Heineken Dark Lager - Heineken Nederland B.V.

MrGuinness77

California

5/5  rDev +54.3%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

a friend recommended this beer for me to try, and im glad he did. its incredibly hard to find it but i finally found it after looking @ 30 different liquor stores i finally found 3 six packs at a bevmo in orange county (and bought all 3 of them). normally i cannot drink heineken but i can easily say this is brew is now one of my top 5 favorites of all time. if you ever get a chance to at least try it DO NOT pass it up.

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2010 00:22:06 | More by MrGuinness77

Tee76

Michigan

4.88/5  rDev +50.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

I've always been a huge fan of Heineken and when i found that they made a dark lager i went to all ends of the earth to find it....and i'm glad i did

Dark reddish brown, with a rich tan head to it.

Nice smokey smell, with hints of maple.

Tastes like your typical dark lager but with a thicker, sweet maltier taste that has a hint of maple.

Not much of an after taste but the beer gives a full mouth feel.Has a creamy feel to it.

One of my favorite beers be far.Highly drinkable if you can find it...it's that damn good!

Serving type: bottle

09-28-2009 18:23:35 | More by Tee76

mrcarterxxl

New Jersey

4.7/5  rDev +45.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

a beer that i thought that was every where but i was wrong.

A= pours a brown color in the amber family with a cream color head.

S= hoppy smell.

T= a toffe/butterscotch taste with hops

MF=smooth wiht medium cardonation.

this beer leaves light lacing behind, this is one of my favorites
everyone should try it.

cheers!

Serving type: bottle

10-20-2009 19:49:28 | More by mrcarterxxl

Lauthaha

Michigan

4.6/5  rDev +42%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 ounce bottle into a beer mug.

Appearance: The beer pours forth from the bottle with a deep ruby/mahogany color. One-finger thick head recedes to a simple frothy coating on the top of the beer. Very dark...not opaque, but close to it.

Smell: This is a very intriguing scent, something I haven't experienced a lot of lately. At first, it seems like licorice, but I suppose it could be nutmeg and/or cinnamon as well. This is a beer that would go great with pumpkin pie, a great fall beer. Smells amazing.

Taste: Truly spectacular. Definitely a nutmeg/cinnamon vibe to it which sets complacently in the malty base. The hops are not overdone; nothing about this brew is overdone. Though I can detect six or seven distinct flavors (anise, cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin, malt, hops) not one overshadows any other. The fact that it is so perfectly mixed makes me want to give this brew a five. What the heck.

Mouthfeel: Lightly syrupy, it gently coats the tongue. Savorable, yet it rinses cleanly. Also very, very good.

Drinkability: I could definitely drink more than a few of these on a long night. The only stopping point is the fact that this beer is so extraordinarily tasty, I wouldn't want to burn myself out on it. It's also just a little rich for a session beer, so I can't give it a perfect score here.

This beer (according to the label) won two awards in Paris in the 1800s. If that's the only critical acclaim this beer has enjoyed, that would be a shame. I would definitely recommend this beer to anyone who enjoys a good dark lager. Just fantastic.

Serving type: bottle

08-29-2010 01:59:21 | More by Lauthaha

ZenAgnostic

Texas

4.38/5  rDev +35.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

12oz bottle poured into a pint glass. No stamped date.

Appearance - Dark, clear ruby brown/black body. One finger light brown/tan head with decent to low stick and decent to low retention.

Smell - Dark roasted malts. Lots of banana. Sweet, non-hoppy profile.

Taste - Dark chocolate malts. Banana. Coffee. True to the the smell. Extremely faint hop. No off characters. Very smooth.

Mouthfeel - Smooth. Medium bodied. Very light effervescence. Pleasantly non solvent nor sticky. Very mildly astringent/acidic.

