Alengrin
Ghent, Belgium 🇧🇪 MemberOptions
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Alengrin (11609) reviewed Old Golden Hen (Cask) from Morland 6 months ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
The ‘golden ale’ counterpart to Morland’s Old Speckled Hen, one of those famous old-timey English pale ales, launched in 1979 for a car factory and now – like this one – produced by Greene King’s. Tapped at Ma Cameron’s, the oldest pub in Aberdeen and a lovely place in my experience. Snow white, creamy, dense, tiny-bubble, medium sized head on a practically clear, deep golden robe with pale orangey tinge. Aroma of pronounced melting butter (diacetyl), barley porridge, pear peel, apple blossom, raw sweet potato, moist white pepper, plaster, wood glue and a whiff of damp cellar in the background. Restrainedly fruity onset, some green banana, unripe peach and vague persimmon, soft effervescence with very slick and creamy, ‘buttery’ body, the diacetyl effect continuing in the mouth but not unpleasantly so – at least if you can appreciate its presence in these British cask ales. Cereally finish gently yet efficiently bittered by floral and grassy hops, not harshly so, but enough to be quenching. Stereotypical and straightforward golden ale doing what it is intended for – an easy drinker of humble but pleasant flavours.
Alengrin has a new beer style achievement
Level 4 for Pale Ale - Classic English ticks with a total of 25 ticks of this sub style.
Ma Cameron's Pale Ale from Greene King was the one that did it!
6 months ago
Alengrin (11609) reviewed Ma Cameron's Pale Ale from Greene King 6 months ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
House beer of Ma Cameron’s, Aberdeen’s oldest pub, now in its third century of existence; apparently brewed at Greene King’s so I took my chances. Pint from tap there (where else) during a lovely meal involving haggis, hake and tomato soup. Creamy, snow white, dense and stable head on a hazy peach blonde robe with ochre-yellow hue. Aroma of freshly mown lawn, raw white bread dough, fresh dandelion leaf, young mugwort, beech leaves, pumice, dry oatmeal, green banana. Fruity-ish onset but not sweet, hints of unripe apricot and green banana with soft carb – nitro-tapped in this case, so ‘nitration’ in a sense, if admittedly improperly used; very creamy, silky mouthfeel, enhancing a grainy, wheat-flour and white-bread-tinged pale maltiness flavoured with very grassy and green-leafy hoppiness turning slightly wormwoody in the end. The hops feel very freshly green and have enough bittering power to establish a quenching ending. Typical modern British golden ale more than a true classic pale ale, but regardless of that, it has this very ‘freshly cut weed’ greenness to it, as if walking through a summer meadow – I could drink gallons of it.
Alengrin
added a new beer
Ma Cameron's Pale Ale
by
Greene King
6 months ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Flavoured stout by this well-established craft brewery in West Yorkshire; can from the Marks & Spencer in Union Square, Aberdeen. Yellowish beige, medium sized, ‘Brugse kant’-like lacing, firm head over a very dark chocolate brown robe – as good as black, but still visibly dark brown, if you get my drift. Aroma of sticky toffee pudding, chocolate crisps, brownies soaked in liqueur, fig compote, praliné, Belgian chocolates, blueberry crumble, pear syrup, actual blueberries somewhere, very vague hints of miso and beef olives. Densely sweet onset yet not nowhere as sweet and sticky as feared, fruity touches of blueberry, pear and fresh fig, softly carbonated with very full, rounded mouthfeel – creamy alright, but not in a lactose-induced way. Layers of thick toffee, Macadamia nuttiness, brown bread dough and evidently dark chocolate follow, thoroughly toffeeish yet managing to keep avoiding exaggerated sweetness – ending supple and sweet but not sticky, with a roasty coffeeish element for balance, a herbal hop note and warming to eventually lightly astringent, whisky-like alcohol. This is liquid sticky toffee pudding, but without the overt stickiness – in fact it proved far less sweet than the average pastrys stout today and did not show a trace of that overexposed lactose. This is one flavoured stout I can hugely appreciate, for being both restrained and utterly convincing at once.
