Dutch Lager Tasting

Beer, , ,

I was in the mood for something new, but Bert’s in Utrecht was closed, and we’ve had a few bottles from our local beer shop that seemed off (pouring Trappist quad down the drain is pretty painful).  So on a lark, I picked up some half liter cans of the popular Dutch lagers at the grocery store, and we did a tasting (in order of cost):

Albert Heijn Pilsener: This store-brand pilsener was the cheapest of the batch (€0.57/can).  Also the most different from the pack.  It had more color and body than I expected from cheap lager.

Bavaria Pilsener: Not really much “there” there, for this mid-range (€0.67/can) lager.

Amstel Lager: Not Amstel Light (commonly available in the US), but Heineken’s mid-market lager.  A little grassy, and something elusive in the aroma.

Heineken Lager: This is the main premium (€0.91/can) lager here, and obviously the most famous worldwide.  Much more inoffensive in cans, since it’s not lighstruck and skunky as is typical with their trademark green bottles.

Grolsch Premium Lager: Probably my favorite of the bunch, but still pretty bland.

Hertog Jan Naturzuiver: This is the “ultra-premium” (€1.23/can) lager, which we often see at nicer restaurants.  Not noticeably better than Heineken and Grolsch.

So, I think my main conclusion from the tasting is that I’m an ale snob, spoiled by an ample supply of strong, interesting, artisanal beer, and the mild, mass-produced lagers just can’t keep up.  But I was also surprised at how much more I liked Heineken from the can than from bottles.  Although I’m generally a big fan of bottles, this makes we think I should go for cans over at least green and clear bottles.

2 thoughts on “Dutch Lager Tasting”

  1. This makes me wonder how many times I’ve tasted something for the first time and hated it, not knowing that it was ‘off’…

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    1. I got two bottles of Rochefort 10, and both had the same sweaty, cheesy taste. I’d had this before and loved it, so I knew it wasn’t right. But if I hadn’t had it before, I’m not sure I would have know (since some Belgian beers can be pretty crazy).

      But the Heineken was what surprised me the most. I’d it called skunky before, and seen people mention the yeast as the reason. But I’d only had it in bottles, and it was definitely not like that from a can. I would think they would have some way to handle this by now (UV coating on the bottles? some other way to prevent light damage?).

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