Overall Drinkability - While I don't have high regard for its light lager brother, this beer might be one of the best in the Euro Dark Lager style. At least as far as I've had. Not much in the way of off characters except for the slight metallic astringency and mild acidity, but that might be a result of shelf life. Not amazing in any sense, but definitely worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2011 02:18:02 | More by ZenAgnostic

AtrumAnimus

Texas

4.35/5  rDev +34.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

First of all I have to take this one with a grain of Heineken Salt - per say. Heineken has it's own strain of yeast and signature undertones like North Coast and many other breweries. The difference here is Heineken is typically much older than those. That given:

This pours a beautiful dark brown - tannic like the Louisiana Swamp - Admittedly odd for a Dutch beer but I go with what I know - after all it is a hell of a lot better than the color of the Amstel - no?

The nose is rich roasted malt with the signature Heineken Hops. The mouthfeel is perky and carbonated with a smooth finish.

The taste is nearly excellent - Heineken Lager is good - this is much better. I really enjoy this and I am glad I tried it again after so many hundreds of other beers. This somewhat reminds me of St. Sebastiann Dark meets Heineken Lager. - The best of both worlds; if you catch my meaning. The flavor is robust with a hint of roasting and the classic Heineken flavor. Sweet Malt with lively hops touched off by signature yeast.

Very satisfying still to this day. Heineken’s Lager is such a large seller it becomes a "typical" beer that is for every day drinking on a budget that can replace absolute shit beer like Bud or Miller, etc...

The downside of that is we become too accustomed to The Lager as a bare minimum beer. Therefore we give little credibility to the other Heineken’s on the market. Get past that commercial stigmata - then you can enjoy their more craftier brews.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2003 15:30:35 | More by AtrumAnimus

AlexCorleone

Mexico

4.35/5  rDev +34.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Appearance- Dark brown though with red shines. Nice close foamy head off the pour, nice appearance overall.

Smell- Fresh grains, cream, nutty and slight yeast and malty smell, basically the smell of tamed out lager almost metallic nose.

Taste- Nice balance of malts and lager kind of a flavor, reminds me of a lighter bock, very refreshing malts with a very slight touch of hops

Mouth feel- Very smooth creamy and easy drinking, light body and acid notes coming from CO2.

Drinkability- Nice balance of a lighter lager and slightly darker tones, easy to drink more than a six pack.

Serving type: bottle

05-29-2010 17:35:09 | More by AlexCorleone

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

4.21/5  rDev +29.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

What can I say? I recently hit upon a local gold mine in terms of singles for sale. I just want to drink different beers until I find The One. It is sort of the same reason that I am still single.

From the bottle: "Brewed with passion for quality."

The pour erased any question that it might not be dark. I had two-plus fingers of rocky, deep-tan head by the time that I was done and it looked like the top of a root beer float. Color was ruby-red with NE-quality clarity and I began to think of the last time I had seen a beer this pretty. Nose was rich with caramel, toffee, even coconut. Mouthfeel was medium and the taste was very caramel-like with a hint of smoke on the tongue. Finish was likewise faintly smoky and semi-dry, not sweet at all. First of all, I am not ashamed to say that I was impressed. Secondly, is it too much to ask them to CAN this beer? I would readily put some in the cooler.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2013 19:37:07 | More by woodychandler

goochpunch

Texas

4.2/5  rDev +29.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Pours a rusty brown remeniscient of what iced tea concentrate would look like with a frothy, khaki head that maintains its integrity. Leaves a little lacing. Clean lager aromas with a dark malty backbone and a faint herbal hops scent (possibly goldings?). Big malty flavors start this one off. Toasted and roasted malt lingers on the tongue along with the herbal hops. Just damned clean. Only fault is that it drinks a little watery. The flavors up front seem to die off too quickly. Mouthfeel is creamy with a very soft carbonation. Again, like with the taste, this seems a bit watery in the mouth. The only fault I see here. Perfect drinkability. Lots of flavor and a relatively thin body make this for optimal fall sessioning. I just wish I had bought more than this single. A surprising offering from Heineken.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2006 03:50:41 | More by goochpunch

