Henry Weinhard's Blue Boar
(Irish Style Pale Ale)
ABV 4.6%
Color: Pale yellow (slightly lighter than Private Reserve).
Aroma: Citrusy cleaning solvent. Grain.
Flavor: Simple citrus with a nice crisp acidity.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Balanced
Finish: Grain.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Mediocre -
Henry Weinhard's
Private Reserve
(Classic Northwest Lager)
ABV 4.8%
Color: Pale yellow (a bit darker than Blue Boar).
Aroma: Sweet grain with mild funk.
Flavor: Creamy and smooth with slight caramel sweetness.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Malty
Finish: Sweet and mellow.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Mediocre
Blow by Blow
While my parents were in town, my dad pulled out these two Henry Weinhards' from his cooler. We decided to put them to the test in a battle to see if one tasted better than the other or if they were mostly just the same thing in a different bottle.
Their colors were extremely similar and we really had to squint to detect any difference at all. The aromas, however, were distinct enough with the Blue Boar smelling very clean and citrusy and the Private Reserve smelling more sweet and grainy with a mild funkiness. Flavorwise, the Blue Boar was the crisper more acidic beer while the Private Reserve was smoother, creamier and sweeter. As expected, neither were very impressive, but if we were handed one of these on a 95 degree day in Medford, we certainly wouldn't turn it down.
After the widely differing opinions in last week's Can Clash this one was a breeze as we all chose the Private Reserve. For lack of a better term, it just seemed a bit less macrobeery.
Winner by majority decision: Henry Weinhard's Private Reserve
Posts
Private reserve stinks like a skunk and makes me feel like puking. Blue Boar is crispy, clean and now--they are putting private reserve in Blue Boar bottles...and trying to tell us that it is Blue Boar. COME ON!!!!!! Wow....you just lost a favorite customer. Change Blue Boar back to Blue Boar and green bottles. I hope you lose tons of money until you correct it.
ReplyDeletewhat a bunch of B.S. if you call them thay say it is blue boar i'll never buy henrys again
ReplyDeleteI'm done buying Henries as well. Bring back the blue boar in the green bottles and I'll start buying it again. Where I live, the Henries section takes up half the space it used to on the beer cooler. And as got the beer challenge, blue boar is a heck of a lot better than the private reserve. But then again, green bottle blue boar is/was my favorite beer.
ReplyDeleteA total discredit to their company, I can't believe that they would stumble across something like the true blue bore flavour they once made and did what they did, I can't find it on the store shelves at all, remember this cause I know someone from henry weinhards will read this, its not the beer you make that put you on the map and made you famous, its the good hearted folks like myself who bought it, companies like yours are pukes, because you play your little rich games with the very people who made you what you are today!
ReplyDeleteMiller brewing bought it and ruined it
ReplyDeleteBlue Boar is outstanding! Hands-down my favorite beer.
ReplyDeleteBlue Boar is my favorite beer, of all the beers in Portland and on the planet, it is pretty upsetting to see it go.
ReplyDelete