Old Crafty Hen Bottle Old Crafty Hen Ale, 8 x 500ml

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There's nothing prove this and at the time many English country brewers matured their beers in wood and blended two or three beers: this was how the first porters were made. But whatever the inspiration, today Greene King and Rodenbach are members of a rare breed, preserving a great brewing tradition. Rodenbach in Roeselare and Greene King in Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk are geographically close - though there's a bit of water in between - and they are also linked by a rare style of beer. On one visit to Rodenbach I took with me a couple of bottles of Greene King's Strong Suffolk Ale for a comparative tasting. The brewers were intrigued as they thought beer matured in wood that took on a sour and lactic character was a speciality confined to the West Flanders region. Ale hailed as the next big thing as sales soar". London: The Grocer. 9 July 2007 . Retrieved 4 November 2009.

The Ten Best Winter Ales". The Independent. London. 27 November 2008. Archived from the original on 15 September 2009 . Retrieved 4 November 2009. The latest addition to Greene King's range of Hen beers, this limited edition ale is bottle conditioned and brewed with malt, hops, pure water and yeast. The tastes and aromas of this beer is full-bodied and warming, with masses of characteristic toffee and fruit, notes of citrus and orange, and a traditional English hop bitterness. M- F Dry, quite crisp. A short way into the bottle I now clearly sense this is 6.5%. 'Ding-dong, you won't make a session beer of me!'. It is striking how moving from say 5.0% beers to just 6.5%, and give it an hour ... and the difference in impact is clear. = 3 T- [Please gimme something more positive that I can find].... .... Cold, dry, ale, that's nice. I still feel there's a lot more going on here that I'm currently oblivious to. = 3 The gluten free beer is brewed with its usual quality ingredients and to its normal recipe, with the reduction in gluten content achieved through an innovation in the brewing process. A bespoke product stream ensures the beers remain segregated and guarantees that they can be designated as gluten free. [38] Old Master Hen [ edit ]

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As a result of the blending, Old Crafty Hen's aroma and palate have less of a pronounced butterscotch character. The rich malt is married with a spicy and peppery note with raisin and sultana fruit, vanilla and a hint of oak. There are strong hop resins notes in the mouth, balancing malt and fruit, while the finish is rich, smooth, fruity, malty but finally dry with a lingering spicy hop note. L- Deep chestnut, clear, pours with 5mm pale tan head of ultra fine bubbles holding well (much later forming lacing right down the sides of the glass). Daniel O'Leary ( brewer and former cooper), had developed the recipe for a private beer in his garden shed in Abingdon and the recipe was then used when the brewery decided to release a celebration beer for the MG anniversary. [3] [4] The beer, an amber coloured Pale Ale, was then brewed at the brewery. It was brewed at a gravity of 1050 to denote the 50th anniversary. 25 barrels, 1200 dozen half-pints bottles, were produced, mostly for the promotional activities at MG, but also for limited distribution to Morland houses in the Abingdon area. What had been produced as a one-off celebration brew, proved so popular that a second batch had to be brewed in time for the main celebrations which were to be held in Abingdon over the weekend of the actual anniversary. [5] Walsh, Dominic (10 December 2003). "Greene King gets set to brew more". The Times. London . Retrieved 4 November 2009.

Rodenbach matures its beer in 300 oak tuns for between 18 months and two years. The wood is unlined and the beer attracts the attention of micro-flora in the staves. The regular beer (5%) is a blend of young beer from metal tanks and the aged beer, but Rodenbach also produces Grand Cru (6.5%), which is uncut -- bottled straight from the wood. It has an oaky, tannic, sour and tart fruit aroma and palate with a stunningly dry and sour finish that has hints of quinine. The use of Vienna Red malt, similar to English crystal, gives the beer an enticing amber-red colour.S- Toasty and biscuity (reminiscent of McVities Digestives), it is quite subtle though for what it's colour and 6.5% ABV suggest.