Let us mourn the green bottlemaker.

[Jessica 0]

PAUL MELLER
NEW YORK TIMES

BRUSSELS, Belgium — Alfred Henry Heineken, who built an Amsterdam brewer into one of the world's biggest beer companies, died on Thursday at his home in the Dutch coastal town of Noordwijk. He was 78 and died of pneumonia.
Heineken, who was known as Freddy, created the green bottle that helped Heineken become synonymous with imported beer in the United States. Aided by the company's marketing, Heineken was the best-selling import in the United States for many years before it was dethroned by Corona of Mexico in 1998.
Born in Amsterdam in 1923, Heineken began working for his family's brewing company at the age of 18, during World War II. The company was started in 1863 by his grandfather Gerard Heineken, who persuaded his mother to back him financially by arguing that there would be fewer displays of drunken behavior on the streets if the Dutch were able to drink a good beer instead of gin.
His grandson Freddy would prove himself equally gifted in the art of persuasion, directing Heineken's advertising and marketing efforts. “Had I not been a beer brewer I would have become an advertising man,” he once said.
Shortly after the war, he went to New York and walked the streets of New York City presenting samples of Heineken to bartenders. His two years in New York changed Heineken's life. Not only did he learn about the export market that would make the company one of the three global giants in beer — behind Anheuser-Busch of the United States and neck-to-neck with Interbrew of Belgium — he also found the partner of his life. In 1948, he married Lucille Cummins, the daughter of a whiskey-making family in Kentucky.
In addition to his wife, Heineken is survived by his daughter, Charlene, and five grandchildren. Family members continue to control Heineken Holding, which owns 50.1 percent of the brewing company, Heineken N.V.
Freddy Heineken began working at the company's headquarters in Amsterdam in 1951, and set up its advertising department. He made Heineken's brand color a bright green and oversaw the bottle's distinctive design, with the red star logo and a black banner bearing the Heineken name. “I don't sell beer, I sell warmth” was his motto.
His talents were not limited to sales and marketing. In 1954, he succeeded in regaining the family's controlling interest in the brewing company, which his father had sold in 1942.
From 1971 to 1989, Freddy Heineken served as chairman of Heineken, setting the company's long-term strategy nearly single-handedly. Under his leadership, Heineken grew into a global powerhouse.
Heineken, which says it was the first brewer to export to the United States after Prohibition, had particularly strong growth in the U.S. market. In 1960, the company sold a million cases of beer in the United States; 40 years later, the company sold more than 53 million cases, according to Impact, a beverage industry publication.
The company acquired a Dutch rival, Amstel, in 1968, and Murphy's of Cork, Ireland, a brewer of stout, in 1970. On Friday, Heineken has 110 breweries in more than 50 countries. Its beer can be found in more than 170 countries.
Heineken became one of the wealthiest men in Europe and enjoyed near royalty status in the Netherlands.
But his life was turned upside down in November 1983, when he and his chauffeur were kidnapped. The two men were chained to neighboring concrete cells for three weeks before the Dutch police raided a warehouse in Amsterdam and freed them. The rescue came after a ransom, said to be more than $10 million, was paid.
Afterward, Heineken limited his public appearances and became very protective of his family's private life. In 1989, he relinquished his control of the brewing company but he continued to play a role in its running right up to his death.
In November, he resigned as chairman of the holding company that owns a majority stake in Heineken N.V. His daughter, Charlene, was supposed to take over some of Heineken's responsibilities at a shareholders meeting in April, but will now do so immediately, the company said. His family will retain its majority ownership of the company.
Outside of brewing, Heineken played an active role in promoting science and the arts. In 1964, in honor of his father, he founded the Dr. H.P. Heineken Foundation, which awards cash prizes for pioneering work in biochemistry and biophysics. In the 1980s, Heineken started a second foundation in his own name that awards cash prizes to the sciences and the arts.
Pet me! I'm harmless and cute!

[MarkM 0]

Shit girl. Don't post false alarms like that. Every time I click on a "mourn" or "loss" post I have that tight feeling like I'm going to see a name I know.

[Jessica 0]

Kay, fixed. Good point.
Pet me! I'm harmless and cute!

[ShortBus 0]

that guy was my hero.....

[MiataDRM 0]

I bought a 6 pack this wkend...only to contribute to his grandchildren's college fund! :o)
**I'm a Pschydiver!
Majdi

[freeflir29 0]

"see a name I know."
This man was a national hero in Holland. He will be missed....now if I can just find a store that has "Non-skunky" Heineys on a regular basis I'll be much better off.
"I got some beers....Let's Drink em!!!"
Clay