Old Speckled Hen (Cask)
(Batch of Old Speckled Hen)
Morland in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England 🏴
Bitter - ESB / Strong Bitter Regular|
Score
6.13
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A high proportion of Crystal malt in Old Speckled Hen provides the key toffee/caramel flavour. The yeast used to ferment the beer provides the other key character - estery or banana/pear drop. This estery note provides the fruity and refreshing balance. The hops used add a palate cleansing herbal note and very slight orange citrus. A very malty, full bodied and warming ale.
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6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Half pint from the cask at the Snooty Fox, Three Bridges. Pours amber with a white head. Aromas & tastes of caramel, grain & malt. Moderate body. Smooth finish.
Tried
from Cask
on 19 Oct 2025
at 12:08
7.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6.5
Flavor 9
Texture 7
Overall 6.5
Cask at Hogarths, Stafford – though I have drunk it several times in the past. Pours “bitter brown” with a sizable (but transient) off-white head and good lacing. The aroma is surprisingly fruity with oranges, bitter hops and hints of plums. In the mouth it fluctuates between sweet and bitter. Fruits are evident in the flavour too with malts, bananas, pear-drops and some hoppiness. Traces of orange and toffee come through later leading to a fruity and slightly dry finish. This is decent – much better than I was expecting.
Tried
from Cask
on 30 Sep 2025
at 13:00
6.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Cask at North End Pub, Leiden. Dark brown coloured brew with an Irish Red draught appearance, if you know what I mean.
Tried
from Cask
on 29 Dec 2024
at 11:42
6.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Creamy off white head stayed on a reddish brown coloured body. Malt, caramel, toffee & berry tastes. Much nicer on Cask than bottle. Nice one
Tried
from Cask
on 03 Mar 2024
at 16:42
6.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Cask, pint at The Gordon Highlander. It pours clear chestnut brown with a sturdy beige head. The aroma is nutty, woody, bitter - sweet, touch of resin, toffee, brown bread and old leather sofa. The taste is firmly dry, earthy bitterness, nutty, woody, leather, touch of spice, dusty, brown bread, toffee and cacao nibs with a dry, nutty finish. Average body and fine, fluffy carbonation. Perfectly ok and is quite a bit better on cask than in bottle.
Tried
from Cask
on 09 Jan 2024
at 12:56
6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Cask, half pint. @The Flying Horse, Gatwick Airport (UK). 19/02/2023 [#6.019 Global - #779 England - #1 Greene King Brewery (My English brewery #259)] Pours amber with an off-white head. Good lacing. Aroma: rye malts, caramel and nuts. Taste: caramelly malts, nutty and mild toffee. Next one please!
Tried
from Cask
on 23 Mar 2023
at 09:52
7.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
På Three Elms, Hereford. Takk til Rune som opplyste meg at jeg IKKE hadde denne. Mørk gylden. Lavt tett skum med litt farge. God smørmaltaroma. Smaken karamell & frukt. + kjeks. Tørr, karamellpreget avslutning. Klassisk engelsk bitter!
Tried
on 17 Oct 2022
at 14:52
10/10
Tried
on 07 Aug 2022
at 14:17
6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Cask at the booking office. Pours golden, nose is floral, biscuity, toffee, taste is similar.
Tried
from Cask
on 11 Oct 2017
at 10:21
6.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Cask at the Farmhouse, Kesgrave. Backlog rating from historic scoring. No tasting notes kept, just rating. Better than bottled version.
Tried
from Cask
on 14 Sep 2017
at 01:16