Henry’s Hard Ginger Ale

Hard sodas are all the rage now, and although I’m not the biggest fan of them, Val likes them. So, I saw this on the shelf and brought home a four-pack for her and she gave me a few sips.

ABV: 4.2%

Style: Ginger Beer

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Get ready to go buckmild with Henry’s Hard Ginger Ale. We took the simple, delicious and refreshing taste of ginger ale, balanced herbal and ginger notes with real cane sugar, and added a little kick of something we call ‘maturity.’ It’s a modern twist on a classic, kind of like you.”

Random: I always associate ginger ale with being sick or being on a plane (since that’s what I would always get as a kid).

This soda poured with a quarter finger of white head that dissipated instantly. It left no lacing on the glass. The body was clear and light yellow in color. As I assumed, there was a lot of carbonation on this, like you would expect from a soda. The nose was filled with ginger and this odd artificial note. It wasn’t sweet but almost like plastic-like. It also had an herbal note that I couldn’t place. The taste had a sugary sweetness, almost like a ginger candy mixed with aspartame. The ginger in the taste was even more artificial and off-putting. The plastic note was muted in the taste but by no means was this good. The body was thick and almost syrupy with lots of carbonation. It had a quick, but sweet finish. The pounder can was $1.50, which broke down to $.09 per ounce, and certainly tastes cheap. I ranked this based on other hard sodas I’ve had and I rated this higher because it was drinkable, but I wouldn’t have it again.

Untappd Rating: 3.0/5.0

Henry Weinhard’s Woodland Pass IPA

This is another beer that Kate picked up for me awhile ago and I just found it sitting in the fridge. Kate picked it up on a whim and I’ve never heard of this beer before. It’s rare that Kate comes home with a beer that I’ve never even seen before, so I was pretty impressed. Anyways, onto the pour.

ABV: 6%

Style: American IPA

Trivia: According to wikipedia.com, “Henry Weinhard (February 18, 1830 – September 20, 1904) was a German-American brewer in the state of Oregon. After immigrating to the United States in 1851, he lived in Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and California before settling in the Portland, Oregon, area. He worked for others in the beer business before buying his own brewery and founded Henry Weinhard’s and built the Weinhard Brewery Complex in downtown Portland.”

Random: I’ve been watching this MTV show “Engaged and Underaged,” which shows couples from 18-22 getting married. Why would you want to get married that young? Some of my most fun and crazy years were from those times.

So, the first thing that I noticed about this beer was how boring and tired the label was. But, can’t judge a brew by its label. It poured a half a finger of white head that dissipated slowly and left decent lacing on the glass. The nose had some floral hops and malt sweetness to it. Honestly, this was a bit too tame for my liking. The taste was a lot of cascade hops up front and very floral. The malt really wasn’t there as much as I expected. I think it got overwhelmed by the hops. After a few sips, I was able to pick up the malt. The body was on the heavier side with heavy carbonation. The finish wasn’t too long with a floral hoppy ending. This was definitely drinkable, but not an outstanding beer. I wouldn’t rush back to have this one again. It was just very one-dimensional.

Untappd Rating: 3.0/5.0