Greene King Strong Suffolk (Olde Suffolk)

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

A Mes rate: I get the impression this could be SO much more but it is being held back. Maybe I don’t know enough to be more accurate in my description but that is what I feel. I would like to know what the Old 5x is like before they blend it, put it that way. Never the less this is decent stuff. Aroma is sweet and excellent. Apearance is even better. Dark, semi translucent and mahogany coloured. Sweet and creamy, plenty of malt with lots of dark fruit (maybe cherries) and a little hint of iron filings which I am not too keen on. Finish is dry and almost like a wine. Overall not bad at all but I just cant help but feel there are elements in there trying to come out that could make it excellent but it is being held back. Maybe it’s the blending.

Bottle.Offwhite head good lacing mostly lasting, nice chestnut colour. Bitter finish woody flavour, average beer all-together.

Bottled. Near black, but some ruby red hints in colour. Beige creamy head. Pleasant aroma of malts, licorace, oak and some caramel. Oak, malt, licorace in flavour along with some hints of lemon and some sour thing. Pleasant and smooth flavour and palate.

Near black but with very apparent red highlights; yellow-brown head, dissipating. Bit of molasses and non-bitter dark malts, no sourness as in Rodenbach, point of pepper. Fusels. Bitter, slightly hoppy initial taste, going over in a sweet, liquorice-like flavour, and some dry woodiness, but again no comparison to Rodenbach possible. Some fusels are obvious, certainly warming up. Medium bodied at best; rather watery impression. Palate is not its best feature, but the dry woodiness keeps going on for a long time, which is good. Interesting beer, needs higher cellar temperatures for serving. As a big fan of Rodenbach Grand Cru I would love to try the Old 5X, straight from the fermenters....

Sampled from bottle. Pours clear reddish-mahogony in color with a creamy tan head and remarkable lacing. Aroma is vinous with notes of fig, hardwood, over-ripe fruit, leather and earth. Flavor balanced and equally complex with wood, dark fruits, green grapes and caramel/chocolate malts. Mdium-bodied, moderately carbonated and soooo easy to drink. A rare blend of session beer-drinkability and complexity.

Hoppy nose, Rich mouthfeel with a spicy, warming effect. You can really smell and taste the oak. A great brew.

dark brown w/ beige head. malty nose and creamy texture, the flavor is a mix between coffee and caramel. well balanced.

500mL "Olde Suffolk" bottle. Mahogany pour with a smallish khaki head. Aroma is fruit cakey with some cherries and other dried fruits along with hints of cinnamon and other wintery spices. My girlfriend says it smells and tastes like wine. I think it smells like it’ll be flat. At least it doesn’t taste that way. It really does taste like two beers in one. One is a typically malty strong ale. The other is a high ABV barley wine-like brew with a sour red wine-like tanginess and sour plums in the taste. Touches of caramel throughout. Medium-bodied and smooth. Slightly warming finish. Unique stuff.