History
The Heineken company was founded in 1864 when the 22-year-old Gerard Adriaan Heineken bought a brewery known as De Hooiberg (the haystack) in Amsterdam. In 1874 the brewery's name changed to Heineken's Bierbrouwerij Maatschappij, and opened a second brewery in Rotterdam in 1874. In 1886 Dr. H. Elion, a pupil of the French chemist Louis Pasteur, developed the "Heineken A-yeast" in the Heineken laboratory. This yeast is still the key ingredient of Heineken beer. In 1887 Heineken switched to the use of bottom-fermenting yeast.
The founder's son, Henry Pierre Heineken, managed the company from 1917 to 1940, and continued involvement with the company until 1951. During his tenure, Heineken developed techniques to maintain consistent beer quality during large-scale production. Henry Pierre's son, Alfred Henry "Freddy" Heineken, started working at the company in 1940, and 1971 was appointed Chairman of the Executive Board. He was a powerful force behind Heineken's continued global expansion, and while he retired from the Executive Board in 1989, he maintained involvement with the company until his death in 2002.
After World War I, the company aimed more and more on export. Three days after Prohibition ended in the United States, the first Heineken shipment landed as the first legal shipment of beer. From that day on, Heineken has remained one of the most successful imported beer brands in the United States.

Heineken brewery
During this period, Heineken tried to increase its stock price by purchasing competing breweries and closing them down. After World War II, many small breweries were bought or closed, damaging the diverse beer culture of the Netherlands. In 1968 Heineken merged with its biggest competitor, Amstel, and in 1975 opened a new brewery in Zoeterwoude. The Amstel brewery was closed in 1980, and its production moved to Zoeterwoude and Den Bosch.

Portfolio of beer brands

Heineken sponsors the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union knock-out competition involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the Six Nations: England, France, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Italy. Heineken has been the sponsor since the cups' inaugural tournament in 1996.
Heineken is the main sponsor for the Open'er Festival contemporary music festival held in Gdynia, Poland that covers Hip hop music, Rock music and electronic music.
Heineken has sponsored the Oxegen music festival in Ireland since 2004 when they took over from Witnness which was sponsored by Guinness.
Since this year, Heineken sponsors UEFA Champions' League with its main brand, while until last year the competition was sponsored by Amstel brand, that now is a brand of Heineken group.
Heineken Open (tennis)