Morland Old Crafty Hen (Bottle)
Bottle: Pasteurised.
A blend of 10 - 14% Old 5X (aged up to 5 years in oak vats - and used in Strong Suffolk) and regular Old Speckled Hen.
"A distinctive malty taste with a satisfying, smooth raisin finish. This delicious dark amber ale is perfect for indulging yourself and your friends."
A blend of 10 - 14% Old 5X (aged up to 5 years in oak vats - and used in Strong Suffolk) and regular Old Speckled Hen.
"A distinctive malty taste with a satisfying, smooth raisin finish. This delicious dark amber ale is perfect for indulging yourself and your friends."
3.3
446 reviews
Bury St. Edmunds, England
Community reviews
Pours an amber colour ale with a white thin head
Notes of roasted toffee caramel and malt
Bottle version
Bottle enjoyed at home.
Heck, it's tasty. All on MALT. So so malty in both aroma and taste. Funnily enough I don't get a lot of sweetness.
Lots of dried red fruits, cranberries, prunes, but in balance with darker notes of tar and wood. As soon as it gets sweet there is a sour kick, not unpleasant but still quite shocking. Refreshing it is not but chilled down and considering the right setting, it's enjoyable. Boozy beer.
500ml colourless bottle, served in a straight pint glass. Slightly sour, with a hint of raisin and toffee. Brown beer with a nice white head. Not much aroma, but the after taste is not too bad. Flavour improved after standing for a few minutes and losing some of the carbonation. Pleasent enough, but I won't be rushing back for more.
13-May-14 (500-ml clear bottle: Sample bottle from the distributor)
This beer pours a slightly hazy, amber body with half an inch of off-white head that settles to a thin sheet and wide ring. The nose is medium-sweet, caramely, nutty, and toffee-like, which lead into malty flavors of sweet malt, nuts, toffee, caramel candy, fig, and some raisin. It's medium-plus in weight, medium but very soft in carbonation, and the finish is neither sweet nor dry, but in between, so the beer remains very drinkable. Overall, this is a very pleasing, malty beer, super easy to drink, very tasty. Although, I'm surprised that they call this a Vintage Ale when they don't bother to put a vintage date on the beer. Sounds like marketing to me. And with a clear bottle and no bottling or "drink by" dates to be found, one never knows how fresh the beer will be. All that said, I still like this beer a lot. You just don't find beers like this made in America.
500ml bottle brewed in England at 6.5%. Good-sized, ok duration head. Aroma of toffee and raisins and some of that English ale mineralesqueness - even a tad woody. Fairly dark toffee red in the glass, more caramel on the pour. Low carbonation. Somewhat complex, genteel toffee malt, faint aspects of vanilla and banana, pretty understated though. Slightly dry fruity, tad earthy hops merge well with it. Some of that Old Speckled Hen roughness on the mouthfeel, but only some of it - there's also a creaminess. A bit of warmth on the throat, but disguised somewhat in the roughness, and always welcome in the belly. Hints of the oak too - not bad at all this one, and a nice enough beer to mull over by the fire on a cold winter's night, but I can't help feeling more could be accomplished with the ABV, even while ticking all the same boxes - it's almost too mellow, being outcompeted in terms of raw flavour by Bishops Finger, Old Peculier, and even the 4.5% Spitfire might well give you more toffee malt than this, even if it's not quite as refined! Some people use this as an easy way to get a cheap (4 for 6 quid) 6.5%, 500ml beer down them, and fair play to them, but for the connoisseur it's still good, solidly good, but merely good. A malt-focused beer with a relatively subtle malt...but hey, it's nice, make no mistake. The high point is definite the delicate complexity. I just can't help feeling this could have been 5.5% instead and delivered all the same flavours (hell, I get the feeling a real master of the craft could have delivered this beer at 4.5%).
Prunes, malt and tobacco. Mellow and boozy strong ale that is old fashioned and comforting. Toffee and banana sweetness. Enjoyed on a cold dark October evening.
Mørkt lyst øl med grov skumkrone. Sødlig karamel agtig duft. Karamel, lidt whiskey og bitter.
Bottle. Chestnut brown, thin but sustained off white head and good condition. Pleasant sweet toffee, caramel, a slightly woody vanilla note and a touch of vinous fruitiness in the nose, toffee and vanilla sweet in the mouth with a gentle balance of typical Greene King hoppiness, finish is slightly woody and sweet with some lingering hop resin.
Dark reddish brown with a small tan head. Malty, slightly yeasty and musty aroma. Malty taste - biscuit, caramel, dried fruit, rich and sweet but with a hint of bitterness in the finish. Always liked the naming of this beer series - something folky and English about it.
Colour, a deep bronze. Nose of a wood beamed house on the Broads warmed by log fire. Notes of subtle wood, caramel and soft malt with a long deft bitter finish. Quite like this. Old school, but pleasant.
Amber kleurig. Weinig schuim. Complex bier met tonen van rood fruit, rozijnen en hout. Beetje zoet overgaand in een duidelijk bittertje.
