A close family friend of mine tells me stories of Henry Weinhard’s Private Reserve he enjoyed during the late 70’s and early 80’s. He says it was the best beer he ever drank. He is turning 60 next year, and I wanted to surprise him by making him a batch of this beer. I have full temperature control over fermentation for making lagers, however, I have never tasted this beer. I know that the original lager strain was brought to the USA, then Portland, likely from Stuttgart, Germany in the early 1850’s. The beer showcased PNW hops (cascade and possibly Willamette) and pale malts. Other than that, I have nothing else to go on to make this beer.
Does anyone here remember this beer? If you do, would you offer me some tips and what to shoot for in terms of malt bill, hop schedule and yeast selection?
Is there another resource I can look into for this information?
I’d say the closest style would be an Am. premium lager…maybe Michelob or something like that. I’d guess all (or mainly) pils malt, IBU maybe 20ish. Absolutely no hop character, especially no citrus.
i loved hank’s when i lived in idaho, oregon and washington. tried some a few years ago and like denny said it was not so good. i think this is because it is not brewed by henry weinhards and is brewed by another company and likely a new recipe.
Maybe where you were in the late 70’s there were better choices, but Special Reserve was a revelation to beer drinkers down here in the desert southwest. It actually had flavor, was American so we didn’t have to pay import prices, and was reasonably easy to find for a while. I don’t think I’ve even seen it down here for close to 30 years, but back in the day it was a real step in the right direction.
HWPR is made by the Coors brewing company and like others have said it has gone down hill from the late 70s and 80s. Not to be a jerk but I would not give it to my dog now days but you can still buy it today. Back in the day it was a lot better. I would go with a dark premium lager … Not sure about the hops it’s been a long time and Coors uses there own hops that they designed them self and only they can get them. :
So I was at the spca thrift shop the other day and what did I find but a Henry Weinhard Private Reserve Beer tasting glass. It was $0.50 so I bought it.
The Henrys of today is NOTHING compared to the Blitz-Weinhard of the 60s and 70s. Crisp, Mildly Hoppy and a great tasting beer. The Henrys which were numbered, and I started @ bottling number 12, was decent, and a solid Lager. Henrys of today just sucks, as do most good beers that get bought out by Mega corporations.
