Morland (Greene King), Old Crafty Hen, 6.5%abv. (English Strong Ale)
This ale is “brewed with a blend of the famous Old 5X, which is aged using [Greene King’s] vintage oak vat maturing method”. Put in simple English, this is a blend of the 12%abv. stock ale fermented and aged in the old Greene King oak vats and Morland-brand Old Speckled Hen. Coming in a 500ml clear glass bottle, not bottle-conditioned; BB 08/2011, served cool in Gulden Draak’s tulip-shaped glass.
4/5 Appearance: pours a bright tawny to reddish copper hue, coming with a fast retreating fluffy beige head and rather mild carbonation.
4/5 Smell: the smell is lightly sweet, mixed of crystal malts, melted Demerara sugar, sweet oakiness imparted by the oak-ageing process and a light, pleasant touch of buttery diacetyl. A swirl and a closer sniff bring to mind white plum jam, semi-banana estery fruitiness, banana oil and deeply sweet honey-ish notes (along the lines of an English Barley Wine, in fact). All in all this is very different than the old Strong Suffolk Vintage (bottle-conditioned) which seems to have disappeared from the
4/5 Taste: the lightly effervescent swallow of nice semi-sour fruitiness (marinated yellow plums, sultana, and orange jam mainly) mixed with an old/stale-ish, faintly salty feel of aged ale is underlined by the delicately oaky flavour, gristy brown malts, and a chewy & faintly spicy palate
(from both hops and ageing, I believe), leading towards a pleasantly dry & bitter, somewhat herbal yet also burned-vegetable like finish, where aroma of bitter herb powder lingers subtly along with lightly toffee-ish maltiness.
4/5 Mouthfeel &4/5 Overall: the mouthfeel is mellow and smooth, the body is medium-plus and the flavour is decent though not really complex enough. I think this blend is not bad at all – I’m wondering what it might be like if bottle-conditioned…?
--Yau (tasted 04/12/2010; revisited 21/02/2013)
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