Heineken unveils innovative BrewLock system

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Heineken is setting up a pop-up shop in downtown Toronto for the weekend to demonstrate its new BrewLock technology. Designed to slowly replace draught kegs, the smaller BrewLock canisters are the next innovation since steel kegs replaced oak barrels and guarantee the beer's freshness and ensure the same standard of taste without using CO2 as well as being completely recyclable.

Heineken took over 363 King Street West in downtown Toronto and featured the BrewLock canisters in place of kegs where they showed us how to pour the perfect pint.

With a wet pint glass at 45 degrees, slowly and steadily pour the beer until you have around two fingers of head. In true Heineken style, barkeeps remove the extra foam with a spatula. The foam on top, known as the head, helps seal in the beer's flavour and keep it from going flat.

Global Draught Master at Heineken Laurens Raven shares the secrets of a perfect pour“Canadians can experience Heineken just like in Amsterdam, without having to go to Amsterdam,” said Laurens Raven, Global Draught Master at Heineken. “This is a new chapter in a long history of innovations driven by Heineken and it will set the bar for how draught beer should taste. 

BrewLock provides a brewery fresh taste, the way the brewmaster intended it to be.”

The BrewLock innovation is a double-walled, completely recyclable 20L plastic keg designed to address longstanding challenges associated with traditional kegs - keeping beer fresher for longer.

The BrewLock system achieves this by ensuring no addition of air, carbon dioxide or mixed gases ever reaches the liquid to seal freshness in.

A small, customized air compressor exerts pressure in the area between the shell and the bladder, pushing beer through draught lines untouched and guaranteeing a perfectly carbonated beer every time.

“Another benefit to accounts serving Heineken BrewLock is that the kegs deliver nearly 100 per cent yield so every last drop of profit is squeezed out of the keg,” said Kaetlyn Graham, Marketing Manager at Heineken Canada. “Once emptied, they are completely recyclable and reduce the carbon footprint of the supply chain process.”

BrewLock is available at select accounts nationally. Consumers can use the ‘beer finder’ on the Heineken Canada website to find a location closest to them.

Consumers of legal drinking age will also be able to experience the taste of Heineken BrewLock draught along with first hand education of the technology from Heineken’s Global Draught Master, Laurens Raven at a pop-up sampling event in Toronto.

The event will take place on Saturday, April 9 and Sunday, April 10 from 12:00pm to 8:00pm daily at the southwest corner of King Street West and Blue Jay’s Way.