Morland Old Golden Hen

You can't really go wrong with Morland's (now Greene King) Hen range so I thought I'd give award winning Old Golden Hen a try.  Just look at that beautiful golden pint - it's like sunshine in a glass!  It's a deep golden beer with a loose, frothy cream coloured head.  The head doesn't last long, although what is there does cling to the side of the glass.

The aroma is very hoppy with hints of tropical fruit, along with some malty biscuit and caramel once it settles in the glass.  It's so hoppy at first that the aroma wafts out of the bottle as soon as it is opened.

Unsurprisingly, with such a strong hoppy aroma, it tastes deliciously hoppy with a hint of fruit drizzled with caramel.  It's very crisp dry and refreshing with medium body and an abundance of hop filled bubbles that fizz around your mouth with each sip.

Although I felt like I should be enjoying it in a beer garden on a sunny day, it can also bring the sunshine indoors on a grey day.  Old Golden Hen is a lovely golden beer that Ale Be Seeing again.

Brewed by Morland Brewing, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
4.1% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

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Allendale Black Grouse

This deliciously dark porter smells amazing with aromas of treacle, chocolate and coffee and a slight smokiness due to being brewed with oak chips.  The loose beige head disappears very quickly, so don't blink or you'll miss it, and it leaves you with a glass of something that resembles coke but the mouthwatering taste definitely compensates for the lack of head.

The mouthfeel is quite an experience as you start to taste treacle and liquorice whilst dark chocolate bubbles stroke and lightly tickle your tongue before bursting in a mini chocolate explosion.  It's so delicious that it goes down far too easily and would be a perfect drink on a cold winter's night sitting beside the fire with a good book.

I love the strong treacle and liquorice toffee taste, it has a bit of a fruity sweetness at first closely followed by a bitter chocolate aftertaste.  There is also a hint of flavour that reminded me of whiskies brewed in sherrywood casks, so don't be put off by the description of this ale being brewed with oak chips.  The flavours are perfectly balanced, making Black Grouse a top notch porter and Ale Be Seeing You Again!

Brewed by Allendale Brewery, Northumberland

4% ABV

My rating:

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