A happy man, I am. For time and time again I have been pleading that beer gets a better treatment, by everyone handling it: keep it dark, keep it cool. Beer should be drank fresh, another one of my hobbyhorses. From a totally unexpected source I now get what I ask for. Unexpected, or just proof of craftsmanship?

The next section is a quote from a press release by Heineken: “New in the fresh section of your supermarket: Heineken Extra Vers, the delicious, pure and refreshing taste of freshly brewed Heineken beer.

Zoeterwoude, 13 november 2015 – HEINEKEN introduces next week Heineken® Extra Vers via select supermarkets in The Netherlands. Extra Vers is beer, brewed according to the original Heineken recipe, extra protected against time, temperature and light. After the brewing process Heineken Extra Vers is delivered cold and as quickly as possible to your supermarket in a special packaging. This way the freshness and purity of beer, fresh from the lagertank, is maintained. Heineken Extra Vers will not be found on the beer shelves, but in the cooler in the fresh section.  <<…>> No improvements can be made to the awardwinning recipe of Heineken beer, its ingredients or its brewing process, according to the brewers. As with all natural products, also Heineken beer is succeptible to deterioration because of time, temperature and light. Therefore, Heineken Extra Vers has been especially safeguarded from these three effects: straight from the lager tank, the beer is bottled, then extra swiftly transported to the supermarket. Now everyone can enjoy the delicious, pure and refreshing flavor of freshly brewed Heineken – at home!”

Heineken Vers will only be available in The Netherlands, and I am about to taste it Friday morning 13 November in the Zoterwoude brewery. I can’t wait: brewery fresh beer, light- and airtight, cooled and kept cool in the shop – it’s a small step for a man, but a giant leap for beer lovers.

I further quote Heineken Masterbrewer Willem van Waesberghe and posting an infographic (no, I don’t paid for this, other than with inner peace and satisfaction):

Willem van Waesberghe, Masterbrewer with HEINEKEN since 1995:
“Voor mij is niets zo heerlijk als vers gebrouwen bier; hoe verser het bier, hoe verfrissender de smaak. Dat proeven wij als brouwers elke dag zelf in de brouwerij. Met Heineken Extra Vers kunnen we iedereen daar nu van mee laten genieten. Door het net gebrouwen bier zo snel mogelijk én beschermd tegen invloeden van buitenaf naar de supermarkt te brengen, kunnen we de smaak garanderen van het vertrouwde Heineken in de meest heerlijke, pure en verfrissende vorm. Voor mij als brouwer is het een droom dat de mensen nu ook thuis die smaak van vers bier, net uit onze brouwerij, kunnen ervaren!”