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 UK market (?) – this one shows much more straight-forward sweet fruitiness and much less lactic-oaky complexities, while the sweet oakiness seems to be more pronounced.