Greene King Hop (Formerly The Beer To Dine For)

Brewed by Greene King
Style: Pale Lager
Bury St. Edmunds, England

Blind tasting session, Bottled. Oops! Greene King, clear bottle. No way this is going to be tasty! But I didn’t have this disadvantage, because it was a blind tasting session and I bet it would score higher if more had rated it this way. Aroma of grapes and green apples but also malty and flowery. Sweet, maybe even a bit too sweet, light fruity sourness, light bitter start but certainly pretty bitter in the finish which is dry of course. In the flavor also the malts and flowers.

Lovely gold colour, white head & nice lacework.Fragrant,flowery hop aroma,medium bodied, slightly sweet malty palate,with the hoppy flavours appearing quickly. The whole mellows to a nicely balanced finish.I didn’t have it with food but it would go well with a lighlty spiced dish. Tesco.

66cl bottle from Franglais, Calais. I just couldn’t put myself out enough to buy this in England where it would have been more expensive. So on my last visit to Calais, I popped it into the trolley, not expecting any great shakes. It is a pale gold colour with a thick white head. Peppery hop and lemon citrus aroma. Bit of herb. Smooth in mouth, like lemon sorbet and then a good hop finish. Best drunk chilled I feel, a bit like a lager. This for me is the nicest Greene King beer that I’ve had. Very refreshing on a Sunday afternoon of 30 degrees plus. Well balanced. It won over my indifference. Not sure why you would have it with food though any more than any other beer.

75 cl bottle. No yeast in bottom. Yellow colour with a nice but fast disappearing foam. RIch of aroma hops. Very clean taste that ends up in a delicious mouthfull of hops.

750 ml bottle, bought in Denmark. I had to try this one, despite being sceptical to the gimmicky name: IMO, most good beers are worth "to dine for" (with a possible exception of the very sweetest ones), so why should this one be different? It isn’t - it’s basically a decent standard golden ale, where the Tettnang hops (more commonly found in German lagers) shine through nicely. Citrussy aroma, notes of flowers and honey. Pleasant lightbodied flavour with a moderate but decent hoppiness throughout, nice but nothing spectacular. No doubt good with food (I must admit that my "dining" was limited to a couple slices of pizza), but again: so are many other beers.

750ml bottle. Beatutiful color, white, clean, even head. Sweet aroma, hard to pin-point. Best enjoyed fridge-cold. The taste is good with shrimps in honey-chili sauce. The dry finish fits dining perfect. As my girlfriend said: "It doesn’t even taste beer".

Poured a pale gold with an off-white head. Aroma of clean pine and grass hops. Taste is light and clean, dominated by pine hops. Easy-drinking and would make a nice light session.

Aroma of hops. Clear golden yellow with a crisp white head. Flavour has hints of spice and citrus. Nice balanced bitterness. easy to drink. Rating a bit clouded as watching the rugby rating this. I have to say I enjoyed it at the time, went down well. Will have to re rate soon.