I am a sucker for a good chocolate porter or stout. So, seeing that Yuengling and Hershey’s combined to create a porter had piqued my interest. However, I am also not a big fan of Yuengling Lager, probably because of being repeatedly over-served the beer in my teens and twenties, and have never had their porter (an omission I will rectify). For a long time, my trepidation had overcome my curiosity, keeping me from actually purchasing a six-pack to try.
Yesterday, however, I had the opportunity to pick up a single bottle while creating a mixed case for a little gathering. Then, at the actual event, I made sure that I got the Yuengling Hershey’s Chocolate Porter before another partygoer grabbed it. This was all, of course, so that I could give you a review.
Opening the bottle – Yuengling Hershey’s Chocolate Porter only comes in bottles or on draft – the chocolate smell was immediately apparent, combined with a little hint of malt. From there, I don’t have any notes about the color, head, lacing, or any of that other crap because I drank the beer right from the bottle. I can say that the taste was even more chocolatey than the smell. In fact, the beer distinctly reminded me of milk chocolates that I would make with Hershey’s syrup as a kid, completely overloading the milk with the Hershey’s. That is not a bad thing at all in my opinion, but I would have had a hard time putting down a second of the porters, let alone settling in for a six pack.
Yuengling first released the Hershey’s collaboration back in 2019. Since then, it has remained a seasonal brew, released every October, most recently on October 4th, 2022. The Chocolate Porter, like most Yuengling products, is available across the East Coast. And Yuengling is slowly making inroads in the rest of the nation, including beginning distribution in Texas in the past couple months.
Yuengling Hershey’s Chocolate Porter comes in at a sound 4.7% abv. But it hefts 185 calories, which is more than most cheap beers (by comparison, regular Yuengling has 141 calories). Of course, there is a big chocolate taste that needs to come from somewhere, presumably a hefty dose of Hershey’s syrup (53 calories per 2 tbsp serving, or about 400 calories in my chocolate milks as a kid).
I won’t be rushing out to get another sixer of Yuengling Hershey’s Chocolate Porter before they leave the shelves for another season. But I did enjoy the one I had, will not turn it down from a friend or host, and would love to find it on nitro somewhere. Get out there and give it a try yourself. And let us know your thoughts below.
