Heineken Dark Lager
Heineken Nederland B.V.

3.35/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Due to my appreciation & satisfaction for the classic Heineken Euro Pale Lager I decided to hunt down a 6 pack of the Heineken Dark Lager. I agree with caramel cola type of taste that folks are describing in this beer. This would be easy to session, you will put up a big struggle to drink several bottles of this. It was worth the hunt down to drink some of Heineken Dark Lager. If you can get this is your area you know what you gotta do. Cheers!

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4.98/5  rDev +53.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5

This is my all time favorite beer! I find it’s quite enjoyable on a crisp fall day. The first time I had this was about 35 years ago. I’ve always loved Heineken lager, but the brown label/bottle on this caught my curiosity, so I tried one. It’s not bitter, in fact it’s balanced very well. Nice toasted malt taste upfront, goes down smooth no unpleasant after taste. Not overly hopped( thank goodness), poured into a frozen mug, it has thin lacing and soft head. Approximately 2 fingers. Great aroma, very pleasant to drink. Will take this one over any craft crap beer!

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2.75/5  rDev -15.4%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75

Bought a 6-pack from Sam's club $7.27
Dark color
Medium mouthfeel
Medium carbonation
Sweet, light caramel taste. Nothing exciting. Kind of a flat taste0
Overall just ok. I wouldn't buy it again. I prefer the Heineken lager,

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3.33/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

It pours a dark cola color with a thin tan head. The smell is of caramel and the taste is rich caramel and roasted malts. The mouthful is medium with a dry finish. Overall a decent offering.

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1.83/5  rDev -43.7%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.75 | feel: 1.75 | overall: 1.75

**
09/09/2012

AROMA: Caramel and slight coffee notes.
LOOK: Dark Amber pour. Small head.
TASTE: Caramel and coffee, plus a bready taste. Dry stale bread.
FEEL; A little flat and stale.

I remembered this more fondly.

**

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3.39/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Dutch Bock?

Not a bad copy but a copy nonetheless. Yes, the dark malts shine through, sure, the hops are apparent. I just find, while drinking it, feeling like it's almost this or almost that without really establishing an identity of it's own.

I just can't see a place for this in my fridge.

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3.95/5  rDev +21.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a clear, dark brown color. 1/2 inch head of an off-tan color. Great retention and good lacing. Smells of hops, sweet malt, pale malt, slight caramel malt, hint of roasted malt, hint of dark citrus, hint of alcohol, and slight Euro yeast. Fits the style of a Euro Dark Lager. Mouth feel is sharp and crisp, with an average carbonation level. Tastes of sweet malt, pale malt, caramel malt, hint of roasted malt, hint of hops, slight Euro yeast, hint of alcohol, and a hint of dark citrus. Overall, good appearance, blend, and complexity, a better than average Euro dark lager.

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2.58/5  rDev -20.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.5

Light brown opaqueness, mild tan head on the beer. Aroma of skunky dark lager yeast. A little bit of noble hop.

Unattractive malt bitterness and thin body despite its color, absorbs the light skunkiness to its own detriment. Tastes hotter than it is, toffee running around with burton wormwood on moist.

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3.36/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Price Paid : $1.69

Pours a beautiful head, 3 fingers and very tight; body is cranberry with streaks of walnut. 60% opaque.

Smells of dark toasted breads, rye crust, barley malts, black karo syrup, burnt toast.

On the palate the loudest note is metallic and tin/blood, surrounded by dry malts, caramel, syrup, Slight spice.
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Medium bodied, halfway crisp, semi-dry finish.

Just as I'd expected, it wasn't going to be a knock out. I wouldn't have it again unless there was nothing better around. As far as dark lagers go, this one is a little less than okay.

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3.22/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

Dark brown in color with a fingernail of beige foam on top. Aroma is caramel and faint chocolate. I taste caramel notes at the forefront along with light malt. The flavor improves as it warms. The mouth is smooth and creamy.

