Haywards 5000 Super Premium Beer - Shaw Wallace & Company Ltd.

Gobzilla

California

3.15/5  rDev +20.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured a golden yellow with a finger of head that left good blotchy lacing on the glass. The grains and sweet malt dominate the aroma that also had slight wheat and spice notes; pretty simple nose. The taste is pretty much the same as the nose with the grains and malts playing the main role which also had caramel and slight ctiric accent. the brew was medium body with a good amount of carbonation that had a slight sweet and malty finish. Overall its an average lager that goes great paired with shrimp tandoori which also drank very well and was really refreshing.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2010 05:18:08 | More by Gobzilla

Clockwork420

Missouri

2.1/5  rDev -19.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

Served from a large bomber into a glass stein.

A - Gold. Slightly hazy. Pretty patterned bubbles. All forming lines.

S - Smells deceiving. It smells flowery, and potent with alcohol. But its really smells sweet. Sugary, malty.

T - Smell was sort of what I tasted. It had a strong presence of alcohol. In the start its sweet citrus, middle is buttery and slick, really slippery, then finishes with a bite of strong alcohol taste.

M - As stated buttery. Slippery. Sweet and carbonation was okay. Could have had more to it and it would have been okay.

D - Nil. I wouldn't drink more than one or two.

The fact I got this from a little liquor store could be a factor in this review, and I state it in full. The Indian beer I have had I have not been impressed with. Strange. I didn't know that Illinois was in India?

I wouldn't drink this one again, unless served very cold, and for a great price at a restaurant. Factor in freshness also. If it was new I would try it again. This one sat in my fridge for a month or so. And the regions of where it came were shady. Theres my disclaimer.

Serving type: bottle

07-28-2010 21:54:01 | More by Clockwork420

spointon

Illinois

2.9/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

I tried this beer last night at an Indian restaurant Oak Brook, IL - poured from a 22oz brown bottle into a tall pilsner flute glass.

A= This lager poured a very slightly hazed yellow color with a 1/2" loose white head. The head took longer to drop than I expected and eventually settled to a thin ring. Very little head retention and no lacing to speak of.

S= Sweet maltiness in the nose with a very slight bit of sulfur.

T= Flavor started off on the sweet side, but with only a light malt flavor. Slight corn notes throughout. Hops were pretty much a non-factor in the flavor. Finish was drier than the start, but still fairly sweet.

MF= Light to medium bodied with a crisp feel and spritzy carbonation.

D= This was an ok macro style lager that paired well with spicy Indian food. If I was having this by itself I would have struggled to finish it. Actually, by the time I was done eating I still had about 5 ounces in my glass and I found myself not too interested in finishing it.

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2010 16:10:44 | More by spointon

Bookseeb

Washington

3.05/5  rDev +16.4%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance is a cloudy straw golden color with a quickly dissapating head. Smell is lightly sweet that has a malty graininess to it . Taste has a malty/adjunct light sweetness leaving a bitter aftertaste. Mouthfeel is light having good body with crisp carbonation. Actually not bad for a fairly high alc. adjunct beer which is fine until it gets to the bitter end.

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2010 01:50:48 | More by Bookseeb

jarmby1711

Australia

2.93/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

This pale gold lager is crystal clear , which in my experience does not bode well as it gives the beer a manufactured rather than brewed quality. This beer frothed up a decent head , but really is very plain and unremarkable.
It is all derinkable and enjoyable but thats about it.
It is the sort of beer to have over a business discussion on a warm afternoon.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2010 23:26:31 | More by jarmby1711

kshankar

District of Columbia

2.93/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pour is pretty good. Clear and pale yellow, with a rocky foam. Looks like a kristal weizen!

...Too bad it doesn't smell like one. It smells metallic. And rather beer-like. Not much else.

