Heineken Dark Lager
This one's crystal clear and a scarlet infused brown color. It has a nice deep red tint to it. An off white head tops it off (for a minute), but recedes quickly. It only reached a finger or so deep. Little to no lacing lined the glass. The color's pretty good, but the rest is a little disappointing. The nose is weak and underwhelming. It features some caramel and toffee malt sweetness throughout. Yeast and grainy notes take up the secondary level. Smells like there's some light dark fruit present (mostly plum). There's a faint spicy scent on the tail. It's tough to get much out of it. It's all very weak and the individual parts don't work well in tandem. Aside from the lack of strength, there's nothing overtly bad about it. It's just not very good either. The flavor is a little better, but not enough to trigger a bump in score. Primarily, it features a sweet caramel and toffee malt flavor. There's a light cocoa flavor that wasn't apparent on the nose. It's grainy and yeasty throughout. Whatever dark fruit I was getting in the nose is extremely faint. So faint that I'm questioning whether my palate's playing tricks on me. A light spicy and herbal flavor emerges it late. It's somewhat light and subtle. I can't tell exactly what individual spice or herb it may be. It doesn't really hurt or help. It's just there. The flavor's much like the nose. There's some individual flavors floating about, but they never really mesh or collectively work to produce a meaningful flavor. There's just a little here, a little there. Meh. Average. It features a light body that feels a tad watery. It's not smooth at all. Carbonation is fairly light, but doesn't seem to help it attain any desired level of smoothness. Drinkability is average at best. Everything about this beer is average and pretty forgettable. It goes down quick and easy, but doesn't present anything to really enjoy. Heineken Dark Lager is very average in the grand scheme of beer. The nose is weak, the flavor's convoluted and uninspiring, and it's not enjoyable. That being said, I don't really hate it. There's just not much to like. If it had something to add some pizzazz, it'd be dramatically improved. Maybe some hops? Pretty average all around. Maybe worth a try, but I wouldn't suggest seeking it out.