AMSTEL
Heineken UK
Netherlands, 5.0% ABV
Amstel, or ‘Am-shtel’ to give its correct Dutch pronunciation, is the little beer brother of Heineken. It is named after the river in the Netherlands that runs through the north of Amsterdam, where the Amstel Brewery was founded in 1870. The brewery was taken over by Heineken in 1969 – a smart move when you consider by this time Amstel was already a worldwide brand with its own breweries located in Suriname, Jordan, the island of Curaçao, Puerto Rico and Greece. It was first exported to the UK in 1883, and is currently available in over 75 countries. Heineken moved production of the beer to Zoeterwoude in 1982, so Amstel is now produced 30 miles outside of Amsterdam. The beer itself is smooth and malty yet rather watery – surprising, as it is a decent strength 5% ABV pilsner style lager. Keeping the H2O theme going, while we Europeans get to drink Amstel brewed using fresh clean spring water, the Amstel brewery on Curaçao produces the only beer in the world that is made with 100 percent seawater – desalinated of course. The labels on the bottles have used the famous red and gold colour scheme since first production in 1870. There is a different coat of arms for each variation of Amstel, all based on the city of Amsterdam’s crest. So drink up and dispose of your empties correctly – Amstel’s brown bottles are apparently the most recycled in the world. GT