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3.77/5  rDev +16%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

i'm not a fan of heineken but i still had to try this one...and i'm glad i did. it looks good, smells good, tastes good, and it's smooth so you can't go wrong.

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2.78/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Extremely dark with some Amber gaze. Maybe I'm a little stuffed up but I cannot smell anything from this beer. I've never seen the category Euro Dark Lager before so I compared it to stouts/lagers. It doesn't have a really big punch as a lot of other dark beers but is so smooth. Darker than New Castle for comparison.

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3.61/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

REVIEW #900
(poured into a Stella glass)

L: chestnut brown liquid, and clear... beige head fizzles out rapidly... lace crumbles away immediately

S: sweet coffee, dark caramel, and a fair amount of lightly-roasted grain... moderate intensity, inviting... over-arching 'malt' aroma, similar to malta drinks and NA beers

T: light molasses in the aftertaste... pretty dry, despite the sugar-derived flavors... the bitterness seems to come from the high carbonation and roasted elements... vague resemblance to bock... caramel at its core... bit of a grassy bite at the back

F: rounded, medium-full body... pretty dry finish

O: a sentimental classic in my mind... quite possibly the first darker beer I ever had (way back at high school parties)... still something I am more than happy to drink if available at your average bar

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4/5  rDev +23.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Heineken Dark was one of the first dark beers that I tried and truly enjoyed. As with Stella and Heineken original, Heineken Dark helped usher me into the world of beer.

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4/5  rDev +23.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a pint glass. This is a much better beer than their "green meenie". it is very flavorful and is lightly carbonated. Not often seen in the states but worth a try.

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3.99/5  rDev +22.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Deep brown with an amber hue and excellent clarity. Poured with a thick, light beige foam with decent retention. Light, dark roast malt and corn cereal aroma. No hop aromas. Light to moderate bodied with moderate to high carbonation. Light to medium with a dry finish. Dark bready sweetness followed by corn cereal flavors. Very light hop bitterness at the finish with no hop flavor. 

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4.41/5  rDev +35.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Heineken Dark Lager Brewed by Heineken Nederland B.V., with an ABV of 5.0% This brew pours out a dark amber color with a nice off white head. Dark Lager has the look of cola. The smell is sweet with grains and malts. You pick up a hit of hops in this brew. The taste is rich with some caramel and malts. This brew has a nice sweetness to it. There is nothing overpowering in it, it has a nice balance to it. The mouthfeel is bold , rich and full of flavor. There is a mild sweetness to this brew. Overall I'm giving Heineken Dark Lager a 4.5 out of 5. I would buy this brew again.
Heineken Dark Lager change my mind on Heineken Brews. FYI: this was in a BROWN bottle. Not Green.

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3.75/5  rDev +15.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Heineken Dark Lager - Heineken Nederland B.V. Poured from the bottle into a glass, this has got a 1.5 finger thick head, solid lacing, and a very dark brown transparent body.

Smells like sweetly roasted malts,along with earthier characteristics. Not much going on in the hop side of the scent analysis. A very rich and inviting smell.


I can taste much of the same qualities as with the smell, but to a surprisingly lesser extent. This is very enjoyable, but I wish there was more there.


The mouthfeel I'm getting with this brew is clean and crisp. This has zero aftertaste.

Overall, I'll rate Heineken Dark Lager - Heineken Nederland B.V. with a 3.75. I enjoyed this more than their flagship product, which I've only ever had the green bottled version of at the time of this review.

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4.25/5  rDev +30.8%

Sampled this afternoon while watching some football. Been awhile since I had one of these and used to come in a different bottle. Used to drink this back in the '80's every now and then. Bottle chilled down to 36 degrees F in my beer cooler and poured in to a tulip glass.

