Old Chimneys

Client Brewer in Diss, Suffolk, England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
Associated Venue: Old Chimneys Brewery - Out of business

Established in 1995

Contact
Hopton End Farm, Church Road, Market Weston, Diss, IP22 2NX, England
+44 1359 221411
Description
Old Chimneys Brewery was started in 1995 by Alan Thomson, a Master Brewer who celebrated 40 years of brewing in 2017.

Located in Market Weston on the Norfolk/Suffolk border, Old Chimneys has achieved an enviable reputation for beer quality. The flagship brand,
Good King Henry Special Reserve, has for 8 years been the highest rated English beer on ratebeer.com

Alan ceased brewing at Market Weston in April 2019 to concentrate on collaborative brewing with top quality brewers in the UK and abroad,
starting with Grain (Norfolk), Northern Monk (Leeds) and Wylam (Newcastle).

The regular Good King Henry is now brewed under Alan’s supervision at Grain Brewery. The strength has been increased to 10% abv, and for the first time in 20 years it is available in KeyKeg as well as cask.

Changed to a client brewer as of 2019 on Brewver as Alan continues to brew elsewhere with the Old Chimneys name, mostly at Grain Brewery.
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Stuu
Stuu (35231) ticked
Good King Henry Special Reserve (2014) from Old Chimneys
7 years ago
8/10
Tried from Bottle on 27 Aug 2018 at 19:35
Stuu
Stuu (35231) reviewed
Red Stag from Old Chimneys
7 years ago
6.4/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
Bottle at Craigs. Pours clear orange, nose is marzipan, tangerine, toffee, taste is grassy, bitter, almond, little varnish.
Tried from Bottle on 27 Aug 2018 at 18:22
cagarvie
cagarvie (40287) reviewed
Black Swan from Old Chimneys
7 years ago
8/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
Bottle at the hanging bat... Dark black... Small tan head.. Soft sweet licorice chocolate roast malts nose.. Dark sweet chocolate roast malts.. Soft chocolate.. Light licorice chocolate roast malts..
Tried from Bottle on 24 Aug 2018 at 12:36
Cheeseboard
Cheeseboard (6389) reviewed
King Alfred's Cake Baltic Porter from Old Chimneys
8 years ago
6.9/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7.5
Bottle online from the brewery. Pours deep dark brown to black with a frothy tan head. Aroma: dark chocolate, burnt sugar, raisins, dark fruits. Taste: moderate to heavy sweet, roasted malts, toffee, bitter chocolate, cola cubes, dark fruits, berries. Medium bodied, frothy carb, dry bitter roast close. Liquid fruit cake
Tried from Bottle on 16 Aug 2018 at 20:14
LazyPyro
LazyPyro (10600) reviewed
Oxeye from Old Chimneys
8 years ago
6.5/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 6
330ml bottle via EeBria. Pours hazy orange-brown with a large beige head. Aroma is malty, earthy, biscuity, fruits. Taste is boozy, malty, earthy, biscuity, fruity, floral, bitter, boozy finish. Medium bodied, soft carbonation. Hmm... not really my thing. It's as if they've massively amped up the booze on an English Bitter, which just doesn't work in my opinion.
Tried from Bottle on 30 Jul 2018 at 00:56
Mabuzzer
Mabuzzer (2123) reviewed
Good King Henry (-2019) from Old Chimneys
8 years ago
8/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
330ml bottle via Eebria. Thick and black with a big tan head that foamed away quickly. Aroma is raspberries and dark chocolate. Flavour is more of the same, with fruit cake and big boizy notes. Excellent
Tried from Bottle on 13 Jul 2018 at 23:26
jefverstraete
jefverstraete (7490) reviewed
Red Admiral from Old Chimneys
8 years ago
9.1/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 9 Flavor 9 Texture 10 Overall 9.5
Bottle from a trade. Many thanks. Shared with tderoeck. Bottle 318. Dark brown colour, beige foam. Sweet nose of dark fruit, plums, some vanilla, whisky. Taste is sweet, malty, very complex. Wonderfull beer!
Tried from Bottle on 09 Jul 2018 at 09:15
tderoeck
tderoeck (23911) reviewed
Good King Henry Special Reserve (2015) from Old Chimneys
8 years ago
8.6/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 9 Flavor 10 Texture 6 Overall 8.5
Split off as a separate vintage entry from my combined rating on ratebeer:

7/VII/18 - 275ml bottle @ JefVerstraete's place - BB: 28/I/27, 2015 vintage (2018-xxx) A huge thanks to JefVerstraete for sharing this delicacy!

Ar: 9, Ap: 4, T: 10, P: 3, O: 17, Total: 4.3/5
Clear dark brown beer, small creamy brown head, little stable, bit adhesive. Aroma: lots of chocolate, malty, bit of coffee, cocoa powder. MF: soft carbon, medium to full body. Taste: bit sour, sweet, malty, slightly oxidized, soft bitterness, lots of chocolate. Aftertaste: chocolaty and malty, alcohol, bit oxidized, sugary, soft roast, really nice stuff!
Tried from Bottle on 07 Jul 2018 at 20:02
tderoeck
tderoeck (23911) reviewed
Red Admiral from Old Chimneys
8 years ago
9.4/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 10 Flavor 10 Texture 8 Overall 9.5
Imported from my RateBeer account as Old Chimneys Red Admiral (by Old Chimneys Brewery):
Aroma: 10/10, Appearance: 4/5, Taste: 10/10, Palate: 4/5, Overall: 19/20, MyTotalScore: 4.7/5

7/VII/18 - 275ml bottle @ JefVerstraete's place - BB: 28/I/27, 2017 vintage, bottle #185/380 (wait, what?) (2018-825) A huge thanks to JefVerstraete for sharing this delicacy!

Clear dark brown beer, creamy beige head, pretty stable, adhesive, leaving some lacing in the glass. Aroma: lots of strawberry jam, sugary, malty. MF: soft carbon, full body, creamy texture. Taste: bit oxidized, sugary, malty, slightly bitter, alcohol, caramel, fudge, omfg this is so good! Aftertaste: lovely stuff going on here, sugary, alcohol, malt notes, caramel, super nice beer!
Tried from Bottle on 07 Jul 2018 at 20:01
Mabuzzer
Mabuzzer (2123) reviewed
King Alfred's Cake Baltic Porter from Old Chimneys
8 years ago
7.9/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
330ml bottle. Deep dark brown with a moderate off white head. Rich aroma of chocolate and fruit cake. Flavour is light spice, plum and fruit cake. Excellent
Tried from Bottle on 02 Jun 2018 at 21:41