Tasting: Morland “Hen’s Tooth” Strong English Ale

The name is explained on the bottle as, “A fine, specially-brewed English ale which finishes fermenting in the bottle. In the words of our head brewer – a combination of flavour and character that’s as rare as a Hen’s Tooth”. We shall see.

Despite the bottle conditioning, it’s a clear, caramel-colored brew that looks like a bitter. Upon opening, I immediately smelled a touch of fragrant hops and the strong smell of rising bread. Yes, we’re in England here. It was fully refrigerated, and poured with a modest head that faded to a polite but persistent skim in a few minutes. Once in the glass, the finishing hops were floral and very much in evidence, almost overpowering the toasted smell of the malt. Upon the first taste, however, the malt came front and center with a welcome sweetness and medium body. The hops cut the body a bit to keep it refreshing, but most of the bitterness came from the coffee-like dark roasted malt. Carbonation was on the low end, with only a few, rebel bubbles fighting their way up from the bottom after 15 minutes in the glass, but it was quite appropriate for the brew.

This reminds me of Old Speckled Hen, which I believe is a bit paler, but similar in alcohol content. “Hen’s Tooth” clocks in at 6.5% abv, which is just right for one pint in the evening, wouldn’t you say? The extra ethanol isn’t as overpowering as in OSH, but you can’t ignore the contribution to the flavor, especially in the aftertaste. It’s been about three minutes since I took a sip, and my mouth tastes a little bit like kerosene. Hang on….that’s better.

Let’s see what they say about this beer over at that other place:

“The good news is that this beer tastes a lot better than it smells. The smell on the initial pour can slap you in the face. It is a sour, unpleasant smell – much like the trub (or fermentation residue) from a batch of homebrew. This makes sense, as this beer is bottle fermented. The color, on the other hand, is beautiful. It is a bright ruby/amber color that is a pleasure to look at. The taste is rather nice. It is a rich English bitter with a slight carbonation burn and a lasting bitterness that hits at the back of the mouth and sticks through to the aftertaste. For any fan of “real” English ales, this will be a treat. It isn’t sweet or terribly unique. But, it is a solid and consistent traditional English Ale.”

Wow. I totally disagree with two points. First, the trub isn’t always a bad smell (I even downed the yeast, old school style, because it didn't smell terrible. Great source of B-complex vitamins!).

Second, sweetness is the first thing that I registered upon sipping this beer .

What’s that they say about taste?