Heineken was founded in 1864 by Gerard Adriaan Heineken in Amsterdam. In 1874, Dr. H. Elion developed a strain of yeast, “Heineken A-yeast” for exclusive use by the Heineken brewery, and it is still a main component of Heineken beer today. The beer is a pale lager beer in the pilsner style that is crisp, clean, without bitterness or overwhelming hoppy notes. Heineken went on to win Diplome d'Honneurs (Honorary Diploma) at the International Colonial Exposition in Amsterdam in 1883 and the Grand Prize at the Universal Exposition in Paris in 1889. Heineken is the third largest brewer in the world, but that doesn’t stop them from continuing to create new and interesting beers. Served on every continent, Heineken’s distinctive green bottle is a symbol of quality and consistency in the beer world, and has been for over a century.