Does it taste like a kristal weizen? No. It tastes metallic too, with a very slick mouthfeel. Pretty unoffensive, but then again, its also really bland.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2010 02:14:31 | More by kshankar

mjaskula

New York

2.88/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Picked up an Indian beer to go with my meal. Served in a pint glass. Looks like a macro lager, clear and golden. The thin white head disappeared quickly.

Aroma is mild, sweet and malty. Flavor is crisp, clean and mildly malty. Nothing special, but not really bad either. Mouthfeel and carbonation are both light. Easy to drink with spicy food.

Serving type: bottle

10-11-2009 02:55:30 | More by mjaskula

cudmud

Illinois

2.98/5  rDev +13.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured out of the bottle with a big head, with extra large bubbles. The head dissipated into nothing with no lace.

The aroma was nothing to be desired. In short, it smelled like beer. The hops were noted, but no malt or esters were detected.

Again, the taste was average. There is a big taste of hops and peppery-like notes.

The drinkability was nothing special. Overall, most folks would rather drink a beer that's aromatic and full bodied. Same with the mouthfeel, nothing special.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2009 01:30:49 | More by cudmud

farrago

New Jersey

3.28/5  rDev +25.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Even with an aggressive pour, not much of a head, mainly comprised of larger, quick to pop bubbles, no foam, white in color, minimal lacing left behind. Raw grainy nose, like unshucked corn, metal, iron notes without mineral water foundation to fall back on, some fuller bread notes, sour grapefruit rind, has a saline quality as well, nothing about it that jumps out as fruit, overall the smells don't piss you off, it just smells like generic "beer." Medium-bodied, broad-shouldered carbonation which lasts easily through the finish. Pretzels, sourdough, rye, more cooked than raw, if indistinguishable as elements, certainly makes it evident that this is a straight down the middle of the plate lager beer. Sour mixed white citrus, more iron flecks, an uptick in apricot to peach fruit, pits and skins, maybe fig. Due to the carbonation doesn't lose weight/palate presence through the finish. Old coriander powder. Without faulting it, or its place of origin, too much it falls exactly into line with expectations. You're in a cheap Indian restaurant scarfing down some vindaloo chicken and nan and this is the beer you drink there. No mystery, no failure to meet a certain threshold of quality. Great, no, contextually viable, absolutely.

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2009 03:39:54 | More by farrago

BeerSingh

India

2.63/5  rDev +0.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Haywards 5000 is a sought after strong lager available in India, and probably the best known brand after Kingfisher.

Poured into a Beer Mug from a 22 oz bottle. Darkish yellow in colour with a big head. Smells of typical adjuncted beer - metallic. Tastes of distinct alcohol and grain separately. Mouthfeel is thin and fizzy.

I have stopped drinking this beer post my tryst with Belgians

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2009 07:37:42 | More by BeerSingh

Tone

Missouri

2.88/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a clear, pale yellow color. 5/4 inch head of a white color. Good retention and decent lacing. Smells of adjunct, pale malt, and yeast. Fits the style of an American Adjunct Lager. Mouth feel is smooth and crisp with an average carbonation level. Tastes of adjunct (metallic), yeast, pale malt, and slight hops. Overall, a not so great beer, but to be expected.

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2009 07:46:31 | More by Tone

BeardedBoffin

Minnesota

2.2/5  rDev -16%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

This beer pours a nice golden color but the head, or lack thereof, leaves something to be desired. The aroma is high metallic (copper?) and sweet bread. Light on the palate and in the flavor department. The brew tries to come across clean but is thwarted by unpleasantness lurking the background, veggies with a twist of skunk, perhaps. Overall, not recommended but if it is the only thing on the beer list at favorite Indian joint, it may do.

Serving type: bottle

04-02-2009 22:58:47 | More by BeardedBoffin

laituegonflable

Australia

2.05/5  rDev -21.8%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2.5

Pours a pale yellow with light carbonation. No head at all. Lagery, dull and not very interesting.

Nose has a distinct pride of ringwood edge to it, with very little else apart from a very slight fruit aroma, maybe apple, but I think that's being generous, or imaginative. Weak and again, not very impressive.

