Morland Old Speckled Hen
Brewed by Morland Brewery/Greene King
Style: Premium Bitter
Bury St. Edmunds, England
Old Speckled Hen was first brewed in 1979, and is a premium bitter from the Morland Brewery. It started as a commemorate beer to remember the 50th anniversary of the MG car factory in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. Since 2000, they have moved from the Abingdon brewery to the Bury St Edmunds brewery the home of their new owners, Greene King Brewery.
Old Speckled Hen took its name from the iconic MG car which was used as a runaround for workers in the MG factory. Over years of service, the car became covered in flecks of paint, gaining it acclaim in the town and earned it the nickname “Owld Speckled ‘Un”, hence the name for the commemorative beer!
It is available in more than forty different countries in bottles, cans and on tap from cask and keg. The brand has been expanded to also include Old Crafty Hen, a 6.5% abv ale, Old Golden Hen, a golden coloured 4.1% beer, and Old Hoppy Hen, a 4.2% abv pale ale
Review: 50cl bottle of Morland Old Speckled Hen (Filtered): 5.0% vol.
On a nice white bottle with the red colour of the beer shining through, read that this is an “English Fine Ale”. Just as a reminder that England is known for its top fermented cask beer (also called real ale) which finishes maturing in the cellar of the pub rather than at the brewery and is served with only natural carbonation. English beer styles include bitter, mild, brown ale and old ale. This brew, is considered “Great Britain’s number one premium ale”, as they said so themselves on their website so who am I to disagree!
Looks pretty good pour, as expected it has a nice pretty amber copperish colour but the head is smaller than I had expected, a small whitish head that goes a bit flat very quick. Head and beer look pretty rubbish to be honest!
A very interesting smell on the nose, I am getting a whiff of caramel and toffee notes, but it is very light, and also it smells of pale malts, some fruits and light grains. Light but interesting.
On the taste got a real bitter aftertaste, which was very creamy and all a bit “urgh!”
Not one to sip and enjoy, very, very bitter, not one to enjoy at all, all a bit too strong in the taste for me. That hoppy aftertaste is a right killer for me.
It feels half between an IPA and a lager ale. Can get the malts, fruits and caramel, but it’s the hop bitterness that kills everything in its way! According to their site, a blend of Challenger, Pilgrim, First Gold and Goldings hops, all knocking seven shades out of your tastebuds!!!
It is shit, lets call a spade a spade, not enjoyable at all. Was strong enough to drink, felt the alcohol for sure, but urgh, yuck.
The English must be crazy fuckers drinking these hard core bitters and ales! Fuck that, the mad bastards!
It proved popular, having two thirsty markets on its doorstep, Dublin and the rest of Ireland one side, and Britain the other, lucky for Arthur both nations like a tipple or two. So it comes as no surprise that by the 1930’s, Guinness was to become the seventh largest company in the world. (according to Wiki!). The Germans have their BMW’s, the French their wines, the Dutch their Cheeses, we will leave the banks to the Swiss, but us Irish we have the Guinness!
It is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available mostly everywhere that you can find bars, especially Irish bars! In Ireland it is still the most drank beer, making about 
But generally Guinness are the masters of advertisements. When they bring out an ad on the box people generally take note such is the effect of a Guinness promotion. The harp itself is such an iconic symbol must people know that it represents Guinness when they see it in a bar or pub. In terms of early advertising and imagery, the artist John Gilroy‘s work, from the 1930s and 1940s, still stands the test of time. He created posters that included phrases such as “Guinness for Strength”, “Lovely Day for a Guinness”, “Guinness Makes You Strong”, “My Goodness My Guinness”, and most famously, “Guinness is Good For You“. The posters featured Gilroy’s distinctive artwork and more often than not featured animals such as a kangaroo, ostrich, seal, lion and notably a toucan, which has become as much a symbol of Guinness as the harp. These posters and drawings can still be regularly seen in Irish pubs all around the world, and the originals fetch a high price when they come up at auctions. 
The Guinness Storehouse at St. James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin is the most popular tourist attraction in Ireland (attracting over 1,700,000 visitors in 2017) where a self-guided tour includes an account of the ingredients used to make the stout and a description of how it is made. Visitors can sample the smells of each Guinness ingredient in the Tasting Rooms, where one can stay the whole day and enjoy the sights of Dublin pint, or pints, in hand, since it gives a great view of the city. I have visited the Storhouse, who hasn’t at this stage, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Guinness, fresh, from St James Gate, is unFUCKINGbelievable!!! 
Established way back in 1759, Guinness with its iconic Classic harp logo and black coloured can, complete with Arthur Guinness’ scribble. Has the widget inside it too, a small plastic ball containing the nitrogen, needed for the rise of the bubbles to form that fine creamy head we all know and love so well.