phenomenologian

Nebraska

4.18/5  rDev +29%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

this beer is an especially pleasing brew to enjoy. its a nice dark lager. the beer has a smooth taste to it. it tastes hoppy and has a nice carmel or chocolate flavor to it because of all that is in it. I cannot really name what makes this wonderful flavor except for one of those things being hops. I can taste malt there also. it has a sort of dry, tannish brown head. the head gets medium large. the color of the beer itself is about lighter than guinness but darker than an amber ale. it almost has the consistency and color of guinness but lighter. the smell is kind of of caramel because of how the whole beer yields that certain taste. the taste is, in my opinion, delicious enough making it very smooth. the caramel taste is very very pleasing in this beer. it being very smooth makes it easy to drink. I drank it down within ten minutes because its pleasing and smooth. I really like this beer. if you don't like dark beers, don't try it, but if you do this is a must try. being one who has guinness as the favorite beer this one fights to be up there with guinness. I would give it a B plus just because I save the A region for extremely pleasing beers.

Serving type: bottle

11-28-2011 16:23:34 | More by phenomenologian

ktrillionaire

Florida

4.15/5  rDev +28.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Heineken (in the green bottle) is potentially a ‘gateway beer’; for many, including me, it represents a first step away from the budcoorsmillerlightlitedraft nonsense. I will always have a soft spot for it, but I honestly don’t like it anymore. Which brings me to the beer at hand… if Heineken was your friend, then Heineken Dark is like the extremely debonair cousin from out of town that you can’t believe is related at all.

G – Drank out of a disposable cup, then straight out the bottle, and then two bottles at a time in my liter Heineken seidel. This beer is potentially the rare beer that is better when consumed straight from the bottle.

A - Dark and translucent, between black tea and cola, otherwise it looks similar to the green bottled Heineken, effervescent, nice (tan) head, good lacing.

S - It has a caramel and dunkel maltiness, figs, prunes, dark wheat in the nose.

T - The taste is very good. It has a dunkel taste like Flensburger. Nutty tasting. Great caramel flavor in the malt; not crass like, say, 'Old Speckled Hen' (in the clear bottle) or some of Lagunitas' offerings, which are a nasty Cracker-Jack or Smucker's tasting caramel. And not sweet either. Muted hop, well balanced flavors overall.

M - Medium-bodied, well carbonated.

D - I love it. Heineken has a special place in my heart, but regular Heineken is not what I once thought it was. Heineken Dark, on the other hand, is still extremely awesome.

P.S. If you are drinking Green Heineken, always opt for the Heine-can.

Serving type: bottle

01-25-2010 21:51:14 | More by ktrillionaire

RonaldTheriot

Louisiana

4.13/5  rDev +27.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Heineken Dark has a medium, tan, creamy head and a very dark, reddish-brown appearance, with moderate carbonation. The aroma is of malt and some sort of cream or milkiness. Taste is quite malt oriented, and there is some bread flavor with it that is probably from the wheat ingredient. There is little hop character with this beer. Mouth-feel is fairly heavy, and Heineken Dark finishes smooth. Overall, I really enjoyed this sample and would highly recommend giving it a taste.

RJT

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2011 01:38:22 | More by RonaldTheriot

BeerBob

Nebraska

4.1/5  rDev +26.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Heineken Special Dark Beer pours an ebony red from a 12oz brown bottle. The tan head goes to over two fingers with small firmly packed bubbles that slightly lace the wall of the glass.

Nose is of nice toasted and burnt barley malt with some fragrant whiffs of roasted fig. Palate is of the same nice toasted and burnt barley malt with a tasty sweet barley malt note and a semisweet chocolate that pops in at the finish.

Heineken Special Dark Beer is a well built dark beer that satisfied my taste for both a stout and a porter at the same time. Although a bit thin for a stout or porter, if your not too picky this one will be a winner, it was for me.

