Old Chimneys Greenshank

Note to Old Chimneys Brewing: do NOT make your packaging so idiosyncratic that each bottle looks like it came from a different brewer. A strongly hopped brew that's got even more Old Kent Goldings than their Golden Pheasant - and that's saying something! Alcohol is well hidden behind the hop barricades.

Small East Anglian brewery formed in 1995 by ex-Greene King brewer Alan Thompson using only natural ingredients, and doing eveything by hand, including the bottling. This malty sweet beer leans toward a barley wine but is well balanced by dry, flowery hops. There is a grainy quality throughout, but most pronounced in the dry, lingering finish. A well made and pleasant beer that sadly lacks character.