Palate is surprisingly fruity, but the first taste is that nasty pride of ringwood character again which appears on the front. Luckily this goes away by the mid palate leaving a nice apple character but one that is quite watery and insipid. Finish is actually quite sweet but not very nice. Overall the palate isn't actually badly constructed, frankly, it just doesn't taste good. Mouthfeel is a bit flat but also has a slight sticky note to it. It's not a pleasant beer, although one thing for it is it does go well with the spicy food.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2009 00:24:51 | More by laituegonflable

jneiswender

Massachusetts

1.15/5  rDev -56.1%
look: 2 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1

Poured out of a 500ml bottle into a hotel water glass (best I could do).

A-Light yellow body and a very weak, white head.

S-metallic, sugary malt flavor

T-if there is hops in here than my taste buds must be fried from all of the chilies I had eaten in India. No hop flavor to mention. Strong alcohol and a somewhat metallic flavor.

M-light

D-If one was to drink only Indian beer while in India, you can do a lot better than this. I know everyone seems to hate on Kingfisher but I would make Kingfisher my session for a week than touch this again. I felt dirty after drinking it.

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2008 14:26:01 | More by jneiswender

Mebuzzard

Colorado

2/5  rDev -23.7%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Ok, so Kingfisher's "premium" beer was awful. I thought I'd try this one and see the difference, if any.
Pours a semi-haze pale yellow. Not quite straw color. Huge carbo-head, white and bubbly. Didn't last long. quickly settled to a film.
Aroma of stale bread, butterscotch, and alcohol. Not pleasant. Bad aftertaste. Thin, yet coating. A bit better than the aforementioned, but not my cup of 'tea'.

Serving type: bottle

07-21-2008 12:27:30 | More by Mebuzzard

beerthulhu

New Jersey

1.85/5  rDev -29.4%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

A: Brewed and bottled in India under SABmiller supervision. Pours a clear pale yellow color. Big skunky aroma with raw vegetables and hay for flavor.

S: Smell is raw, warm buttered vegetables.

T: Taste is buttery vegetables that finishes with off flavors, sour vegetables, sour malt, some sweetened buttery notes.

M: Mouthful is thin, harsh and coarse with some skunkiness and musky feel.

D: Just plain horrible flavors, a horrible lager bite and just bad brewing techniques, but then again what else would you expect from SAB. Undrinkable, couldn’t finish.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2008 00:01:59 | More by beerthulhu

splat215

Pennsylvania

3.6/5  rDev +37.4%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

650ml bottle

A - 4.0 - Very nice head, tons of good carbonation, deep golden yellow, looks alive
S - 2.5 - Alcohol, malt, sweet, slightly pungent... not a good balance
T - 4.0 - Malty, almost stout like - very good
M - 4.0 - Thick and smooth
D - 3.5 - Overall one of my favorite Indian beers so far. The flavor profile on this is very interesting and different then most else on the market.

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2007 18:03:41 | More by splat215

emerge077

Illinois

2.25/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Picked this up in a recent smash & grab for BYOB at a random Devon Ave. shop in Chicago.

Out of the four casual beer drinkers at our table, this was the only bottle to sit unfinished at the end of the night. It's only redeeming factor was a slight banana ester that surfaced at room temperature.

Poured fizzy yellow, some foam that rapidly dissipated.
Smelled like spent grain, noticeable alcohol, no hops.
Taste was bland, thin mouthfeel, no one wanted to drink it after a few sips.

After sitting for awhile, and warming to room temp. there was an out of place banana taste that was neither here nor there. Kingfisher paired much better with the spicy lamb curry.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2007 21:27:59 | More by emerge077

daliandragon

North Carolina

1.7/5  rDev -35.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Interesting label. Claims to be the "crown jewel of Indian beers" the sentence after it uses the phrase "bottled in India under SABMiller supervision". Is it just me or is that in itself a devaluation of Indian beer?

