Greene King Strong Suffolk (Olde Suffolk)

Brewed by Greene King
Style: Old Ale
Bury St. Edmunds, England

Ruby brown, loose chocolatey head. Very strong fruitcake aroma, apples, pear and fig. Some port wine and wet linen lurking about. Syrupy, mildly roasted flavor, rust, fruitiness, little alcohol. Finishes slightly sour with blood and wood. Medium bodied, a bit coarse palate. Very interesting, lot’s of fruitiness, but not all that enjoyable.

500ml bottle. Pours a beautiful ruby-hued mahogany with a lacy light tan head. Aroma is light, with sweeter hints of caramel and toffee complemented by dark fruit, roasted malt, and a fair amount of wood. Taste is smooth and full (and very flat), with a mild flavor of caramel and wood giving way to a long dry finish of dark fruit and malt. Not nearly the flavorfest of a Lees or other vintage ale, but much easier to drink as well.

Pours auburn with ruby highlights, good clarity and quickly dispersing beige head. Nose is dominated by sticky caramel and toffee with a substantial degree of dark fruits, namely prunes and figs. Palate shows more sticky caramel/toffee malt with some woody characters evident also. Low carbonation enbles you to fully appreciate the big malt characters.

Brown bottle, 500 ml, purchased at the LCBO, savoured on September 4 2008; eye: mahogany, clear, no effervescence, beige head that falls and turns into a ring, a bit of lacing; nose: roasted malt, water, slight hops, light wood, slight alcohol, light burnt malt; mouth: roasted malt, watery, slight wood, light alcohol, light spices, light nuts, light burnt malt, finale in roasted malt with a surprising appearance of a good quantity of hops, lightly sweet, slightly bitter, medium-light body, not much carbonation, light astringency; overall: interesting FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 500 ml, achetée à la LCBO, savourée le 4 septembre 2008; œil : acajou, claire, pas d’effervescence, mousse beige qui tombe pour faire place à un petit anneau beige, un peu de dentelle; nez : malt rôti, eau, très léger houblon, léger boisé, très léger alcool, léger malt brûlé; bouche : malt rôti, aqueuse, léger boisé, léger alcool, léger épices, léger noix, léger malt brûlé, finale en malt rôti avec une surprenante apparition d’une bonne quantité de houblon, légèrement sucrée, très légèrement amère, corps moyen-léger, très peu de carbonatation, légère astringence; en résumé : intéressante

Bottle. BB July 08. Dark ruby color with a big beige head. Aroma has lots of malt, some portwine notes, caramel and dark fruits and a bit of alcohol. A sweet malty flavor with brown sugar, some caramel, slightly spicy fruitiness, wood notes and an alcoholic edge. Finishes drier with light acidic roastiness. Medium-bodied. A decent beer, just doesn’t do it for me and I can’t really find any great aspect to this beer. Still quite drinkable.

Bottle. Pours dark ruby brow, thin off white head. Aroma is malty, spicy, honey, and dough. Flavor is the same and tastes like honey wheat pretzels. On the sweeter side. This would probably taste great from a cask at room temperature.

Deep auburn color with little head. Immediate aroma of bourbon. Fruity grapelike flavor with subtle but well blended bourbon oakiness. Not detecting much hopiness

500ml bottle. Dark brown with thin beige head. Boozy, malty, woody, belgian aroma. Reminds me of the dopplebocks. Very malty and dry, sweet yet sour after-taste, nice carbonation. Body is more of an 8% alc than 6%. Must be an English thing as the same can be said for the Fullers Vintage.