Morland Hen’s Tooth

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

Serve in English pint, Trappist glass

Orange-amber pour with a half-inch white head. Tangy hops and malt in the nose ... very English. Must be the Goldings. Flavor is earthy and tangy, sweet with a pleasantly bitter bite in the finish. Nice.

Rated 1/19/07: Very intriguing beer here, unique would be an understatement. Crystal copper pour, touches of ruby sparkle through. Nice thick white head good retention, slow steady stream of carbonation. The aroma initially stings the nose, it seems sour but I’m not sure if that’s accurate. Let it sit out and warm a bit and the odd scent intensifies (in a very good way). Calm and lightly malty at first, this hen pecks you immediately as the beer hits the back of you mouth. I’m having trouble finding descriptive words here but it’s yeasty with a good dose of sour fruitiness. Sour is prevelent in my head but that doesn’t seem quite right. An entertainingly odd brew that does become rather inviting. Smooth and relatively easy with a remarkable dry finish. One of a kind!

Originally rated January 2007. Caution ! Beer might explode out of the bottle once open (even if not shaken). Lost 75% of the beer itself, all over my counter and spoons, knives and forks (drawer was open to get the bottle-opener). Sediments were at the bottom of the bottle, and bottle is clear... so easy to see them move around. The beer itself is slightly hazy amber-caramel coloured. The nose is fruity, with peaches, strawberries and oranges. A little sticky mouthfeel that is not bad. Good bitterness in the taste with the fruit in the back and a nice alcohol feel. Not a bad beer, just wish I had more to drink from the bottle I bought.

Bottle from LCBO. Pours a medium gold with a huge creamy off white shiny lasting head. Brown body with carbonation. Light, faintly citric malty aroma. Sweetish dark caramel taste with strong nutty notes and a touch of wood and metal. A bit low on taste, but good all the same. Sadly, despite the hype, this is inferior to the very pedestrian Speckled Hen.

Well… not really a fan of this one. The beer looked nice sitting in the glass. Hazey bronze body and a tall white head. The aroma has some earthy yet spicy hop characteristics. There was some unnecessary sweetness that I didn’t much care for… as it seemed somewhat contrived. I think it was the house yeast that I found most off-putting. Too doughy, tart, like green nuts… All the fruity esters held a compounded bitterness of rotting fruits…. I just didn’t dig it. The mouth-feel was rather pleasant though!

bottle conditioned: are you kidding me, nobody likes hens tooth!!! nice robust malty flavor and great british hops that are pretty mellow. some sweetness possibly from the high 6.5ABV. drink it an enjoy, not as good as it used to be, because now the greene king is brewing it. long live cask ale.

Nice dark amber color with a medium sized head on top. The aroma is a faint nutty malt smell, not too impressive. Flavor is medium on the malt side, and medium on the bitterness. I suspect this bottle isn’t the freshest it could be for this specimine, but I bet the clear bottle doesnt help either.

Bottle. Slightly bubbly and ruby, bubbly huge white head that dies quickly. Plenty of bitter hops in the nose. Some aroma of soap. Very carbonated in the mouth, Sweetness, caramel, malts, touch of harsh hops, smoothness in palate and easy drinking. Not great, too carbonated, but a good one to try.