Sleutel Münchener

Sleutel Münchener was introduced at Brouwerij De Sleutel in Dordrecht in 1933 as part of the brewery's complete transformation from top-fermented Dutch ales to modern bottom-fermented German-style lagers. The conversion was triggered by the auction of the old brewing installations that year — consumer demand for the clear, modern German-style beer had become impossible to ignore. After Heineken acquired De Sleutel in 1953, the Dordrecht brewery was specifically deployed for dark beer varieties — making the Münchener one of the core Heineken products brewed at the site until the brewery's closure in 1968. During World War II, emergency deliveries from friendly breweries including Oranjeboom kept the Münchener in bottles and barrels even when the brewery itself was under strain. At the moment of the Heineken takeover the brewery had been operating for exactly 520 years — one of the most historically significant acquisitions in Heineken's history.