Henry Weinhard's Private Reserve Beer Review

Henry Weinhard's Private Reserve

Review Date 9/23/2013

Try? Re-buy?

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away….well, it wasn’t that long ago, actually, only about 30 years. And it wasn’t so far, either, around 1000 miles from where I live today. But it sort of seems that way anyway, way back in early nineteen eighties Rhode Island when I first started drinking beer. And in the mid-eighties one of my favorite beers was Weinhard’s Ireland Style Ale, also known as Blue Boar Ale. It had the dual advantages of having flavor, a novelty in those days, and being fairly cheap, around $3.99 a six-pack or so I believe.

In the days that I drank Weinhard’s Ale, the Portland, Oregon brewing concern that had been founded in 1856 was already owned by Pabst, who had bought it in 1979. It was still brewed at the original Weinhard brewery in Portland, however. Pabst eventually sold the company to Stroh, who in turn sold it to Miller, where it is now no more than a brand.

Today, SAB Miller Coors has revived the Blitz-Weinhard brand with a number of beers under the Henry Weinhard’s label, one of which is Henry Weinhard’s Private Reserve Northwest Style Lager. They describe this beer as being brewed with “Cascade hops from the 44^th altitude.” It has an alcohol content of 4.8% by volume and you can pick it up in my area for $6.99 a six-pack.

Henry Weinhard’s Private Reserve Northwest Style Lager is not a recent addition to the Weinhard line, having been around for some years and boasting the following awards:

2000 World Beer Cup® Gold Award