I drive past the GAB (Guinness Anchor Berhad) factory every day on my way to work. I’ve always wondered what goes on inside, being a beer aficionado and all. I was delighted when I got an invite to visit The Tavern @ GAB. The Tavern is an exclusive invite-only pub located inside the factory and the best thing about it is that the beer comes fresh from the factory just beside it. Oh, and the beer is free too. =D
The interior of The Tavern is tastefully decorated and feels warm and cosy. I like the ambience of the pub and there is in fact a real boiler used in the brewery adorning the bar. Nice!
The Tavern has a wide array of beer on tap. The good people at Heineken were kind enough to provide us with a free flow of beer…
…as well as food. I must admit, everyone was wondering – What’s the catch? Free food, free beer, there’s gotta be a catch.
Well, there isn’t one. It’s just a casual get-together for bloggers to eat, drink and be merry.
I had a lot of fun at The Tavern. We were given the opportunity to pour beer from the tap.
It sounds easier than it actually is. The glass has to be angled at 45 degrees before gradually brought up to a vertical position. I poured mostly foam the first time I tried it. I am saddened to report that the girls did much better than the guys.
We were also the very first to be privy to the new Heineken UEFA Champions League game – Heineken Star Final 2009. I am astounded by the game mechanics. I didn’t think this was possible using just Flash. Heineken Star Final is a massively multiplayer game where you sail to Krabi, Thailand on a raft.
It’s meant to emulate the journey from the previous Heineken Star Final destination to this year’s Heineken Star Final destination. You can send messages in (Heineken) bottles to other people playing the game – a very nice touch for communicating in-game.
The rafts are customizable so you can tinker with your design until you find an ocean-worthy vessel adorned with the flag of your choice. I also love the concept of joining fleets – the fastest person to make the arduous (well, not really when you’re sitting behind a computer, but think immersive! ;)) journey in the shortest amount of time wins.
You can join a fast fleet (if they accept you) or create your own fleet. The game is amazingly simple, yet has immense replay value coz a lot of the features have to be discovered gradually. Playing through the entire game takes 5 real-time days (!).
I’ve honestly never played an online Flash multiplayer game like this before. I can just imagine the insane amount of coding that produced this masterpiece.
Heineken is also going around Malaysia in April for their A Night in Rome party. It’s going to be held in four different places – Ipoh, Johor Bahru, KL and Miri. I’m glad they didn’t leave Sarawak out. You can check out the dates at the Heineken website.
Meanwhile, I’m setting sail again in a couple of days.
Just surf over to Heineken Star Final and look for SixthSeal.com (the fleet, not the blog). The grand prize winner is going for an all-expenses paid trip to Krabi, Thailand to watch the UEFA Champions League live under the stars on the beach. Heineken will be served too, from what I’ve heard. 😉
You want to win a trip to Krabi?
Krabi, ahoy! =D
(That’s not my in-game raft, BTW)
