Old Master Hen, Greene King

Old Master Hen (7 per cent)

The beer is an annual vintage beer, a member of the Old Speckled Hen family owned by Greene King.

The 2024 edition of the beer has been produced by Master Brewer Jack Palmer. It’s brewed with pale, amber and crystal malts and hopped with Bramling Cross, First Gold, Fuggles and Goldings varieties. The beer is bottle conditioned.

The story of Old Speckled Hen beers goes back to 1979 when it was first brewed by Morland in Abingdon to mark the 50^th anniversary of MG Cars, which was also based in the Oxfordshire town.

MG had made a prototype car that never went into production. Over the years, the car had stood near the paint shop and had been streaked with different coloured paints. Workers gave it the nickname of “the old speckled ‘un” and Morland picked up on the name when it launched the beer.

Morland closed in 2000 and its beers are now owned by Greene King. Old Speckled Hen is one of the group’s best-selling brands.

Old Master Hen has a rich honeyed malt aroma balanced by caramel and butterscotch with spicy hop notes. Biscuit malt dominates the palate but hop bitterness grows with continuing notes of caramel and butterscotch. The finish is bittersweet with spicy hops balancing biscuit malt, caramel and toffee.

The beer, which comes in a handsome presentation box, will be available for Fathers’ Day in major supermarkets, including Morrison’s. It can also be ordered from the brewery: https://shop.greeneking.co.uk

There will be an auction for the first bottle with the number 00001 on the back label. All proceeds will go to Macmillan Cancer Support.

•Bottle conditioned means the beer contains live yeast and it will improve with age. The beer should contain a minimum of 0.5 cells of yeast per millilitre of beer that should create a small sediment or slight haze.