Heineken Yeast They make sure that the best stays the best Yeast is a living cell, visible only under the microscope. It multiplies by splitting into two cellswhich in turn split into four, and so on. The big problem with yeast is preventing a wild yeastor some other microorganism from getting into the pure culture. Such an impurity would mean that you would lose all control over how the yeast did its work in converting sugars into alcohol. It took until the second half of last century before it was discovered that there were ways of keeping a yeast culture completely pure whilst it multiplied. Take the A strain. The quality of Heineken beer is governed to a large extent by the yeast used during brewing. Many yeast strains exist, in the same way that there are many different varieties of plant seeds or bulbs in the world. In 1886 the Heineken A" yeast was isolated from all these strains and was cultured separately. This "A" strain still exists today and is used exclusively for Heineken beer, wherever it is produced. Yeast is so vital in brewing because it mainly determines the flavour characteristics of Heineken beer. If another yeast were used, the difference in the beer's aroma and taste would undoubtedly be noticed. No wonder, then, that Heineken's "A" yeast is carefully cultured in Holland. The required quantities of yeast are airfreighted out at regular intervals to our Heineken beer production units, which can then use each batch for a limited series of brews; then the cycle starts again with afresh batch of A" yeast from Holland. Without its yeast Heineken would never have become the beer it is today! which Quality Control can say where things went wrong. Tasters can give their verdict on the taste of a drink, but their sense of taste cannot tell them whether the raw materials used in that drink, like malt, though seemingly good, are still suitable for use in brewing. Therefore the help of the laboratory is needed to test the suitability of these raw materials using very small scale brewing equipment, which produces only a few bottles at a time. These beers can then be checked and tasted as to their quality. At Zoeterwoude the laboratories cover many, many rooms in which dozens of people are constantly busy checking that all is going well with our production and with that of our associated companies. But more is done to maintain quality standards. Since it is an element in the overall quality of our products, the pack must also be first class. Good beer in a bottle with a badly printed label in colours which differ from the standard specifications creates a bad impression. Poor-quality board for the cartons or an inferior grade of paper for the labels detract from the image that the consumer has built up about our brand over the years. They also detract from all the effort put in over many, many years by the employees of the Quality Control Section and similar departments to ensure that Heineken tastes the same the world over. For an unvarying high quality is a must for a product that is loved and in demand throughout the world. Gas chromatography apparatus enables identification of flavour components. 8

Jaarverslagen en Personeelsbladen Heineken

Heineken Contact | 1983 | | pagina 8