Probably going to get ripped into for this but it happens to be true so... As msot of you probably know the UK is not the only country where Heineken has targetd smaller breweries. There are a bunch over here in Prague that are now owned by Heineken. I reacted in much the same way as most posters here but I must admit, its true to say, that one of the brands has improved exponentially since the takeover. Krusovice used to be one of the worst crappy pilsners here, you'd actively avoid a Krusovice pub (most Czech pubs not free houses so you get beers from one brewery only - usually their 10 degree and 12 degree pilsner (beer here measured by plato not abv) and maybe a dark lager (or in the case of Pilsner Urquell brands from their group so Urquell, Gambrinus and Kozel for instance). Anyway, I digress. One of the breweries that came under heineken was Krusovice and nowadays I thoroughly enjoy it, especially their 11 degree unfiltered. Some pubs have "tank" 10 degree as well which is great. So putting the ideological perspective aside and focussing bleary eyed on the beer, not always a bad thing.
Difference being I suppose that the improvement is much along the lines of consistency and perhaps ensuring pubs don't screw it up. I guess they don't have as much experience in the "craft beer" market.
So I pick up a couple of bengali's in my local spoons instead. if it's good beer who cares who makes it?
