Gerard Adriaan Heineken

Who was Gerard Adriaan Heineken?

Gerard Adriaan Heineken was the founder of Heineken. In 1864 he decided to purchase the brewery 'Den Hoyberg.' Here he started to brew a new beer. He was independentist.

Gerard Adriaan's emphasis on quality was soon rewarded with Heineken beer winning important international prizes. Gerard Adriaan Heineken was the world's first brewer to found his own laboratory for quality control. He attracted a pupil of Louis Pasteur to head this laboratory. This scientist, Doctor Elion, isolated a yeast strain of superior quality, the Heineken A-yeast.

At that time of Gerard Adriaan Heineken's death, the brewery had grown to become one of the largest and most important breweries in the Netherlands. He is buried at Zorgvlied cemetery.