For the taste I got lovely creamy mouthfuls at the start, nice and soft going down smoothly at the back of my throat.
Located in Bagenalstown, County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, the Carlow Brewing Company, founded by the O’Hara family in 1996, is one of the largest and most successful craft breweries in Ireland. It is more popularly known as O’Hara’s Brewing Company after the family name that still runs the business today. 
One of the 1001 beers you must taste before you die, according to a well known Beer rating site. Ok, lets see about that then……
Roasted barley and malts and hints of caramel, but struggling under the intensity of the hops that linger.
Harp Lager is an Irish lager first produced in 1960 by Guinness in its Great Northern Brewery, Dundalk. 
The brand was traditionally marketed with the Brian Boru harp as its main emblem. These days the bottle and design is all modern, still has the famous harp logo but it’s this time blended in with a striking blue colour that it’s barely noticeable. Pity really. 
Typical lagery taste, grainy with mild hops, barley and malts, a touch of citrus. All perfectly balanced. 
Bern, a German speaking city and capital of the canton of Bern, with a population of about 140,000, is the de facto capital of Switzerland. Technically the Swiss Confederation, with its many Canton’s, has no capital but since Bern has so many governmental institutions within its walls, such as the Swiss parliament and the Supreme court to name but two, it is referred to by the Swiss as their “federal city“. It is the political HQ of the country.
It is definitely a city rich in ancient architecture and lots of lovely sights to see. A very pleasurable experience walking round the streets, while looking for some bars to pop into, cough! The historic old medieval town (“Altstadt“) in the centre of Bern became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983, and includes an elaborate medieval clock tower with moving puppets and a covered shopping promenade, all along a beautifully cobbled street. 
First bar of the day was this little place in the heart of the city called the Burgundy Bar. Small but cozy, at that time of the day, which was midday, it was quiet. Easy to pass by as the frontage looks more like a discreet bookshop rather than a bar. 
Sat down and asked the friendly bar man (Alex) for some advice on what to order. Alex was kind enough to give me the low down on a few of the house specials. All beers are unfiltered, natural and are made without chemical additives. I opted for their Canadian Red Ale, which sure enough tasted fantastic. Even though the place was very crowded it was very easy to get a seat and also service was fast and efficient. I’d say you might have to wait if ordering food, didn’t look to be much spare room in the restaurant side of the place. It is a big place though so you never know!
They do offer tours of the brewery and explain how they make the beers, but unfortunately it’s only available in German. Hopefully they will offer an English tour in the future. 
Made my way to the “Altstadt“, along the cobbled streets in search of an Irish bar. On the phone it got me the exact location but I just couldn’t spot it, until I noticed that there are some shops and the like doing business at below street level, down cellars. So looking closely I managed to find the small Irish bar, at ground level, and down some steep stairs, so be careful!
Got chatting to the bar man, Mark, who was very friendly, chatting about football and the bar. I was surprised when he told me that the bar does live music. I couldn’t quite picture where exactly they would play in such a small bar, but then it is an Irish bar so I guess those considerations never really matter! Even musicians from as far as Ireland itself were due to play in the place over the next few weeks! Nice one. 
Not far away from the Irish bar, just down the street and at the corner is a football bar called Die Berner Fussball Bar. Another bar in a cellar where you have to step down into. 
Sat at the bar and ordered a Felsenau lager, a local brew. Bar was busy enough, a few Young Boy fans having their beers. Funnily enough I seemed to be the only one drinking from a large beer glass, while the young boys were all sipping beer from small glasses, typical Swiss style! Can never understand that kind of thinking, if you have a chance to drink beer, ALWAYS GO LARGE!!!!
Not much banter as everyone was concentrating on the football, but the bar man was friendly enough, had a nice demeanor. I spent the time just looking at all the scarves and shirts behind the bar. Boy I love stuff like this!
Have to say the three young women working behind the bar were pretty hard working, handling all sorts of interesting orders and all with good grace, excellent to see such good work in a bar. Was really good to see such friendly staff that care for the work they do providing good beer to the thirsty masses, take a bow the bar ladies of Barbière.
FC Breitenrain Bern are a football team from Bern, Switzerland, who currently play in in the 1. Liga Promotion, the third tier of Swiss football.
Good enough game from two teams who are mid table in their league. Possibly Basel could have shaded it in terms of play and style, but FC Breitenrain battled hard all game and deserved the draw in the end.
