The Master Hen has joined the family

A new member of the Old Speckled Hen family, Old Master Hen, was launched at an exclusive event in the Beer Cafe.

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Launched as a premium gift, Old Master Hen is brewed at 7% ABV and is bottle conditioned to mature with age. The ale is strong and full-bodied, with a deep amber colour, masses of characteristic toffee and fruit, notes of citrus orange, and traditional English hop bitterness. Using the, nowadays, rarer process of bottle-conditioning, this will allow for the beer to ferment further in the bottle and bring out deeper characters in the flavours of Old Master Hen as time goes by. The small secondary fermentation creates a natural soft carbonation with smaller bubbles, making it the closest thing to having cask ale and a traditional pint in the comfort of your own home. The name was inspired by one of our own Master Brewer’s Ross O’Hara, who was tasked with creating his own personal recipe of the ultimate Old Speckled Hen family brew.

Ross O’Hara said: “Old Master Hen is a proud personal accomplishment and it’s been a labour of love. This ale celebrates the art of brewing, from the selection of ingredients to the process of creating a truly unique product and ultimately, how a perfectly brewed ale is, in fact, a masterpiece. This is a beer to sip and savour and we feel the name ‘Old Master Hen’ perfectly summarises an ale that has centuries of brewing expertise under its belt and is a true gift for beer enthusiasts.”

Old Master Hen launched on the Greene King Online Shop, in the Beer Café and in Waitrose, just ahead of Father’s Day. It was a massive success and sold 840 bottles in the first week and over 2,000 bottles so far on the online shop. The Beer Café has currently sold 50 cases of the beer and reports from Waitrose shows the two-week run of Old Master Hen sold as well as the best-selling beers in the bottled ale fixture (while it was more than double the price), hitting that gifting spot for Father’s Day.

Old Master Hen is scheduled to return in supermarkets later in the year, in time for Christmas, but can still be purchased from the online shop and Beer Café now. So, if you haven’t managed to grab a bottle, and another to savour, then what are you waiting for?

We’re incredibly proud of Old Master Hen and we think it’s a true masterpiece, but you don’t just have to take our word for it, see some of our customer reviews:

Nigel T - “BEST OF THE BEST. Quite simply a really tasty beer! You can tell it’s been barrel aged and is choc full of flavour. My favourite Greene King beer by far, looking forward to seeing what else they come up with with the barrel ageing.”

Richard B. - “GREAT PRODUCT Awesome beer, perfectly packaged and love the box.”

Barbara N. - “DELIGHTED This was bought as a gift for Father’s Day. Received with great pleasure.”

Michael K. - “SAME AGAIN PLEASE A very refreshing drink. Ideal in this warm weather. They need to be boxed and sold in pairs to get the best reward. Well worth the effort in creating this new brew.”