Speckled Hen is just one of those beers that you can’t get away from…  It’s everywhere, and because it’s so ubiquitous I always fought shy of it.  Mass-market penetration can sometimes spell mediocrity (think Doombar – that’s popular, but in my view, not that much of an interesting pint)

Pouring out a fine chestnut brown, with a tan head, Speckled Hen’s not a bad-looker of a pint at all.

The aroma is that of a proper brown beer, as it’s all malt and grainy goodness, there’s also a flinty-dry minerality which is quite enjoyable too.

The taste is mouth-filling malt, followed by small burst of sweetness and then a fairly restrained bitterness.  A little fruitiness follows and tails off into quite a pervasive malt ‘n’ bitter after-taste to leave you looking forward to the next sip.

It’s not my favourite beer by a long chalk, but a lot of people do like it and I can’t say I blame them at all…

http://www.oldspeckledhen.co.uk/products.php?beer=old-speckled-hen

(I can’t bear their website.  Do we really need a puppet fox to get us to drink beer?  FFS.  And Morland are owned by Green King?  Is there nothing left in this world that isn’t owned by GK!?)