Pours a deep mahogany in color with some ruby highlights. About a good 1/2 finger of foamy beige head is seen when first poured. Settles down a a few mm's during the drink. Spotty lacing is seen that sticks to the sides of the glass. The aroma is mostly of sweet dark roasted malts with a hint of dark fruits. Pretty much the same for the taste with a hint of dark bread also. Very smooth and goes down easy. Forgot how good this one is. I like this much better that the regular Heini that comes in the green bottle. Medium-bodied with medium carbonation. Overall a great brew!

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3.45/5  rDev +6.2%

A: Pours a ruby hued mahogany color with a fingers worth of head that fades down to a tiny cap

S: Some roastiness and dark fruit come through, mostly cherry pits or almonds. Definitely malty and bready

T: Follows the nose. Starts off with a bit of the fruitiness and bready malty notes and finishes with a bit of the roast and cherry/almond notes

M: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Smooth

O: This one surprised me. It's very easy to drink and quite flavorful. Worth a shot if you're into dark lagers or dark beers in general

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3.11/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3

Poured into a shaker pint glass.

The beer looks like a cola, with tons of ruby in an otherwise dark brown body. A cream colored head recedes to a film, no lacing.

Lots of toffee and Tootsie Roll chocolate in the nose.

Tastes much like the aroma with a metallic tang in the finish. A large chocolate component in the taste.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied.

Overall, not bad considering.

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3.42/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Poured from 12 oz bottle into nonic glass.
Appearance: 1" off white head slowly recedes with mild lacing. Color is a reddish brown.
Aroma: mild aroma of molasses and whole wheat bread.
Mouthfeel: light and refreshing, somewhat creamy.
Flavor: chocolate, medium roasted barley, caramel, molasses with some grassy hop in the finish. Overall: a very pleasant dark lager. Nicely done.

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3.66/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Alleluia. Just got this at the distributor - haven't had Heineken Dark since the 90s. Good deep brown and a fine head, even a little lacing. It has a faint sweet roasted smell, nothing grand. Malt is the star of the show here, and some toasty caramel as the brew warms a little. Great feel - it is just as good an easy drinking brew as I remembered it to be. If you want an extra delicious dark style, go Doppelbock - this is just meant to be a straightforward, sessionable brew. And if you want the regular Heineken Lager from the store to taste less skunky, go with the can for a fresher taste. I have no problems with Heineken, but the Dark especially makes me smile.

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4.19/5  rDev +28.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

I know of no other Beer that gets slagged and slammed more than "Heineken"..Other than say "Corona"~Regular Heineken gets a "Poor" Rating here on Beeradvocate,which is just mind boggling & for the Life of me,something I just cannot Understand whatsoever,@ all,it actually gets me a bit pissed off to be Honest,Because I think a LOT of people are Rating Heineken [and most Lagers] as SHIT,Just because they themselves do not like Lagers in general,most of all "Mass produced Macro Lagers" all these craft Beer "Snobs" need to stop this Crap,and start Rating Beers based on their "Style" and not Compare them to their own personal Favorite Beers and Ales,if a Beer is a "Lager",then rate it as such,and for gods sake man,stop bashing Beers just because you do not like the perticular Style! it's Bullshit~
anyway~Heineken Dark is simply an Amazing Beer,an Amazing Lager Beer,it is Roasty and full of Flavor,at first you pick up a nice roasted malt flavor & perhaps some hints of Chocolate & Caramel,and as the Beer warms a bit these flavors become much more pronounced and you can pick up a wee bit of Coffee and just a slight toffee taste also.
Heineken Dark is by Far my Favorite Dark Lager Beer,and I Myself have never tasted another Dark Lager that even comes close to it's perfect balance of flavors and taste,it simply is an utterly Delishious and perfectly rounded Beer~Cheers!

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2.09/5  rDev -35.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Appearance: Dark thin color with a brown head.
Aroma: Very light coffee smell.
Flavor: Light bodied, light coffee stout like flavor. Finishing quite harsh.
Overall: This taste like a poorly brewed thin stout. Not sure of what the brewers are trying to do with this one. This is not a good beer at all.

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