Old Speckled Hen Review

Country: England 

Brand: Old Speckled Hen

Bottler: Morland Brewing, Westgate Street, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk.
Package: Tin Can 

Type: Pale Ale

Age: NAS

ABV: 5 %

Antioxidant: Not Indicated
Stabiliser: Not Indicated

Colour: Beautiful Dark Amber. 

Foam: Off-White but Creamy Foam. After about five minutes it still leaves about a finger of Foam in the Glass. A perfect Lacing remains in place while you are enjoying your glass of Old Speckled Hen. 

Nose: Whole Grain Bread, Bread Dough, Molasses, slightly Sour Berries, Grass, light Hop, slightly Burnt Caramel and light Mineral - and Metallic notes.

Palate: Medium Bitter, Creamy and Smooth with a low Carbonation. The Whole Grain Bread, Molasses and Caramel from the Nose are still around. I also find Malt, light Hops, Toffee, Bitter Almonds, Dried Herbs, Straw and Lemon.  It's a little more Watery than I had expected.   

Finish: Medium-Long, Straight Forward and Bitter-Sweet with Whole Grains, Malt, Yeast, light Hops, Brown Sugar, Molasses and Dried Herbs.

Rating: ******1/2  (Six and a half out of Ten)

General Remarks: Old Speckled Hen was first brewed in 1979 in Abingdon in Oxfordshire to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the local MG car factory. Old Speckled Hen was an MG car used as a runaround for the MG Factory workers. In 2000 the Morland Brewery was sold to the Green King Brewery that shot down the Abingdon facility. Since, the ale is produced in the Bury St. Edmunds complex. Old Speckled Hen has been exported to over 40 countries. The core range includes a/o Old Crafty Hen, a 6,5% Ale and Golden Hen, a 4,1% Beer.

Drinking Experience: Good 

Conclusion: This is certainly a different experience after having tasted a quartet of Lager Beers. Old Speckled Hen looks beautiful when you poor it in the glass. Just by looking at it I was expecting it to be Full, Fruity and Creamy. But that's not quite the case. In fact it's slightly Watery and Herbal on the Palate. The Bitterness is not sufficiently balanced by other Flavours. The Finish is slightly Medicinal. Therefore I can't give the Old Speckled Hen a higher score even when I usually like this type of Ale. It's just a tad too Bitter and Herbal as far as I'm concerned. I won't buy this again.   

Jan van den Ende                                                                      April 29, 2015