Tolly Cobbold was the name of a closed brewery in Suffolk some years ago. Greene King have resurrected the name and added the bird that rise’s out of the ashes to the beers name. The 500ml clear bottle had a best before date of July 2011, drank and reviewed on 18th Jan 2011. Poured into an Abbot Ale glass tankard: the beer looked lovely, a bright yet deep amber body with a thin off-white head on top. The smells were of toffee apple sweetness, with a malty caramel feel. The initial taste is malty and semi-sweet, the hops appear as the mouth drys, but adding little bitterness. Easy to drink and well balanced (hops maybe hiding a little), I like the sweeter, maltier tasting English Bitters, so this is appealing to me.

Bottle at home in London. Pours clear, rich gold with a soft, white foam head. Light caramel and doughy malts in the nose. Lightly sweet flavor with hints of toasted malts and caramel and light, leafy bitterness. Light bodied with fine, tingly carbonation. Faintly sticky, sweet finish with weak hops and light, toasted caramel. The character is fairly weak but it isn’t bad.

50cl bottle from Tesco. Amber with a loose, fast fading, white head; malty aroma with some dusty hops; medium bodied with chewy malts; and a long dry caramel finish with some reasonable underlying hops. This is rather good - looks like these new 2.8% beers could be a success!

500ml bottle. Pours amber with a medium head. Aroma is vanilla and caramel malt with a skunky hint. Taste has skunk along with sweet vanilla and caramel on the finish. Watery.

3rd February 2011
Woolpack Chelmsford. Clear brown beer. Suddy off white head. Sweet dry malt with a touch of fruit. Sweet average beer!

50cl bottle from Tescos, Camberley. Rather better that the average GK bottle, but this doesn’t really remind me of the Tolly I used to drink in Norfolk a few decades ago. Pours a reddish amber with a cream head; has a fruity aroma I can’t quite put my finger on; sugary malty flavour with some juicy hops to finish - slightly on the sour side, which isn’t bad.

Bottle that I picked up from Tesco, consumed at Shrewsbury Folk Festival 27.08.10 Pours amber with a white head, toffee and boiled sweets on nose and in mouth, bit fruity some biscuity malts, dusty hops, bit dead and not a great beer. A5 A4 T5 P3 Ov10 2.7

Cask at the Cumberland ... dark copper ... tan bubbly head ... raisinf and frui malt nose ... chocolate malts ... sweet dark fruits .... some plum ... some raisins

Cask conditioned at The Crown, Charlton On Otmoor 28-07-06. Dark reddish amber coloured beer, with a large frothy white head. A decent enough uncomplicated malty session bitter that provides us with an alternative to the ubiquitous GK IPA.