Amsterdam, Netherlands-based Heineken launched its first, brand new, virtual beer: Heineken Silver. The Heineken virtual beer launched exclusively in its virtual brewery within the immersive digital platform, Decentraland.
In the real world, Heineken is known for its uncompromising quality, refined from decades of brewing innovation. Now, the same brewing expertise that made Heineken world-famous is undergoing a high-tech transformation to take on the metaverse, one pixel at a time, the company says. Heineken has always been passionate about natural ingredients, but in the metaverse it's all about the finest, 100% computer-generated ingredients, it adds.
Heineken’s special A-yeast, usually brewed in horizontal tanks, has been replaced with A-Pixels, it says. The virtual Heineken Silver is brewed with Binary Coded Hops grown by NPC (non-player character) farmers. And, the whole virtual brewing process is overseen by Heineken's dedicated Virtual Brewing Assistants, digitized stand-ins for its Star Brewers.
These elements come together to develop a completely unique beer that visitors to Heineken's virtual brewery in Decentraland will be able to see in the virtual world, the company says.
The virtual beer was unveiled at a product launch event in Heineken's virtual brewery, where guests were able to learn about how the beer is made in seconds, while enjoying pixelated lobster and caviar and rubbing shoulders with Heineken ambassadors, including Thierry Henry.
"At Heineken, we believe that connecting with people is vital to human existence, like the air we breathe or the water we drink, and we know that the metaverse brings people together in a light-hearted and immersive way that is really exciting – but it's just not the best place to taste a new beer,“ said Bram Westenbrink, global head, Heineken Brand, in a statement. “Our new virtual beer, Heineken Silver, is an ironic joke. It is a self-aware idea that pokes fun at us and many other brands that are jumping into the metaverse with products that are best enjoyed in the real world. For now, you can't taste pixels and bytes. So, we want to make a joke about that and remind everyone that nothing beats the taste of a refreshing beer, including our new virtual Heineken Silver, in the real world."
To add a little more flavor to the metaverse and the virtual Heineken Silver, Heineken partnered with Spanish self-taught street artist, J. Demsky to help design parts of the virtual home of Heineken Silver.
"As a long-time lover of Heineken, I was excited to be involved with this fun and unique launch that brings the brand, and virtual Heineken Silver, to life in a really unique way,” Demsky said in a statement. “To be able to give people a way to artistically understand what a virtual drink could taste like, especially when you combine all the pixels and technology together, fits perfectly with who I am and the art I like to create – so I hope people love my interpretation of what virtual Heineken Silver could be like if it had a flavor."
