Note: This is a series I call Caveman Beer Reviews, because I like to drink beer but am a caveman when it comes to beer knowledge. I know only the basics, and do not have a refined palate. I’ll review the beers on price and what they look, smell, and taste like to me.
Beer: Yuengling Black & Tan
Bottom Line: A light-colored beer masquerading as a dark one. I did not like it. Cheap, though.
Price: About $10.99 for a 12-pack of 12 ounce bottles.
My Rating: 2 out of 5
Details
This was part of a big beer sampling that my wife got at Trader Joe’s, where they let you buy individual bottles (rather than 6 or 12 packs). I thought I was getting a dark beer, with dark beer taste. Boy, was I in for a surprise.
Origin: Pennsylvania, USA
Alcohol: 4.7%
Looks: A cool, bold, dark glass bottle with some sort of an eagle on it. The beer itself is brown.
Smell: Strong malt smell.
Taste: I’m a big fan of dark, strong beer. This beer was dark, but tasted like light-colored beer with brown food coloring put in; it had very little bitterness, and not much of any taste at all.
It was quite gaseous, and its slight bitterness is felt quickly, and then fades just as fast, barely lingering. I could not detect any hints of chocolate, as is usual with beers this dark (which I’ve recently learned are apparently called porters).
It’s not that the Yuengling is unpleasant to drink – it’s not. It’s just that it does not have much taste at all, and does not stand out in any way.
Hangover Factor: Nothing. I’m a male in reasonably good health born in 1983.
Final Thoughts
The only reasons to buy the Yuengling Black & Tan are the price and the cool bottle. But absolutely do not buy it expecting some sort of dark beer taste. It’s all style, no substance on that account.
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