Does Heineken really only contain 3 ingredients

gooner99 · 26-10-2014 8:00pm #1

Spotted this on a beer mat last night and was a bit surprised. Always thought most if not all the common beers sold in pubs here also had chemicals and the like added!

http://www.heineken.com/ie/our-beer/natural-ingredients.aspx

dpofloinn · 26-10-2014 8:03pm

No that has to be a bare faced lie, Heineken has only one ingredient 100% pure piss

adamski8 · 26-10-2014 8:08pm

The key is in the wording! Only 3 NATURAL ingredients. Probably 1000 unnatural ones!

Heisenberg88 · 26-10-2014 8:32pm

dpofloinn wrote: »

No that has to be a bare faced lie, Heineken has only one ingredient 100% pure piss

Its a grand pint. I love it.

Arcto · 26-10-2014 8:34pm

Drinkin it right now in a bar as no alternative beats it. Feckn gross but itll do

BaZmO* · 26-10-2014 9:35pm

Well considering the most basic of beers has 4 ingredients, Water, Hops, Barley & Yeast, I'd love to know which one Heineken leave out.

amdublin · 26-10-2014 9:36pm

Seriously. Now what do you think?!

oblivious · 26-10-2014 9:40pm

They are probably are all malt, hop extract, water abd yeast. But I doesn't neam it make a particular interesting lager :pac:

rubadub · 27-10-2014 12:27am

Alcohol companies get away with murder as they do not have to list ingredients here. With normal food labeling if the ingredient is below a certain % they are not obliged to list it -I think they have to list recognised allergens in the food though. So I suspect they can say the same thing, and just not list anything else they use in low %.

DK man · 27-10-2014 12:30am

I used to work in a brewery and there were a few tins of this and that and a few bags of powder also added in for good measure - never stopped me tasting and enjoying the product though

n97 mini · 27-10-2014 12:43am

BaZmO* wrote: »

Well considering the most basic of beers has 4 ingredients, Water, Hops, Barley & Yeast, I'd love to know which one Heineken leave out.

Any beer that has been centrifuged or filtered won't have any yeast left. So while yeast was used during manufacturing it won't be in the final product.

Cienciano · 27-10-2014 12:51am

rubadub wrote: »

Alcohol companies get away with murder as they do not have to list ingredients here. With normal food labeling if the ingredient is below a certain % they are not obliged to list it -I think they have to list recognised allergens in the food though. So I suspect they can say the same thing, and just not list anything else they use in low %.

Any idea why alcoholic drink are exempt from showing an ingredients list?

the beer revolu · 27-10-2014 10:30am

Cienciano wrote: »

Any idea why alcoholic drink are exempt from showing an ingredients list?

I believe you can blame the French wine lobby for that bonkers anomaly.

And while bottles and cans will have the ABV listed on them, there appears to be no requirement to list the ABV at point of sale of draught beer.

enda1 · 27-10-2014 12:22pm

the beer revolu wrote: »

I believe you can blame the French wine lobby for that bonkers anomaly.

And while bottles and cans will have the ABV listed on them, there appears to be no requirement to list the ABV at point of sale of draught beer.

Never knew that! Mad set of circumstances.

irish_goat · 27-10-2014 12:48pm

Heineken, like most mass produced beers, will probably be brewed with a mixture of salts added to the brewing water as well as chemicals that speed up fermentation and then possibly finings to help clear the beer.

the beer revolu · 27-10-2014 1:54pm

enda1 wrote: »

Never knew that! Mad set of circumstances.

If you think about it, where in your average pub is the ABV displayed? The only standard point of sale is the tap badge and /or tap unit. Mainstream beers usually don't put the ABV on these , nor on posters.
I'd also suspect that a huge amount of bar staff in this country wouldn't have a clue of the ABV of beers they serve if asked!

krissovo · 27-10-2014 2:09pm

irish_goat wrote: »

Heineken, like most mass produced beers, will probably be brewed with a mixture of salts added to the brewing water as well as chemicals that speed up fermentation and then possibly finings to help clear the beer.

On a visit to the Cork brewery a fork lift driver hit and ripped open a large bail of "stuff" they add to speed up brewing. What looked like bits of fish carcas spilled out on the floor.

fullstop · 27-10-2014 2:17pm

krissovo wrote: »

On a visit to the Cork brewery a fork lift driver hit and ripped open a large bail of "stuff" they add to speed up brewing. What looked like bits of fish carcas spilled out on the floor.

Sounds plausible. Friend of a friend was it?

Insect Overlord · 27-10-2014 2:23pm

fullstop wrote: »

Sounds plausible. Friend of a friend was it?

In fairness, isinglass is used in a fair few beers. That's a fish by-product.

marco_polo · 28-10-2014 9:29pm

Would be nice if brewers had to list everything, but in their particular case I really can't see much else Heineken would have to add to make a mediocre pilsner tbh, so I'd probably be leaning towards giving them the benefit of the doubt. Its likely that lots brewer take shortcuts in terms of colourings flavours for cheapo versions of other styles, so I'd love to see better labeling happen.

n97 mini · 29-10-2014 12:25pm

An File wrote: »

In fairness, isinglass is used in a fair few beers. That's a fish by-product.

Some would also filter or centrifuge it all out, meaning like yeast it was used in the production process but it's not in the end product.

oblivious · 29-10-2014 1:04pm

n97 mini wrote: »

Some would also filter or centrifuge it all out, meaning like yeast it was used in the production process but it's not in the end product.

Yeast proteins do

drumswan · 29-10-2014 1:06pm

This 'certain beer full of chemicals' thing is another Irish pub myth largely propagated by people who dont know much about beer.

oblivious · 29-10-2014 1:08pm

drumswan wrote: »

This 'certain beer full of chemicals' thing is another Irish pub myth largely propagated by people who dont know much about beer.

hydrogen dioxide is fecken lethal :P

Stojkovic · 29-10-2014 1:12pm

BaZmO* wrote: »

Well considering the most basic of beers has 4 ingredients, Water, Hops, Barley & Yeast, I'd love to know which one Heineken leave out.

Water doesnt just fall from the sky you know !!!

super_furry · 29-10-2014 1:16pm

oblivious wrote: »

hydrogen dioxide is fecken lethal :P

Killed nearly 150 people in Ireland in 2012 and still nothing is being done about it.

unkel · 29-10-2014 1:33pm

Heineken is brewed in accordance with the German Reinheitsgebot, so yes only water, hops, barley & yeast are used. Nothing else.

enda1 · 29-10-2014 1:57pm

unkel wrote: »

Heineken is brewed in accordance with the German Reinheitsgebot, so yes only water, hops, barley & yeast are used. Nothing else.

Surely they could just brew a certain amount under those laws for the German market (like I believe Guinness does) and the rest under whatever other process that's being postulated?

BaZmO* · 29-10-2014 1:59pm

enda1 wrote: »

Surely they could just brew a certain amount under those laws for the German market (like I believe Guinness does) and the rest under whatever other process that's being postulated?

It's not a law though, it's a philosophy.

BeerNut · 29-10-2014 2:03pm

enda1 wrote: »

(like I believe Guinness does)

Guinness is always brewed with roasted barley, which is non-compliant. Foreign breweries don't have to comply with the Reinheitsgebot to sell beer in Germany.

enda1 · 29-10-2014 2:05pm

BaZmO* wrote: »

It's not a law though, it's a philosophy.

Used to be law. Ah ok. The actual law does look quite lenient in fairness.

Does Heineken really only contain 3 ingredients

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