Morland Hens Tooth

Brewed by Greene King
Style: English Strong Ale
Bury St. Edmunds, England

Whether disheartening or not, yeast is found in bottom of bottle (continues to ferment on the shelf). Deep amber, some head and bubbles. Very tart, a bit sour. Perhaps more bite than necessary. Takes like non-malted alchohol. Crisp, almost refreshing. Definitely fermented! Probably won’t buy again.

Bottle. Deep and clear ambercooured beer underneath a rich offwhite head. Floral English hops aroma. Sweet maltiness, a hint of sourness, developing towards a dry,somewhat woody finish. Solid perfumy bitterness throughout as well as warming alcohol. Well above average.

Nice sized head, expecting it to be sweeter than it was, but was hopped nicely, Some Caramel flavor, but abit one dementional. Still a decent drink though.

Bottle. Amber with creamy head. Lotsa malts, lotsa hops. Good palate and mouthfeel. Liked the hops alot..

A deep brown-tinted amber hued body supports a decently large, creamy white head that fades a bit quick. Tart, borderline sour, acidity leaps to the aroma forefront, bursting of Fuji apples and white grapes. Bready malts and doughy yeast combine, trailing along a thin streak of caramel. Limp, earthy hops take the rear in this motley crew. The flavor begins with a more discernable malt profile of toasted white bread and caramel alongside the beginnings of a fruity acidity. Mid-palate reveals a dank, doughy yeast element competing with a stale, sour sensation. The finish is full of bright apples, nearly cloistering away the minimal hop presence completely. The texture is rather too syrupy and the weight too heavy, only to be distorted by over-carbonation, as if it were some sort of compensation. The apple/grape sour-acidity is fine by me, but everything going on at mid-palate is a disaster. A slightly stronger malt profile would go along way or, alternatively, so would brisker hops. The body is simply too full and sticky for the flavor and the carbonation does not make up for this fact. Thinned out with softer carbonation, this would have been far more bearable. 50cL bottle, Burgundy glass.

Sour aroma and taste. Not balanced well but becomes more complex as it warms. Still nothing to write home about, especially for the price.

From the Imperial pint clear bottle. No surprizes on the amber color due to the clear bottle. I thought I had opened a light struck Heineken. Pee yoo!. Who let the skunk out? It should have fit in an imperial pint glass, but it overflowed with foam which left to a pathetic patch of uneven bubbles adrift in an irregualar pattern, kinda like skin cancer. The taste was pure aluminum can. How do they do that? Some malt, some hops, yep, it’s beer. Not much more to say about this over priced English ale. I can only wish that it is as rare as a hen’s tooth. Thanks for the yeast, anyway.

On bottle at Tromsø Ølfestival 17 Aug 06. Cognac-like colour. A large creamy head. A sourish citric flavour. Some hints of caramel. A dry bitter finish. The overall impression is sourish. Refreshing and a bit different.