Henry Weinhard's Classic Dark Lager
Blitz-Weinhard Brewing Company

Another beer I tried back in the late 90's and at the time I enjoyed it. At the time a friend of my wife's husband worked for Blitz-Weinhard, and he could buy 12-packs for $2 and if I wanted some, he would pick up a 12-pack. So, I had good access to most of their beers.

 

Appearance is a very dark brown with nill head and lace. smell of roasted malts and coffee. Taste has again with the roasted malts and coffee having low hop that balances out with the style. mouthfeel is a light+ with a spike of carbonation that may be too much. It could be a bit more rounded in the mouthfeel probably without the spike of carbonation.

Served in a glass.

A: Pours a busy (carbonation) light cola color. Head dissipates rather quickly leaving virtually no lacing. Color appears to be blackish-brown until held up to the light: it has ruby highlights to it.

S: Roasted, smoky malts, coffee and chocolate? Smell isn't unpleasant but could be stronger.

T: Dark malts, slight chocolate, and coffee flavors. Not much bitterness at all. Perhaps slightly sweet. Well blended flavors. Flavors are not strong but not weak either.

M: It is a bit fizzy but as someone else said, it feels too light for this type of beer (not heavy enough).

D: Drinkability is good. Could and would have another.

A decent MDL but it has a few shortcomings: too light-bodied for the type and could use more smell. I can also understand that it might be lacking a bit in the flavor complexity department too. I would drink this again and might buy it again. If you like dark beers, give it a try but maybe lower your expectations a little bit.

A- very dark brown but not black, though it is close. Has a light tan head that is ok but not great

S- very nice malt aroma, the chocolate malts aroma are greater than anything else in the beer but is still pleasant.

T- This beer is hopped very well, It is not overdone but I can still tell the hops are there and taste them a little. The chocolate malts definately step out in this.

M- For some reason the mouthfeel isn't right for the beer it is too light for this beer. I get a good smell and a nice deep flavor and expect it to be a nice warming beer that is heavy but it almost has a light beer mouthfeel to it. It isn't very creamy or heavy like the flavor and smell would suggest.

D- Very drinkable and enjoyable

Appears a dark caramel colored brown color with a small light brown head.

It smells of caramel malts, roasted smoky malts, coffee, and chocolate.

It tastes substantially smoky; there are hints of coffee and coco. There is a bit of a metallic taste but it is not that noticeable. The taste ends with a bit of a mild sweetness. Pretty good tasting I enjoy the noticeable but not overpowering smoky flavor of this ale.

Carbonation is quite high. I feel this beer would be netter with a slightly low carbonation level.

The drinkability is pretty good seems to be around average for the style. It goes down smooth but the metallic flavor limits how much of this ale I would want to drink.

A: a heavy brown color wallows in the middle of my glass with hazy chestnut edges. The appearance looks like a Dunkel, or there abouts. A very lackluster showing concerning the other elements that should be on display...a countable number of speckled blobs for lace and nothingness for a head, even after the pour

S: something reminds me of an assortment of dried crushed nuts with some buttery sugar notes. Smells nutty and robust, caramel-like, with a light tang

T: the taste is somewhat incapacitated. Flavors range from dry cocoa powder, toasted nuttiness, with a delicate woody character. Sweetness is mostly in the form of sugary caramel. It does have a nice variety of flavors just not the depth that I was hoping for. Also, not much in the way of hops
The flavors are okay, they are just not melding together nicely for me

M: sturdy carbonation and a mild body feel. It does get some decent points for feel, maybe a bit to much zip, but it does not drink bad overall

D: okay beer and good on the budget

Poured from 12 oz bottle into a pint glass.

Appearance: very dark amber with a two-finger tan head which dissipated rapidly.

Smell: a little grain, a little tartness, a little chocolate. Almost like an English porter but quite subdued. Interesting.

Taste: quite malty, somewhat sweet. No hop flavor whatsoever. There is a little hint of chocolate ... this really seems a lot more like an English-style porter than an "American Amber/Red Lager".

Mouthfeel: medium body with a nice level of carbonation; not too bad.