Serving type: bottle

11-02-2002 14:54:52 | More by BeerBob

SaCkErZ9

Florida

4.1/5  rDev +26.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Dispensed from 12oz bottle into a pint glass. A dark brown beer emerges, not quite opaque, with a small but puffy tan head. Im not sure what the aroma of a euro dark lager is but this one is very very fruity. Lots of plums and figs. Tons of malt here. Not one sign of a single hop leaf in this one. This is a nice beer. I really dont know what category this may be, but I cant imagine all dark euro lagers are like this. Very fruity and a bit sweet, but I may try this one again. Due to its sweetness and overwhleming fruitiness, drinkability may be small, but still a nice beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-30-2006 02:11:55 | More by SaCkErZ9

Mitchster

Michigan

4.03/5  rDev +24.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours out to a sparkingly clear very deep ruby, forming a large whipped dark khaki head with excellent retention and wonderful lacing. Wonderful looking brew. Carbonation is mild. The aroma is of sweet candy malts with a touch of toast and freshly mown hay. Hops are mild but floral and clean. Mouthfeel is slick, crisp and clean with a medium body. Taste begins with upfront herbal and floral bitterness which is quickly parlayed by the sticky amber malts. Mildly sweet, akin to a lighter Bock. Toast, leather and tobacco in the middle with some lingering pleasantly woodsy bitterness in the aftertaste. The finish is crisp and clean as well. No discernable skunk, off-flavors, or alcohol. Very well brewed.
I was skeptical, but this is actually very good and is highly competetive with some of the better dark Euro-Lagers like Ayinger, Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr, etc. Nicely brewed and very easy to drink. I can see myself drinking more of this in the future. Recommended.

Serving type: bottle

11-15-2005 19:00:44 | More by Mitchster

RBorsato

Virginia

4/5  rDev +23.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Brown with a nice tan head and good carbonation. Light roasty, light chocolate and burnt malt aroma and flavor. Medium-light bodied with a smooth finish; a bit dry from the roasty character.

A nice Euro Dark Lager and much nicer than Beck's.

Label states: "Est. 1873"

Serving type: bottle

08-23-2005 17:00:41 | More by RBorsato

Blakaeris

Iowa

4/5  rDev +23.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours deep ruby-brown with a modest head that dissipates quickly to a thin ring.

Smell is mild with bready caramel malt with a dry chocolateness.

Taste is similiar to the nose, with the addition of a mild nuttyness and more pronounced sweet chocolate character, and a pleasant roasted flavor to the malt. Finish has lightly hopped with a dry lactose like aftertaste.

Mouthfeel is light bodied and smooth.

I was very surprised by this brew. This is the tastiest Euro I have had. If you're gonna drink a macro dark lager this is a good choice.

Serving type: bottle

10-27-2006 00:05:18 | More by Blakaeris

auxiliary

Rhode Island

4/5  rDev +23.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

appearance - Intersting color. Odd brown amber color. Nice head on it too.

smell - Some malt smell, little hint of that skunked smell from a ero lager.

taste - Nice sweet malty taste, not smokey at all. Very good.

mouthfeel - Light bodied.

drinkability - I would buy this again. I don't like Heineken but I like this style. Malt, not too dark, and not much smoked taste that I expected. Good job Heineken !

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2007 04:49:48 | More by auxiliary

Kopfmeister60

Florida

4/5  rDev +23.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

If you like dark beer this is a must try. Aroma is malty but not skunky. It pours with a light brown creamy long lasting head, is a clear dark caramel color, smooth and creamy to the palate with a nutty toasty flavor. With little aftertaste it compliments a variety of foods, ie. brie and rich cheeses, spicy dishes, but doesn't overpower like Guinness. Low alchohol and good price makes it a good choice for a party. Not easy to find, it's worth looking for.