Strangely bright tan/yellow color with a thin cap of head and a sharp sourness in the nose that is mostly malt. Taste is strong sour malt and not a whole lot else. Finish is fairly clean but not good at all. The alcohol is an intimidating enforcer behind the sour assault. Wow, this is pretty bad. If you want a brew to drink with Indian food, go with Kingfisher or Cobra, this is barely drinkable at all.

Serving type: bottle

11-08-2006 04:10:58 | More by daliandragon

Freshie

Massachusetts

2.55/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a clear golden color with small soda-like head.

Smell was hard to read, because it was served to me o so cold. Light grain, faint sweet malt.

Tastes like a normal American Lager with more kick (7% ABV). The stale grain flavour gives way to a more spiced aftertaste, where the hops becomes present. Smooth, but carbonation adds some bite.

Nothing special. It might Work well with some cuisine, but I think other beers of the same genre probably surpass it.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2006 05:42:18 | More by Freshie

JanM

Sweden

3.1/5  rDev +18.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

The Indian preference for "super strong" beers is often a menace. Somehow the kick is considered more important than the taste. The well-known beer "Knock-Out" spells it out quite clearly. Haywards 5000 would most likely taste better with less alcohol. Still, it's a kind of Indian equivalent to Eurolager- perhaps Hindulager?, and it's definately functional. It smells sweet and the hal finger of foam disappears quickly. The taste is malty/bready with a distinct alcohol breath lingering in the mouth. I often wonder over Indian beer names. Haywards is obviously meant to give the beer a heritage feel. The number 5000 may just be a high number indiacting the potency of the brew (He-man 9000 is another example?

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2005 08:29:47 | More by JanM

sulldaddy

Connecticut

2.73/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2.5

Stopper brought this bottle over and neither of us expected much but who knows.
WE are pouring a cold bottle into pint glasses. The beer pours a birght clear gold color with bleached white fizzy head of .5 cm that fades quickly.
Aroma is grainy malts, slightly skunky/funky, some spicy hops as well. A bit of sugaryness as well.
First sip reveals a lite body and Very sharp prickly carbonation.
Flavor starts sweet with some corn sugar and a hint of caramel again some spicy hops are present and a bit of husky malt and some corn/vegetable notes as well. ON the finish there is a hit of citrusy/rind hops. The beer is clean and sweet,not great or exciting but certainly not a drain pour either.

Serving type: bottle

10-02-2005 05:06:08 | More by sulldaddy

hungryghost

District of Columbia

1.63/5  rDev -37.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1

1 Pint, 6oz. bottle
Yellow with a white foamy head
Smells like alcohol and maybe wet corn...
Taste is just plain awful and difficult to describe. Here goes; a bit of bitterness, no idea if it could be hops, malt liquor alcohol hints, the overwhelming taste is metalic, tinny. Bad tasting stuff.
Mouthfeel is watery and hard to swallow cuz it taste so bad.
Drinkable only as a last resort. Very last.

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2005 02:11:22 | More by hungryghost

ybnorml

Rhode Island

2.48/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Has a very light yellow colored body with a big white head that disappears immeadiately. The aroma is lightly grainy with a hint of alcohol. Kind of a sweet grassy taste, no hop bitterness evident. Mostly a strong alcohol presence in the flavor not much else. This remineded me of some "biere forte" that I purchased in Canada a few years ago. Mostly alcohol rush and no real beer flavor.

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2004 01:54:01 | More by ybnorml

RoyalT

Ohio

1.83/5  rDev -30.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Appearance – Extremely light and pale yellow in color with a decent head and loads of carbonation.

Smell – Typical Americanized strong grain aroma. This one smells very dry.

Taste – Sticky rice meets creamed corn. This is one of the strangest (and nastiest) beers that I’ve ever had.

Mouthfeel – Dry and somewhat crisp with a very thin body.

Sinkability – I definitely can’t make myself finish this thing.

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2004 00:57:16 | More by RoyalT