Another judged... another blogged!

It's All About the Beer, Buddy

Another judged... another blogged!

Hello again ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to another blog! Today we are testing out an old favourite...

So without further ado...

The colour is amazing

2. Morland - "Old Crafty Hen" - Alc.Vol. 6.5%

I've had this one before. I had it about 5 days into London... Well... Essex really, which is not London, but from an Aussies point of view, it's one and the same

I've decided to have a go at Old Crafty Hen, before the more well known Old Speckled Hen, just because this beer is oak aged, and is a premium dark and malty bitter. I love the colour. It's a colour you don't get that much of in Oz (from now on Australia, or "Straya" will be known as Oz, simply because we live in a land just like the movie, and it was once a prison planet...), and through this Oak-Aged process, it comes with this rather beautiful colour

The only problem is that people usually have this at room temperature. Now as an Aussie, it's almost a cardinal sin to drink a beer at room temperature. But after drinking so many beers, and wines, and liqueurs, you know you have to drink as the locals do. So I had a go at this at room temp...

Emptied

NOT BAD... you can get a real toffee taste, which really matches the colour. I could get the dried fruit, raisiny taste, like Sunbeam raisins that we get in Oz. When you breath it in, you get a lovely oak taste, a little burnt maybe, but that just gives it taste. A great taste.

On the bottle - Aroma - Toffee and raisins; Taste - Toffee malt combined with dried fruit for a complex richness. And that complex richness does it wonders, which compliments the colour and the aroma perfectly. The Master Brewer at Morland has created a pure belter for the English drinkers whom like to have a room temp beer. And this beer is well respected, and consumed in quite large amounts. And it's amazing with cheese... Let me be the judge of that, eh?...

So... here I am with some Fully Matured Cheddar. A lovely sort actually... Grated, so I can get the full flavour with the beer...

Oh my lord!!!

I cannot believe the way this beer
is with cheese!!!! More please!!!

Get me more cheese - STAT!!! I have never quite experienced a beer that does this. It gives the cheese that red wine & cheese feel. You know, when you have a dinner party you're cooking for, and the guests are there, and you pull out the cheese for and appetizer (or even dessert), and you can't help but pop a bottle of red with some Camembert or Brie, and they just go so amazingly together...?

Well this beer does the same thing. I will now be drinking this on alternate dinner parties! It's totally marvelous! A big wow!

However, I'm not sure I could neck these all day. It is a quite robust beer. It's almost like a Belgian Monk beer - like a Duval or a Trappiste... And it's rather heavy. But rather low on fizz..

So... down to the nitty gritty...

• Sight - 7 - Very dark and foreboding, with the pour being very slow as a head can and will puff. Colour is marvelous
• Smell - 7 - I think it has a rather weak smell
• Taste - 8.5 - good drop, very good. And because of the taste with cheese rated very high
• Feel - 7.5 - thick, nice as it flows in the mouth
• Aftertaste - 7.5 - nice, the toffee and raisin flavours really stick out, but not unpleasantly
• Pleasure - 7 - I do like it, but it's not for everyone, as it is a room temp beer
• Ability - 7 - this is a vintage beer, so it's for the conneseirs 
• Encore - 7 - I could, but only in milder climes
• Reputable - 7 - it's well known in the U.K., so that's a pretty good beef
• Purchase - 7 - not the first time I've had it, but it seems unusually hard to get here in the U.K.

So... drum roll please...

Out of 10 I will be giving it  - 7.5 out of 10

This is certainly a well aged beer, but the fact that it goes with cheese (on of my favourite foods ever!), gives it the extra oomph that I like. I will be telling my mates to try this instead of a wine with cheese sometime soon.

Once again, please your input is needed and respected, so please put something down on here, and give your own reviews to this fine beer...

Until my next review on my tour around the world...

Cheers! And drink on!

Beer Bud