Serving type: bottle

02-15-2010 20:42:27 | More by Kopfmeister60

828beagle

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +23.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a pint glass a dark mahogany with a nice foamy beige 2 finger head. Good retention and substantial lacing. Slight roasted nutty aroma. Taste was dominated by sweet malt, caramel, and raisin bread. A medium-light body with big carbonation. Goes down easy and is quite refreshing. Unintrusive aftertaste. A year-round session brew and much more likable than regular Heineken lager.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2010 23:24:22 | More by 828beagle

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev +22.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A dark, ruby-accented mahogany body is topped by a short but creamy head of dark ivory foam. The retention is just slightly above average, and the lacing is limited.

The nose offers a pleasant note of bready malt, dark caramel, and a delicate pinch of sweetened cocoa powder.

In the mouth it's medium-light in body and gently crisp with a restrained, fine-bubbled carbonation that leaves it quite smooth across the palate.

The flavor is not much different than the aroma, although, notably, there are some floral hops present. The maltiness presented in the aroma remains intact, but it's not as sweet as might have originally been suggested. It is really well-balanced though, with a firm to solid bitterness that anchors it completely. It finishes with a drip of mildly sweet almost-scortched caramel, some dulled floral and grassy hops, and a mild, underlying bitterness.

Well-crafted; superbly balanced; interesting enough to have more than one.

Serving type: bottle

08-19-2006 15:19:43 | More by NeroFiddled

SilentSabre

Georgia

3.93/5  rDev +21.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Nothing at all like the much more popular green Heineken! Poured very red. Nice slightly off-white head which almost appeared to have a slightly creamy consistency. Nice lacing, but the head disapeared a little too fast. The smell was very malty, and a bit sweet, too. Taste was of a dry roasted malt with almost a toasted aftertaste. Very nice. The mouth feel was a lot thinner than I would have thought by simply looking at it and smelling it. So much so that I rated it as average. That is really that only real negative thing I have to say about this stuff, is that it is really thin. Other than that, I thought it was great!

Serving type: bottle

11-13-2004 02:17:40 | More by SilentSabre

jtw5877

Ohio

3.9/5  rDev +20.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a dark brown color with a tan head that lasted through a few swallows. It's nice to taste a Heinekin product in a brown bottle. Nice malty taste. Kind of reminds me of a Newcastle Brown. I really like this stuff. It would really make a nice session beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2002 14:39:38 | More by jtw5877

andjusticeforale

Connecticut

3.9/5  rDev +20.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I bought a colder than cold single and brought it home to pour it into a pint glass. I was not expecting much, but there was a nice coppery colr and some head fizziness. It was a hot-hot day.

The first impression of taste was a great mouthfeel, perfect carbonation, and a great balance of hops and toasted malt. As "macro euro lagers" go this beats the green bottles and would make a nide bunch of beers to frink in a row, a session at the local pub or sports bar. But, since the dark variety is not readily available I suggest throwing some in the cooler for your next barbeque. Its not complex, not over-flavorful, but compared to many others, it certainly was not a let down.

Serving type: bottle

08-04-2006 12:02:19 | More by andjusticeforale

animal69

Louisiana

3.9/5  rDev +20.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

I went into this knowing the subtle dif. between Dutch & German lagers ( acc. to period styles, dutch lagers were drier, lighter in body & hopped about the same as most german ones, due to the demand for grain in germany); pours a deep, dark copper w/ a slight head which lasted a bit, nice lacing; a sweet caramely malt aroma, w/ some alcoholic notes; a creamy caramel taste w/ that Heiny hop flavor behind it, that "curing concrete' kinda flavor, not sure what does it but iv'e always liked it; light,airy,dry( & puffy feeling ?) mouthfeel kinda too bubbly w/ added dextrins, they should've let it be thinner to match the lighter taste; a very drinkable beer, i'm 1/2 way through a six already...

ps. the ABV is either 4.6 or 4.8 i'm not sure which, I knew at 1 point, but you know how brain cells go...

Serving type: bottle

10-22-2007 22:52:03 | More by animal69