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
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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7/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7
Bottle from Eebria [191214]
Pitch black, big frothy tan head
Aroma of roasted malts, dark malts, soft yeast, soft burnt notes
Taste of roasted malts, smooth dark malts, slight burnt note, bit nutty, soft dark chocolate, bit of an earthy note, yeast
Palate - soft carb, medium body, smooth, light sweet. Finish of soft dark malts.
Overall - Nice smooth milk stout
Tried from Bottle on 22 Dec 2014 at 17:07

6.5/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7
Bottle from Eebria [191214]
Light blonde, soft haze, bubbly white head that dissipates away
Aroma of soft sweet pale malts, light fruits
Taste of soft fruits, dab of cereal, soft sweet pale malts, light citrus, light spict hops, quite malty, nice flavour
Palate - Medium carb and body, light sweet, bit oily, smooth texture. Finish as main flavour, soft sweet, slightly dry, soft bitter bit spicy finish
Overall - Comes across as a decent Pilsener
Tried from Bottle on 22 Dec 2014 at 16:58

6.4/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
Bottle from Eebria [181214]
Amber orange, clear, massive off white head, over carbonated
Aroma - soft sweet fruits, bit jammy, orange, red berry fruits, nice aroma
Taste of sweet fruits, sweet caramel malts, fruity malts, soft sweet cereal, very low amount of hops for an IPA
Palate - soft carb (eventually), medium body, bit oily, sweet. Finish as main flavour, sweet malts, tad of bitter hop comes though
Overall - Not really an IPA, but nice fruits in here, easy and quaffable
Tried from Bottle on 22 Dec 2014 at 16:33

6.6/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
Bottle from Eebria [181214]
Caramel ruby brown, clear, frothy off white head, slight lacing
Aroma of caramel malts, red berries, slight strawberry, soft sweet hedgerow fruits
Taste of fruity malts, as aroma, red berry malts, soft hops, light strawberry, soft flavours, nice fruits in this
Palate - Medium carb and body, bit too fizzy, soft sweet. Finish of soft sweet fruits
Overall - Nice fruity malts in this, bottle was a bit fizzy. Probably better on cask.
Tried from Bottle on 22 Dec 2014 at 16:28

7.9/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 8 Flavor 9 Texture 6 Overall 8.5
Bottle at home, 20th December 14. 2012 Vintage, this poured a surprising large head, the beer is black. The aroma gives ash, some barrel, liquorice, leather, good. Taste is smooth, and the palate perfect, plenty of the oak comes through, and the taste is ashy, slightly smokey, leather. Very good and far superior to the un aged version. Will save the other bottles for a few years.
Tried from Bottle on 20 Dec 2014 at 16:39

7.1/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7.5
Bottle at home. Pours black, nose is light chocolate roast, taste is sweet, creamy, light roast.
Tried from Bottle on 15 Dec 2014 at 08:13

6/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 6
Bottle at home. Pours deep amber, nose is dull toffee, taste is dry, toffee, crisp, little fizzy.
Tried from Bottle on 15 Dec 2014 at 08:12

5.8/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 5 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 6
Bottle at home. Pours clear pale amber, nose is toffee, ligth apple, taste is sweet, dry, toffee, floral.
Tried from Bottle on 08 Dec 2014 at 08:28

6.6/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7.5
Bottle at home, 6th December 14. Aroma, caramel, sweet malts. Taste is clean, not too sweet, caramel, some banana, good malt. Not bad for sipping by the fire
Tried from Bottle on 06 Dec 2014 at 14:37

8.8/10 Appearance 10 Aroma 8 Flavor 9 Texture 8 Overall 9
275ml bottle at home, 2010 vintage, courtesy of Alex (Nightfall). Black color with very nice frothy creamy brown head. Aroma is roasted malty, chocolate and coffee, wood notes, rum like light alcohol, dark fruits - prunes - raisins. Taste is sweet and bitter, like the aroma but slightly better, chocolate again, light coffee, wood ad dark fruits. full body oily to creamy, soft carbonation, nice roasted malty finish with chocolate coffee and fruits. I drank the whole bottle in 10 minutes and I want more! thanks Alex!
Tried from Bottle on 04 Dec 2014 at 12:37