Greene King Strong Suffolk (Olde Suffolk)

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

Deep brown color, beige head. Aroma is sweet, full, wholesome and yeasty. Mouthfeel is warm, bubbly and syrupy. Tastes simultaneously sweet and bitter, a nice balance of the two. But the words "sweet" and "bitter" don’t seem to do it justice. This is sweetness with real depth, sweetness that can be savored without being overwhelming. The bitterness is mild and simply a nice relief from the intensity of the sweetness. There are carmel and spice flavors, as well as some sour notes. Excellent beer. Complex and substantial.

Bouteille de 500 ml. Belle couleur ruby, peu de collet. Arome plaisant de malte caramelisé et fruité pas trop sucré. Bon goût de malte boisé, faiblement fruité, assez réchauffant.

Bottle from the LCBO. Deep ruby-chestnut colour with a small tan head. Aroma is soft and mellow, mainly malty & sweet with a faint woodiness. Flavour doesn’t have much going on at first, but as I make my way through the pint, it starts to open up, with flavours of sweet malt, raisins & prunes, and some slightly tart wood notes in the finish. Body is smooth and very lightly carbonated, which works well with the flavour. I’d love to try this on cask sometime, but even in bottled form, it’s quite good.

Bottle: Poured a dark burgundy color ale with a small foamy head with minimal retention. Aroma of semi-sweet malt with some light oak. Taste is a mix between some sweet caramelized malt with some very subtle notes of oak and fruit. Body is way too light and carbonation is low which is to be expected of. I have to admit that this one was a bit deceiving and definitely lacking in complexity.

Fairly flat, nicely brown ale. Aroma was a bit sweetish, almost raisiny. Great flavour with a hint of sweet red wine mixed into the maltiness and hops. Only real drawback was the slightly cloting sweetness that stuck around in my mouth afterwards. But generally, a really nice ale.

This ale poured a black colour with a nice foamy tan head. To the nose there was licorice, citrus and a slight hint of roasted malt. The first sip was really smooth smooth and roasty flavoured with other flavours of coffee and a little wine. The palate is of more roasty malt flavour with a lingering bitterness.

Pours a lustrous mahogonay colour with a caramel head which is fairly long lasting. The aroma is complex and hard to pin down, but I seemed to pick up vanilla and coffee as well as caramel. the taste is equally complex, with both sweet and dry components, and more coffee, leading to smoky dry aftertaste. Definitely a beer to drink slowly and savour.

Pours a dark reddish-brown, almost on par with Wellington’s Old Duke, with a very thin head that builds on the edge of the glass. The sweet malt aroma is complicated and layered with suggestions...caramel, cherry, vanilla. Hops are not present. Flavour is coffeeish with a licorice swallow. Very spicy and the palate is thin. Overall, an interesting seasonal. It’s not my favourite seasonal but I would drink more of it.