Founded in 1898, BSC Young Boys, or Berner Sport Club Young Boys to give its full official title, is a Swiss professional football club based in Bern, Switzerland, that plays in the Swiss Super League, the top tier in Swiss football. It is widely referred to as Young Boys, and the club’s colors are yellow and black. They are one of the longest-established and most successful clubs in Switzerland, with 12 Championship and 6 Swiss Cup titles. They play 
After WW1 the team moved to Kirchfeld, winning another league in 1920. In 1925 the club moved again, but this time to the new stadium called the Wankdorf, with a capacity at the time of over 20,000. YB now had a nice spanking new stadium, which annoyed their city rivals FC Bern no end, because the older association continued to play at the small and outdated Neufeldplatz. A championship win came in the new stadium when Young Boys once again won the title in 1929, and a first Cup title came in 1930 in front of a home crowd of 30,000 (Capacity expanded in time, upto 60,000 for the 1954 World Cup!) crowding Wankdorf as the YB beat FC Aarau 1–0. And that was to be it for a good long while, 15 years in fact until the next league title or cup victory!
But the Championship remained elusive, that is until the early 80’s when success came under manager Alexander Mandziara and his brand of attacking football that brought a title win in 1986, the first in 26 years, and 11th overall. Another Cup victory, the 6th came in 1987, when Young Boys defeated Servette FC 4–2. Beating Real madrid one nil at home in the European Cup, albeit losing the tie 5-1, another rare highlight in the 80’s.
I like watching Young Boys, they were definitely a team of unbeatables under Adi Hütter. Winning back to back Championships is some feat, but they did it in style, taking total control of the league and losing games at a rare rate. Watching Kevin Mbabu bombing down the wings is a treat, its a shame that the Swiss national manager, Vladimir Petković, takes the piss and continues to ignore his celar skills and ability. No wonder the Swiss national team are dull and dour. Other players that stand out to me are the Goalie, Marco Wölfli, defenders, 
The old ground was site of the 1954 World Cup final where Hungary were beaten 3–2 by West Germany in front of 62,500 excited fans, at that time a huge upset as the “Magnificent Magyars”, with the legendary Ferenc Puskás in their team, were the Brazil of their time. But that’s the Germans for you, grinding out a win no matter. 
Pretty much the whole game was Young boys attacking, especially down the wings and mostly with Kevin Mbabu whipping in perfect crosses for the YB forwards to hash it up again and again. Love watching Mbabu, easily my favourite player in this league. I do wonder when, and not if, he will leave to better pastures. 
Oppigårds Bryggeri is a microbrewery in the small Swedish town of Hedemora, Dalarna County. Björn Falkeström founded the brewery in 1996, with the The Oppigårds farm been in the family’s possession since 1735.
Bought in Aldi Switzerland. Interesting logo on the long necked bottle, orange background and label with a pic of an elephant, simple but stylish, their “tribute to India”
Typical IPA taste and flavour in the taste, the fruits and malts, and the hops are prominent but all nice and very manageable. 
The company were formed when two former business consultants quit their jobs and started brewing beer? Timm and Mario, the well travelled duo, brought back to Germany with them hop varieties, yeast strains and plenty of ideas from their global adventures. 
“Handcrafted Beer from Bayern”, in a very cool looking bottle with a nice logo, nothing fancy but a nice written design of the the company’s name. 
Typical IPA style in the taste, not bad at all, all very hoppy but very manageable and very tasty. Sweet malts, caramel, the citrus and the hops all delicious and very well managed. 
Brasserie d’Uberach (Uberach brewery) is the name of an independent microbrewery founded in 1999, founded by Eric Trossat. Eric was a former engineer in a nuclear power plant in Normandy, but lets decide later if his beers have an explosive kick (boom boom!). Getting his qualifications in the brewing process, he produces craft beers out of his base in Uberach, in north-eastern France.
Bottle from Lidl France. Interesting logo of two people kissing, striking. Was a little bit pricey, considering its in Lidl, 3 Euros plus for the bottle, albeit a big bottle of beer. 
It is a very nice aroma though, flowery and unusual but nice. Bit of an aphrodisiac, felt a bit horny after it!! LOL
The Vauclair Abbey was a Cistercian abbey founded in 1134 by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, located in the North Of France. Supported financially by rich families, the abbey quickly prospered and was given several estates and farms, until the French Revolution in 1789, when it was finally demolished and sold as “national property”. Then World War one lead to further damage from artillery fire…..to where today only ruins remain. What remains of the site is an arboretum of apple and pear trees and a medicinal herb garden. 
Lidl France, and for the big bottle all less than two Euros!
A tough one to drink, very strong in the hop taste, very, very bitter and tastes all a bit raw and rough, a bit too earthy.
Two brothers, Antoine and Frédéric, with a deep passion for beer and with their agronomy and brewery diplomas in the bag, founded the Brasserie De Sutter in 2008. 
Bought in Lidl France. Picture of a chariot on bottle. 
Initially on the taste I found it to be a bit dry in the mouth but the more I got into it the more the fruits and the hops came to the fore. It tasted not too bad at all, very long tasting and lies on the tongue for a while, a deep taste in the mouth. Also the sweet malts and fruity notes also make an appearance, but truth be told this beer is all about the hops.