Drinkability: it's better than what I expected and nothing at all like the style as which it is classified (at least in my admittedly limited experience). If you're in the mood for something light but dark, this could be the ticket.

BA buts this in the Amber/Red category and the color would suggest that its more of a porter. It poured with only a skiff of head which lacked any hang time. Color is quite dark for the style although the nose doesn't suggest that it is as dark.

Taste is weighted towards roasted malts and there a small smokey component. It could use some sweetness and touch more of aromatics. It also has a bit of musty taste that I've encountered before. This flavor is not bad, not good just kind of there. Body is medium and carbonation is light. This beer finishes dry and is not super drinkable.

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a clear glass tumbler.

Little or no head. Minimal lacing.

Well balanced dark beer. Comparible to Heinkens or Beck's Dark. Toasted malt dominates the taste profile.

Thought this was brewed by Miller but shown as a Full Sail brew.

Good session dark. No bad attributes. Good value.

Not a brew I would seek out, would not turn down a freebie. Much better than macros.

Poured into a shaker pint a rich deep ruby, almost black. The inch and a half of head quickly dissipated to a patchy foam and left minimal lacing.

A dry, faint, malty aroma is all this beer offers.

The taste, however, is great. Malty and some roasty, porter like flavors. Some bitterness on the finish. I like this beer a lot, it's very good.

Pretty decent mouthfeel, with a good bit of carbonation on the tongue.

This beer goes well with beef or pork. It's very drinkable.

I don't see this as an Amber / Red Lager. Anyhow. Pours out to a dark brownish color with a big ehad of dense brownish white foam. Lots of lace. Lower carbonation. Aromas of medium bodied malts, light hops, wood and grain. Taste is medium bodied; rich smooth malty notes give way to a light crisp hop character, with wood overtones and grainy bitterness. Mouthfeel could've been improved with more depth and density. Drinkability is north of average. A special thanks to Dubbercody for the sample.

THE BLOODHOUND FACTOR: Both dogs were apprehensive about the classification of this beer as well. They did not concur with the Amber / Red designation. Good dogs. They did however, enjoy their sample, regardless of style it is.

Ahh I used to love the Old Henrys Dark, hope this is a throw back.
12 oz brown bottle. Nice winter label.
A quite handsome beer in appearance dark brown almost mahogany large creamy/bubble tan head.
Aroma as in all Henrys beer is subdued but what there is is pleasing burnt malty tones, brown sugar, etc
Good tasty dark lager, very "roasty" and woody with nice hopping underneath. Nice after taste.
Just a tad thin on the palte but nothing to get upset over.
Very drinkable..a great cheap beer indeed . Proves that because one is on a budget it doesnt have to be the BMC pee coloured lagers!

Not a bad dark beer, not sensational, but a pretty nice drink.

Straight from the dark brown bottle's label: "Classic Dark Lager. An Adventurous Blend of Six Malts with Cluster, Cascade & Mt. Hood Hops. Limited Release"

Appearance of Henry's Classic Dark is nice deep reddish amber, very dark. Head started out nice, decent thickness and a tan color, however it didn't last nearly as long as I had hoped. The aromas had a hint of roasted malts, a bit of coffee and somewhere in there a bit of vegetable, not sure where that came from. The taste is very smooth, and rich. A nice blend of malts and a bit of coffee with a twinge of smokiness in the aftertaste. Overall, this is a good beer that, for it's price ($10/12pk), has a nice flavor.

This beer had been available in the Pacific Northwest for a couple of months. The bottle says it is a “limited release.” I poured this beer in to a pint tumbler.

It has a brown/black color and is clear. The head was fairly thick, bubbly and light brown or tan colored. The head produced good lacing.

The beer has a robust smell, rich and smoky.

The taste is also rich and full bodied. Lots of rich malt taste, like coffee and chocolate, with a mellow hop finish. Mouth feel is also very good.

I enjoyed this beer a lot. It is very drinkable, and is an excellent choice, especially at this price point. I can get this beer for less than $10 per half case. I first tried this beer in mid-November. It appears to have replaced the HW Amber Ale in this region, which was also a very good beer.