I definitely saw Stella in Belgium when I was there. But I stayed almost entirely in Flanders.
I’m not sure ‘having a serious hard-on’ means what you think it means.
On Sopranos, to have a hard-on for someone meant that you wanted to murder him.
Pretty sure he does.
Well, you learn something every day. I was not aware of that usage, either.
When in Holland, try Grolsch or Hertog Jan instead of Heineken. These are well selling brands that you’ll find in many places, and that are superior to Heineken (YMMV as always).
Yeah, it’s the only usage I’ve ever heard in my 70 years. Perhaps it’s trended a different direction in some circles, but IME it’s always meant that you have a real hate going for someone else.
Yeah, actually, never mind. I have heard that usage, although, yes, it has two quite opposite meanings today.
You’ll find lots of Beck’s in pretty much any German supermarket. I think it’s one of those things where what keeps the brand going is that it’s so much of a household name—few people will actively seek out Beck’s, but it’ll do in a pinch.
They’ve recently tried to enter the craft-beer market; sampling their new offerings was the only time I recall buying Beck’s on purpose. Their Red Ale wasn’t half bad!
+1
I can’t address the OP’s issue, but I really dislike the Heineken we get in the States and have enjoyed it the couple of times I’ve had it in the Netherlands. Very different taste.
So a few things to consider.
In the Netherlands (and as far as I know, Belgium and Germany as well), people drink a lot of local beer and this is reflected even stronger in the beer that is served in bars. What you typical lager is concerned, Amsterdam is very much Heineken centered (maybe some Amstel as well). In the south it is mostly Bavaria, with some Brand. In the East there is a lot of Grolsch and in some places there is quite a bit of diversity in the lagers you get in different bars.
Many bars give you the choice between two lagers. If you can get Heineken, you probably can get Brand as well. If you can get Dommelsch, you can mostly get Jupiler as well. This is related to the brewery you do business with. In Holland it is kind of common that bars lease the draft equipment from the brewery, but this does mean that you will have to serve the beer (and other products) that the brewery produces.
A typical bar will have a handfull choices from draft. Two lagers, a “white beer” (Hoegaarden if it is inbev, Wiekse Witte if it is Heinken… nowadays they might also choose a Germand style Weizen) and two Belgian style beers (Blond, double, triple, bock, etc.). All of this linked to the brewery that does the leasing.
In addition there will be other bottled beers that you can get. In the majority of bars this will include one or two Weissbeers: Erdinger, Franziskaner, Paulaner etc.
One reason why there is relatively little German beer in the bars (super markets do carry some), is that there is a consensus that lager is better form draft, than from a bottle. The idea of having a bottle of “normal” beer, when draft is available is kind of unheard of (except for some millenials that suddenly have taken to ordering bottles of Hertog Jan in some cities).
So people mostly don’t buy bottled lager in bars and the lager that is being served, is linked to the breweries that provide the installations. None of which are German per se.
btw I don’t think you’ll find much Heineken in Germany either.
My family lived 5 minutes away from a Grolsch brewery in the NL when I was a teenager. I will not drink any beer, domestic or import, in the United States, because what is sold here is nothing like what I learned to drink there.
We rarely have alcohol in the house or at a restaurant. We both prefer sweet drinks, so Strongbow Honey is our first choice. It’s just about impossible to find here, so we mostly abstain.
There were lots of lagers in bottles at the bars in Amsterdam.
And when I was in Germany (been there a couple of times) I always saw Heineken. I don’t think I’ve been to a single country that didn’t have it. And I’ve been to 6 continents.
This is just so much bullshit it just has to be pointed out. Not called out, because the wrongness is obvious to everyone. But at least noted.
This thread did inspire me to stop by Bevmo this morning and pick up some German beer I’ve never had before. Krombacher Pils is pretty damn good. Oettinger wasn’t available, and I’ve already tried Warsteiner (pisswater), Bitburger (meh), Beck’s (more meh), Paulaner (YUM!), and Erdinger (not bad).
Have you seen Heineken in the UK? While I almost always prefer ales in the UK, I’ve only seen Amstel when I’ve been at a bar that only has lagers available. It’s always been Amstel, kronenbourg 1664, Carling, Fosters, along with perhaps a cider, London Lager, Brewdog Punk IPA, or some similar beers.
Admittedly, I haven’t sought out Heineken in bottles and If I was going to order a bottle, I’d surely look for an ale or else something unique to the UK. But 99.99% of the time, I’d rather have a mass produced lager on draft which I know is at least fresh over a bottle that may have been sitting around forever.
The Heineken I had in Amsterdam did taste different than what I get in the states. Probably because it is fresher I’d guess. But that doesn’t mean the stuff here is crap, though.
Fosters Lager was a ‘premium’ brand in Vic.aus in the 70’s (back when ‘beer’ meant either Vic Bitter or Carlton Draught). It was never sold on tap, but was reasonably popular as a bottle. It got lost along the way. Fosters “classic” is available again as a canned beer, and is, I think, a reasonably well regarded product in a niche market.
The ‘Fosters’ sold in London was a different beer, based, I think, on Carlton Draught.
“Heineken? C’est de la vraie merde. PABST! BLUE! RIBBON!”
—François “Frank” Booth
I didn’t ask for them. I just noticed that neither were present.
Yes.
I agree. It definitely did taste better. My first trip to Amsterdam, I was hungry and ended up at some fish & chip shop. I wanted a beer, but all they had was bottles of Heineken. I was disappointed, since I don’t like Heineken, but I really wanted a beer, so screw it, I ordered it anyway. And, ya know what. It actually was good! Also, it came in a brown bottle. Now, I know green bottles are typical everywhere, but this was an honest-to-goodness brown-bottle Heineken, like this one here. This would have been circa 2000/2001.