Alengrin (11609) reviewed Chubbles from Cloudwater Brew Co 6 months ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 8
‘Imperial’ NEIPA made in collaboration between two breweries, one English and one American, that are strongly associated with the style; can from an organic shop in Aberdeen. Even-bubbled but loosely knit, off-white, open ‘head’ quickly dissolving into nothing; milky yellow robe with ochre tinge, turning beige in the end. Aroma of fresh orange juice and honey pomelo flesh, Screwdriver, passionfruit lemonade, diesel, gin, fresh milk, raw green bell peppers, green guava, leek, dried lemon zest, hints of old cheddar and freshly cut garden weeds (thistles). Juicy onset but far less sweet than expected, hinting at freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, green kiwi and even kiwi berry, with unripe guava and prickly pear at the sides; soft carb, full ‘milky’ and creamy body. Doughy pale maltiness under a notably grapefruity, ‘green-weedy’ hoppiness, adding rather above average bitterness for this style yet without hindering the juiciness; the bitterness is likely a bit accentuated by warming, wodka-ish alcohol, which otherwise admittedly behaves decently. Retronasal notes of maracuja, guava and pond water pass by along with sweaty, dank elements placing this creation firmly in the NEDIPA / NETIPA range. More ‘green’ and grapefruity than I tend to expect from this style, less sweet and tropical, but still very much ‘juice’ – so I am sure it appeals to many present-day haze boys.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Collab between a traditional (19th century) and a postmodern ‘craft’ (21st century) English brewery: something interesting must come out of that. Can from a Marks & Spencer supermarket in Aberdeen. Pale yellowish beige, regular, dense and creamy, membrane-lacing head on a black robe with faint burgundy glow. Aroma of burnt blackcurrants, dry caramel, brown bread crust, charred wood, dried dates, cold espresso, background notes of raisins, salmiak, minerals and haemoglobin (iron). Smooth, clean, sleek onset, some very basic medlar- and dried blueberry-ish fruitiness more related to malts than to esters, dry from the beginning, remaining very low in sweetness with very soft, tiny-bubbled ‘nitro’ carbonation effect and therefore creamy, slick mouthfeel. Dry-caramelly, toasted-brown-bready malt core, quickly turning roasty bitter, supported by wormwoody, rooty hop bitterness, combining into a long, dry, roasty, tonic-, leather- and charcoal-tinged finish, in which a thin trace of dark, bitter, unsugared chocolate lingers. Stubbornly old-fashioned dry stout unrelated to all those sweet (let alone pastry) stout evolutions of the past two decades, this beer is utterly solid, polished, focused and technically finetuned to perfection – I love a stout like this.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 8
Bottled English "best" bitter brewed in London with what is probably the single most classic hop variety in the genre, Fuggle. Off-white, moussey, medium thick, stable, lacing head over a clear deep golden robe with orangey glow and vague olive-greenish shades; small and 'natural' disparate bubbles everywhere. Aroma of Duyvis 'borrelnootjes' and toasted peanuts, Graham crackers, old cheese rind, rusk, dry rosemary-flavoured crostini, cumin seed, Tuscany ragù stewed for hours, croissants, dried tomato peel, toasted shallot. Restrainedly fruity onset, dried apricot, roasted pumpin and tamarillo, medium carbonation with soft, smooth body; bread-crusty, rusk- and peanut-like soft-toasty maltiness, mildly bittering under a growing grassy, ever so slightly cheesy hoppiness, adding further peppery bittering effects as well as general quenching dryness. The whole maintains a perfect balance between the soft toasty bitterishness of the malts and the more spicy and outspoken bitterness of the hops. The Fuggle shines here in all its aspects, more so than it usually does (as it has a reputation for being a bit dull) and the beer in general shows no flaws, only balance, smoothness and downright tastiness. Excellent best bitter - but given that I had it from a bottle, I wonder what this would taste like fresh from the cask...
Alengrin (11609) reviewed Wee Jock from Broughton Ales 6 months ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
One of the rare 80/- Scottish ales still surviving today - the lighter variants, in various degrees of strength historically linked to respective tax brackets, of the much more familiar Scotch ale or wee heavy. Bottle from a supermarket in Aberdeen. Pale greyish off-white, moussey, opening, irregular but well-retaining head on a clear chestnut brown robe with coppery glow and disparate, tiny-bubbled sparkling. Aroma of roasted beech nuts, slightly burnt toast, iron (as in wet rusty nails), dry tree leaves, dried medlar, spring water, tea, wet bricks, dry caramel, earthy note. Cleanly fruity onset, some dried fig and wee pear, low in sweetness with sharpish carbonation (yet small-bubbled and working well at this ABV), smooth non-sweet caramelliness in the middle with roasted nut shell- to even very lightly coffee grounds-like toasty bitterness, though more bitterness eventually comes from leafy, herbal hops, all combining into a dryingly bitter, long ending, feeling quite 'full' in relation to ABV. You do not see this type of beers every day anymore, not even in Scotland, and if you do, it is usually an 80/- (the lower 'tax brackets' are all but extinct) so this was exciting enough for me as a means to delve deeper into this elusive style - and straightforward and 'sleek' as it was, it was certainly an enjoyable beer.
Alengrin (11609) reviewed Old Jock Ale (Bottle) from Broughton Ales 6 months ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Scotch or wee heavy bought at a supermarket in Aberdeen, shared with Goedele. Thin and open, tiny-bubbled, pale greyish beige head over a clear, deep mahogany brown robe with ruddy highlights and lots of lively sparkling. Aroma of wet toast, dry caramel, old walnut shells, diluted chicory, butterscotch, medlar, pear skin, tea, 'Haagse hopjes', dried bayleaf. Sweetish, rounded onset, subtle notes of medlar, pear and blueberry with a vague red plum-ish sourish edge, medium carbonation, slick but quite full body. Smooth butterscotch- and caramel-like maltiness with brown-bready accents, slowly developing a mild toasty bitter side somewhat reminiscent of chicory, but remaining altogether rather subtle for the style; light herbal, tea-ish hops in the end, becoming a bit more spicy eventually. Classically styled, balanced, clean and easygoing example of a perhaps somewhat underrated style. Certainly enjoyed this one - in the setting of an old-fashioned Scottish hotel, which may have added to the experience...