TLL Editor in Chief
This has got to be my favorite metaverse licensing story so far.
The brewing giant Heineken this week has launched its first virtual beer, Heineken Silver, in a digital brewery in Decentraland.
In a statement released on the old-fashioned internet, Heineken said, “In the real world, Heineken is known for its uncompromising quality, refined from decades of brewing innovation. Now, the same brewing expertise that made Heineken world-famous is undergoing a high-tech transformation to take on the metaverse, one pixel at a time. Heineken has always been passionate about natural ingredients, but in the metaverse it’s all about the finest, 100% computer-generated ingredients.”
Of course, being digital, the company had to develop new techniques for brewing a beer that will quench the thirst of digital avatars. Heineken Silver is reportedly brewed with 100% purified pixels, tripled-filtered through multiple firewalls, and uploaded at 5 million megabits per second. The process is as fascinating as it is … fictitious.
“Our special A-yeast, usually brewed in horizontal tanks, has been replaced with A-Pixels,” Heineken explained. “Forget hops harvested in fields; virtual Heineken Silver is brewed with Binary Coded Hops grown by NPC (non-player character) farmers. And of course, the whole virtual brewing process is overseen by Heineken’s dedicated Virtual Brewing Assistants, digitised stand-ins for our Star Brewers.
“These elements come together to develop a completely unique beer that visitors to Heineken’s virtual brewery in Decentraland will be able to see in the virtual world.”
The virtual beer was unveiled at a product launch event in Heineken’s virtual brewery, where guests were able to learn about how the beer is made in seconds, while enjoying pixelated lobster and caviar and rubbing shoulders with Heineken ambassadors, including Thierry Henry.
To add a little more flavor to the metaverse and the virtual Heineken Silver, Heineken partnered with Spanish street artist J. Demsky to help design parts of its brewery.
“As a long-time lover of Heineken, I was excited to be involved with this fun and unique launch that brings the brand, and virtual Heineken Silver, to life in a really unique way,” said Demsky. “To be able to give people a way to artistically understand what a virtual drink could taste like, especially when you combine all the pixels and technology together, fits perfectly with who I am and the art I like to create – so I hope people love my interpretation of what virtual Heineken Silver could be like if it had a flavor.”
Of course, that is the problem for someone who actually wants a beer they can taste, but Bram Westenbrink, the Global Head of the Heineken Brand, says in this case the message is as important as the media.
“At Heineken, we believe that connecting with people is vital to human existence, like the air we breathe or the water we drink, and we know that the metaverse brings people together in a light-hearted and immersive way that is really exciting – but it’s just not the best place to taste a new beer,” Westenbrink admitted. “Our new virtual beer, Heineken Silver is an ironic joke.
“It is a self-aware idea that pokes fun at us and many other brands that are jumping into the metaverse with products that are best enjoyed in the real world. For now, you can’t taste pixels and bytes, so we want to make a joke about that and remind everyone that nothing beats the taste of a refreshing beer, including our new virtual Heineken Silver, in the real world.”
That said, you can still go and visit the virtual Heineken Silver brewery in Decentraland, drink as much virtual beer as you want, and you still won’t have to worry about finding a designated driver. You can access the brewery here; https://play.decentraland.org/?island=Ii7xt&position=-123%2C-82.
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