Old Speckled Hen

One of my favorite places to go when I want to try a new beer is The Box Bar.  They always have a good selection of beer on tap, the standards as well as a few revolving taps of various local brews.  But when I go there, I always try to have at least one new beer that I had never heard of before.  This time, it was an English bitter called Old Speckled Hen.

There is no real rhyme or reason behind how I choose a new beer when at The Box; I usually just open up the beer book and pick one at random.  On that fateful October night, my finger landed on Old Speckled Hen.  I ordered one and shortly, I had a pint glass filled with a medium red liquid with a finger and a half of reddish tan head.  If I wasn't at a bar, I could have mistaken it for some sort of berry juice.  Aside from the odd appearance of this drink, I forged ahead and sampled the aroma of this ale.

I was blown away by the near skunky smell of Old Speckled Hen.  I could tell that there were a few promising hints of fruits and berries but in front of those were rancid flowers and frightened skunks.

Having been fooled before by rancid smelling foods and drinks that end up being rather pleasant or even wonderful I decided to take a sip and I was astounded at how disgusting this beer was.  Now, I enjoy bitters quite a lot,  but when there are so many flavors and notes of other flavors, I have to take a step back and evaluate just how much thought went into crafting this beverage.

On second thought, I cannot in good concience say that Old Speckled Hen is or was ever "crafted."  I imagine a rookie brewer tossing random hops and malts into his kettle and hoping for the best.  The mouthfeel is that of a normal ale, which is perhaps the best part to this beer.  The flavor is so jumbled up that there is no discerning what is going on inside that glass.

I won't give Old Spekled Hen a terrible score as the color, mouthfeel and head are all that of a good beer, but everything else is not something I wish to experience again.

Old Speckled Hen recieves a 2.84/5.