Speckled Hen (Morland Old Speckled Hen)

Member Name: english_student

Product:	Morland Old Speckled Hen
Date:	27/01/09 (60 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A decent beer

Disadvantages: Not the top of the beers

Up until I met my boyfriend I used to drink Stella and blackcurrant as my main drink...this was not what he counted as a drink and slowly but surely he managed to get me onto the 'proper' drinks. The bitters and the ales, John Smiths being the first bitter, and Old Speckled hen the first ale.

The first thing to say is that it is a darn site better than Stella and black if anyone is wondering. I think in that I was murdering my alcohol before as even I can now admit that putting blackcurrent in Stella is Alcohol Abuse - capitals intended.

Speckled Hen is one of those ales which I would personally say is a middle range ale. It's not brilliant, but it's a steady ale, and if you recognise nothing else in a pub then you know that you can rely on this to be an ale that will not let you down. Particularly as you can get some real crud on task ales...my local came out with 'Top Totty Ale' recently...and wondered why it didn't sell well. He is an awful judge of beers.

The beer itself has a smooth malty taste, and in this fills its manufacturers description. It's not as heavy an ale as Old Peculiar, and yet not as fruity and tasty as Hobgoblin, or for that matter Bishop's Finger. In both taste and colour, which is a light golden colour, it reminds me most of Abbot's Ale, which is another middling ale. It is a pleasant taste, and I cannot give you the fancy beer tasters words for it, but I enjoy it because of it's smoothness, and full taste without it being too heavy.

At most Tesco's this can be found for £1.60 ish depending which area you live in, beer prices alter accordingly. At a pub you are likely to be looking at £2.50 ish for a pint, again this is entirely dependant on the area in which it is sold.

Summary: Well worth trying