Greene King Vintage Fine Ale

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Greene King Vintage Fine Ale [baron rating 3/5] - 6.5% amber ale,solvent malty smell,toffee prickly sweet earthy taste,harsh sweet finish Baron Orm

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Greene King Suffolk Pale Ale

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Greene King Suffolk Pale Ale [baron rating 4/5] - 5% copper ale,biscuity sugary earthy smell,malty lime bitter taste,earthy peppery finish Baron Orm

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From the cellar: Greene King Suffolk Springer

Not bottle conditioned

Greene King Suffolk Springer* [baron rating 5/5] - 6% dark ruby ale,boozy xmas cake smell,sweet molasses plummy raisin taste,fruitcake finish Baron Orm

* means that this bottle has been cellared/aged and is not indicative of what it would be like if drunk fresh.

I had this bottle hanging around since 2010, the Best Before Date was November 2011 so at the time of the review this beer was over five years old. Not quite sure why I'd not baron rated it sooner, think I was expecting it to be horrid. Maybe a fresh bottle of it is not that great but this aged one was really something special. 

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Greene King IPA Export

Greene King IPA Export [baron rating 3/5] - 5% amber ale,spicy butterscotch smell,spicy slighty sweet caramel taste,mild bitter finish Baron Orm

Tolly Cobbold Phoenix

Tolly Cobbold Phoenix [baron rating 2/5] - 4.2% amber ale,slightly sweet biscuity smell,mild sweet toffee taste,burnt toffee finish Baron Orm

Greene King Very Special IPA

Greene King Very Special IPA [baron rating 4/5] - 7.5% amber ale,sweet spicy smell,juicy bittersweet spicy taste,lasting bittersweet finish Baron Orm

Waitrose November ale & beer offers (10th November - 7th December 2010)

It's November's new beer & ale offers time in Waitrose, their PR staff informed me of what this month's ale offers are:

• Badger Tanglefoot [baron rating 4/5]
  £1.25 instead of £1.57

• Badger Fursty Ferret [baron rating 4/5]
  £1.22 instead of £1.53

• Badger Golden Champion [baron rating 3/5]
  £1.33 instead of £1.67

• Badger Golden Glory [baron rating 2/5]
  £1.20 instead of £1.50

• Badger Blandford Fly [baron rating 1/5]
  £1.55 instead of £1.94

• Badger Poacher's Choice [baron rating coming soon]
  £1.64 instead of £2.05

• Badger First Gold [baron rating 3/5]
  £1.32 instead of £1.65

• Morland Old Crafty Hen [baron rating 4/5]
  £2.01 instead of £2.69

• Greene King Very Special IPA [baron rating coming soon]
  £1.49 instead of £1.99

• Morland Old Speckled Hen [baron rating 4/5]
  9x355ml £8.97 instead of £11.22

• Morland Old Speckled Hen [baron rating 4/5]
  8x440ml cans £8.17 instead of £10.89

• Greene King IPA [baron rating 2/5]
  12x440ml cans £8.39 instead of £10.49

• Wychwood Hobgoblin [baron rating 4/5]
  4x500ml cans £4.79 instead of £5.99

• Wychwood Mixed 4 Pack
  £5.35 instead of £6.69

• Marston's Head Brewers Choice 4 Pack
  £5.08 instead of £6.35

There are quite a few Badger ales within the 'baron bargain' price range (£1.30 or less) and some good discounts on the stronger end of the ales market.

Morrisons November ale & beer offers (8th - 28th November 2010)

It's November's new beer & ale offers time in Morrisons so I popped into the local Ormskirk branch today to check them out.

Here are the details:

• Adnams Broadside [baron rating 5/5]
  £1.50 instead of £1.75

• Badger Golden Champion [baron rating 3/5]
  £1.25 instead of £1.67

• Brains SA Gold [baron rating coming soon]
  £1.25 instead of £1.67

• Brains SA [baron rating 2/5]
  £1.25 instead of £1.67

• Brakspear Bitter [baron rating 5/5]
  £1 instead of £1.69

• Greene King Abbot Reserve [baron rating 3/5]
  £1.53 instead of £2.03

• Greene King Suffolk Springer
  £1.53 instead of £2.03

• Morland Old Crafty Hen [baron rating 4/5]
  £2 instead of 2.59

• Morland Old Speckled Hen [baron rating 4/5]
  £1.35 instead of £1.65

• Morrisons (Titanic) Green Hop Beer [baron rating 2/5]
  £1.50

• Ringwood Old Thumper [baron rating 2/5]
  £1.36 instead of £1.76

A long list of offers this month and most are pretty good, there's quite a deduction on the strong ales, I think my 'baron pick' is the Adnams Broadside, it's so rich & smooth - perfect for long cold nights at home!

