Heineken launched, this Thursday, a new totally virtual beer, Heineken Silver. Through the immersive digital platform Decentraland, it is possible to access the virtual brewery and discover the history, experience and innovation of Heineken.
At an event entitled to security, bar and plenty of virtual food, the new beer was introduced to the world on Decentraland, a digital platform where visitors can create their own avatar and tour the brand’s virtual brewery.
It was on this same virtual stage that the presentation took place, by Bram Westenbrink, Global Head of Heineken, and by Willem Van Waesberghe, Master Brewer Global.
Officials introduced the ingredients for the new beer: yeast and hops harvested from the fields were left out to make way for A-pixels and binary-coded hops grown by NPC (non-player character) farmers.
The (virtual) empty cans aren’t much use, but former footballer Thierry Henry, brand ambassador who was present (virtually), found a way to make them useful: tap them as if they were of a soccer ball.
To create parts of the virtual bar, Heineken teamed up with Spanish urban artist J. Demsky. “Being able to give people a way to artistically understand the taste of a virtual beer, especially when pixels and technology are combined, fits perfectly with who I am and the art I love to create. My interpretation of what virtual Heineken Silver could be if it actually had a flavor,” the artist explained.
“Heineken Beer believes that connecting with people is as vital to human existence as the air we breathe or the water we drink. We know the metaverse brings people together in light and immersive ways, which is really fascinating, but it’s not the best place to try a new beer Our new virtual beer, Heineken Silver, is a tongue-in-cheek joke, so we want to play with that and remind everyone that even our new Heineken Virtual silver is not worth the taste of a refreshing beer in the real world,” explained Bram Westenbrink, global head of Heineken.