Very easy to drink considering strength. Nice ale
500ml bottle. Very confused on this one (if anyone wants to shed any light?)! The aroma to me is completely skunked! As a malt driven beer I find this baffling. If I was blindfolded I would have guessed this beer to be golden in colour. It does have a slight oak aroma in the background. The taste, however, is completely different and the malts do completely come through. It is okay, but such a disconnected experience that it leaves me to rate it poorly.
Bottle from local coop. Crimson red in colour. Malty with a bit of sweetness. Notes of caramel and a hint of cream. Overall a nice strong ale worthy of its character name.
Fles 50cl thuis. Sticky mouthfeel, caramel, eikenhout duidelijk aanwezig, wat zurig, rozijn, wat rood fruit, zoeten, bitters, wat kruidig, zacht. Prima. (15-3-2019).
This is the Old Speckled Hen, but with a small injection of steroids. Bottle says raisons, which explains the extra flavor and ABV%. About the same style (ESB/Strong Ale), but liking this one better. Rating isn't that much different either (maybe 0.1 higher), but it seems even better than that. After finally trying Old Speckled, I wanted to give that one a second sample..but now it looks like I might have to sample these both again side-by-side.
500ml bottle from Stonemanor, The British Store near Brussels.
F: medium, tan, good retention.
C: coppery, clear.
A: malty, toffee, fruity, caramel, dried fruits, bit roasted tones.
T: solid malty backbone, raisins, toffee, dried fruits, woody touch, decent harmonic bitterness, medium body and carbonation, good balanced beer, enjoyable.
Piana skąpa kolor złoty klarowny. W aromacie lekki kwasek przypalany karmel. Smak podobnie karmel słodowość i niewiele diacetylu wyraźna metaliczna goryczka. Piwo bardzo dobre bez szału
Rami Rami is drinking a Morland Old Crafty Hen by Greene King at Pod Mosteczkiem
Chleb. Kapka karmelu. Malo ciala. Zero beczki. Ciut przyprawowosci. Troszke goryczki. Ale mimo powyzszych nawet fajnie chlalne. spoko, 3.15
Bottle. Clear brown appearance with bubbly white head. Sweet caramel like aroma. Malt and wood taste.
Clear amber/copper with an off-white head. Aroma of some aged spirit lets out the barrel aging secret. Taste is malty, rich, slightly boozy. Good.
Malty aroma, with a definite whiff of alcohol. Caramel and malt cone through on tasting. Clean and drinkable. Not what I’d usually choose to drink but decent.
Bottle. Clear amber with a very short-lived white head. Aroma of dark berries, malts and a little bit of diacetyl. Taste is malts, raisins, caramel, toffee, dried fruits, some wood and a hint of sherry. Alcoholic and slightly bitter aftertaste. Low to medium carbonation. It's alright.
Barwa bursztynowa, klarowna. Piwo przykrywa biała, średnio wysoka piana. redukuje się w średnim tempie.
Aromat: karmel, słodowość, nuty chlebowe i owocowe, są słodkie daktyle, figi i trochę ciemnych owoców. W tle bardzo delikatne akcenty drzewne mieszające się z ziołowymi.
Piwo jest nieco kwaśne i ta kwaśność, tak mi się przynajmniej wydaje związana z leżakowaniem w drzewie. Dalej mamy nuty ziołowe, owocowe i trawiaste. W pewnym sensie, smak z każdym łykiem jest bardziej zdominowany przez goryczkę. Ta ma charakter ziołowy, jest średnio długa, lekko ściągająca.
Piwo ma fakturę dość szorstką, charakteryzuje go średnia ilość ciała. Wysycenie średnie.
Bottle, 500 ml. Another great British ale, but this time with high ABV. Looks deep amber/light copper, decent beige creamy head. Aromas of sweet caramel and biscuit with a little bit of raisin in the back, and the typical bready British yeast is persistent. It's also lightly oaky gives a brandy-like feeling. The palate is rich and full, dominated by sweet toffee. Well balanced with a medium aftertaste.
Amber escuro brilhante.
Aroma com notas complexas de oxidaçao como vinilico, jerez, baunilha. Aroma de malte caramelo, avela, mel.
Corpo alto, aveludada. Media/baixa carbonatacao e amargor medio. Aftertaste caramelo, tosta leve. Final seco
Belle couleur ambrée, petite mousse. Nez caramel brun. Gout caramel brun, avec houblon un peu herbeux et note terreuse. Bonne amertume maltée avec sur caramel en fin de bouche.
Brown ale, small brown head. Bread, caramel, toffee, bitter. Ok beer.
300ml can. Pours coper with an off white head. Aroma is Christmas cake, orange peel, toffee, butter and dark fruit. Taste is Christmas cake, brandy soaked fruit and buttery toffee. Touch of oak cask in the finish. Satisfying strong ale.
Mörkröd med fint beige skum. Doftar sötmalt och kola, lite fruktigt. Smaken fyllig, maltig, lite fruktig. Eftersmaken hyggligt lång med maltsötma och torkad frukt.