Heineken N.V.

On February 15, 1864, Gerard Adriaan Heineken (1841–1893) convinced his wealthy mother to buy De Hooiberg (The Haystack) brewery in Amsterdam, a popular working-class brand founded in 1592.

In 1873 after hiring a Dr. Elion (student of Louis Pasteur) to develop Heineken a yeast for Bavarian bottom fermentation, the HBM (Heineken’s Bierbrouwerij Maatschappij) was established, and the first Heineken brand beer was brewed.

In 1875 Heineken won the Medaille D’Or at the International Maritime Exposition in Paris, then began to be shipped there regularly, after which Heineken sales topped 64,000 hectoliters (1.7 million U.S. gallons), making them the biggest beer exporter to France.

Since 1975, most Heineken brand beer has been brewed at their brewery in Zoeterwoude, Netherlands. In 2011, 2.74 billion liters of Heineken brand beer were produced worldwide, while the total beer production of all breweries fully owned by the Heineken Group over all brands was 16.46 billion liters globally. Heineken has been sold in more than 170 countries. They have also been incorporated with numerous beer brands in different countries all over the world including Mexico, China, Australia and various countries in Africa.

Heineken beer is also brewed in the United Kingdom, Ireland, India, Serbia, Australia, New Zealand, and Saint Lucia for those respective markets.

The original brewery where Gerard Adriaan Heineken first started making Heineken is now the Heineken Experience Museum.

Inside the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam, Netherlands