Family Pale Ale Style English Pale Ale
Country England ABV 5.2%
Producer Greene King
Price $$ Packaging 12oz/355ml bottle; 14.9oz/440ml can
Characteristics Bitter, malty

Overview Old Speckled Hen’s recipe and octagonal label are a 1979 tribute to the MG auto factory in Abingdon, England, which was celebrating its 50th birthday. After the auto factory moved away the next year, the brand nearly died off, but today it’s in wide distribution.

Flavors and aromas A creamy nitro pour and unmistakable English malt nose set the stage for a light-bodied, slightly thin beer with ample hop bitterness. Some of our tasters enjoyed this, while others were put off by the buttery diacetyl aroma common to northern English yeast strains. This might be a good beer to test your diacetyl sensitivity on—one in five drinkers cannot sense low or moderate levels of diacetyl.