13 replies to this topic

[humdum]

Hi, I'm new here. Been a long time lurker but just worked up enough nerve to post this question. I saw a commercial for Heineken just now claiming only 3 natural ingredients. A friend told me he brews his own beer and uses water, malt, hops, and yeast. I'm a math teacher and I worked it out (twice), showed my work and circled my answer and I calculated 4 ingredients. I'll walk you through my calculation:

1 water
1 malt
1 yeast
+1 hops
________
4

Is this a metric conversion issue since Heineken is from Holland, which is in Europe, and they use the metric system. It's basically witchcraft if you ask me but math is math.

[neddles]

Hop extract

ETA: Oh, and welcome abord!

Edited by neddles, 19 August 2016 - 10:49 PM.

[realbeerguy]

"I told you we should build a wall"

[humdum]

Hop extract

ETA: Oh, and welcome abord!

So they're excluding the hop extract since its processed?

[neddles]

So they're excluding the hop extract since its processed?

My best guess. 

 

I don't even know if heineken uses hop extract but it would surprise me if they did

Edited by neddles, 20 August 2016 - 06:34 AM.

[dmtaylor]

I was thinking the same.  They're not saying it's "all natural".  They're saying they used 3 natural ingredients, which is a half-truth.  

[denny]

Hop extract is a natural ingredient.  Why wouldn't it be?  It's made from hops.  I think they're thinking R'gebot and leaving out the yeast.  Or maybe the water.

[Brauer]

Perhaps their well is haunted, so the water is supernatural.

Or maybe the hops are harvested from another dimention, so they are preternatural.

Probably, water isn't required on food ingredient lists, so the ad copywriters didn't know that beer contained water.

[humdum]

Perhaps their well is haunted, so the water is supernatural.

Or maybe the hops are harvested from another dimention, so they are preternatural.

Probably, water isn't required on food ingredient lists, so the ad copywriters didn't know that beer contained water.

Wait, you're telling me there's water in beer?!? All this time I just figured it was beer in beer. Maybe it's just Heineken that adds water.

[Big Nake]

It could be that they consider water, malt and hops to be the three and not yeast since they filter it out. It's clearly an important ingredient but if it's no longer in the beer, maybe they choose to discount it.

Oh, and I agree... welcome aboard stranger. I hope you enjoy your stay. Please don't forget to check out our extra-informative Sasquatch sub-forum.

[djinkc]

Heineken explains it here.

 

https://www.theheine.../brands/brewing

 

They  list the only three ingredients used and then discuss four.  I hate the metric system sometimes.  

 

 

 

HEINEKEN beer is made from the purest ingredients. We use only water, malted barley, and hops.

Barley

Barley is the major raw material used in brewing beer. Before it can be used for brewing, the barley grain must be malted. Malting helps make the starch and protein (by its natural enzymes) in barley available for brewing by breaking down the natural cell wall that surrounds the starch. Starch will be converted to sugar, which will produce alcohol during fermentation. Malting also forms the colour and flavour that the barley will lend to the beer.

Hops

Hops is one of the flavour-makers of beer, and also contributes to its shelf life. The resin from the female hop flower cones is used to help balance the sweetness of the barley with a refreshing bitterness.

Water

Beer contains almost 95% water. Water plays an important part in giving beer its characteristic flavour, as different sources contribute to unique beer flavours. Clean, high quality water is essential not only to our beer, but also to life everywhere. We are actively working in the communities that we're a part of to protect clean water supplies.

Yeast

Yeast converts malt sugars into alcohol during fermentation. There are two types: bottom and top fermenting yeast. Beers fermented with bottom yeast are called lagers and those that use top-fermenting yeast are called ales. In 1886 in Amsterdam, Dr.Elion, a student of Dr. Louis Pasteur, discovered the famous HEINEKEN A-yeast, a strain that is still used today only by HEINEKEN.

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

I can see the point of not considering yeast as an ingredient. It's an organism that does a job then they filter it out and/or kill it.

[dmtaylor]

Ah, that makes sense.  They do filter it out.  The yeast is more like a machine or equipment, not an ingredient, or it is like a "catalyst" that must be present for fermentation to occur, but is later "denatured" as part of the process and no longer an essential ingredient in the end product.  Interesting.

[denny]

Ah, that makes sense.  They do filter it out.  The yeast is more like a machine or equipment, not an ingredient, or it is like a "catalyst" that must be present for fermentation to occur, but is later "denatured" as part of the process and no longer an essential ingredient in the end product.  Interesting.

 

I think it's more R'gebot related.  The R'gebot did not originally recognize yeast as an ingredient since it wasn't known then.