Waitrose October ale & beer offers - part 2 (13th October - 3rd November 2010)

Waitrose have an amazing second batch of ale offers for October, their PR staff informed me ahead of time what this month's offers are:

Beer Showcase - Buy 2 for £3 on the following beers:

• Adnams Bitter [baron rating 4/5] normally £1.75

• Adnams Broadside [baron rating 4/5] normally £1.89

• Adnams Gunhil [baron rating 3/5] normally £1.83

• Adnams Lighthouse [baron rating 2/5] normally £1.73

• Bath Barnstormer [baron rating 3/5] normally £1.91

• Bath Dark Hare normally £1.84

• Bath GEM normally £1.99

• Bath Wild Hare normally £1.95

• Black Sheep Black Sheep Ale [baron rating 4/5] normally £1.85

• Black Sheep Golden Sheep [baron rating 3/5] normally £1.89

• Black Sheep Yorkshire Square Ale [baron rating 3/5] normally £1.94

• Brains Dark normally £1.85

• Brains Reverend James normally £1.81

• Brains SA Gold normally £1.89

• Brakspear Bitter [baron rating 5/5] normally £1.92

• Brakspear Oxford Gold [baron rating 3/5] normally £1.91

• Brakspear Triple [baron rating 2/5] normally £2.12

• Courage Directors [baron rating 3/5] normally £1.79

• Duchy Originals Old Ruby Ale normally £1.99

• Fuller's 1845 normally £2.36

• Fuller's Bengal Lancer [baron rating 4/5] normally £1.99

• Fuller's Chiswick Bitter [baron rating coming soon] normally £1.80

• Fuller's Discovery [baron rating 3/5] normally £1.85

• Fuller's ESB [baron rating 5/5] normally £1.95

• Fuller's Golden Pride normally £2.59

• Fuller's London Pride [baron rating 2/5] normally £1.80

• Fuller's London Porter [baron rating coming soon] normally £2.05

• Fuller's Organic Honey Dew normally £1.92

• Greene King Abbot Ale [baron rating 5/5] normally £1.79

• Greene King IPA [baron rating 3/5] normally £1.73

• Greene King IPA Export Strength [baron rating 4/5] normally £1.93

• Greene King Ruddles County [baron rating 4/5] normally £1.69

• Greene King Suffolk Springer normally £2.14

• Greene King Very Special IPA [baron rating coming soon] normally £1.99

• Hook Norton Hooky Bitter [baron rating 4/5] normally £1.94

• Hook Norton Double Stout normally £1.99

• Hook Norton Hooky Gold [baron rating 4/5] normally £1.94

• Hook Norton Haymaker [baron rating 3/5] normally £1.94

• Hook Norton Old Hooky [baron rating 4/5] normally £1.89

• Hook Norton Twelve Days normally £1.94

• Innis & Gunn Original [baron rating 1/5] normally £1.79 - £1.50

• Innis & Gunn Rum Cask [baron rating 2/5] normally £1.99 - £1.50

• Jenning's Cumberland Ale [baron rating 3/5] normally £1.96

• Jenning's Snecklifter [baron rating 3/5] normally £1.96

• Marston's Pedigree [baron rating 2/5] normally £1.81

• Morland Old Speckled Hen [baron rating 4/5] normally £1.82

• Ringwood Fortyniner normally £1.92

• Ringwood Old Thumper [baron rating 2/5] normally £1.93

• Scottish & Newcastle Newcastle Brown Ale [baron rating 3/5] normally £1.91

• Shepherd Neame Bishops Finger [baron rating 2/5] normally £1.81

• Shepherd Neame Spitfire [baron rating 4/5] normally £1.84

• Skinners Bitter Betty Stogs normally £1.85

• Skinners Bitter Cornish Knocker normally £1.85

• Skinners Bitter Heligan Honey normally £1.85

• St Austell Admirals Ale normally £2.04 - £1.50

• St Austell Tribute [baron rating 4/5] normally £1.85 £1.50

• St. Peter's Fruit beer - Grapefruit normally £1.94

• St. Peter's Golden Ale normally £1.84

• St. Peter's India Pale Ale [baron rating 2/5] normally £1.99

• St. Peter's Mild normally £1.62

• St. Peter's Old Style Porter normally £1.85

• St. Peter's Organic Best Bitter [baron rating 2/5] normally £1.85

• St. Peter's Ruby Red Ale normally £1.85

• Thwaites Double Century [baron rating 5/5] normally £1.99

• Thwaites Flying Shuttle normally £2.12

• Thwaites Lancaster Bomber [baron rating 3/5] normally £1.95

• Thwaites Thoroughbred Gold [baron rating 4/5] normally £1.72

• Thwaites Very Nutty Black [baron rating 4/5] normally £1.79

• Thwaites Wainwright [baron rating 3/5] normally £1.85

• Wells Bombardier [baron rating 4/5] normally £1.78

• Wychwood Hobgoblin [baron rating 4/5] normally £1.84

• Young's London Gold [baron rating 3/5] normally £1.91

An excellent selection of offers, I can't even imagine which ones I'm going to stock up on yet!

Waitrose July ale & beer offers (7th June - 27th July 2010)

It's July's new beer & ale offers time in Waitrose, their PR staff have informed me ahead of time what this month's ale offers are:

• Wells Bombardier [baron rating 4/5]
4x275ml bottles: £3.99 instead of £4.99

• Wychwood Hobgoblin [baron rating 4/5]
£1.24 instead of £1.66

• Innis & Gunn Oak Aged [baron rating 1/5]
2x750ml bottles: £5 instead of £6.90

• Marston's Classic Ales
12x500ml bottles: £15.19 instead of £18.99

• Marston's Pedigree [baron rating 3/5]
8x500ml cans: £8.70 instead of £7

• Badger Sett
4x500ml bottles: £5.51 instead of £6.89

• Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted
£1.56 instead of £1.95

• Greene King Abbot Ale [baron rating 5/5]
£1.43 instead of £1.79

• Greene King Ruddles County [baron rating 4/5]
£1.35 instead of £1.69

• Morland Old Speckled Hen [baron rating 4/5]
£1.45 instead of £1.82

• Greene King IPA [baron rating 3/5]
660ml bottle: £1.38 instead of £1.73

• Greene King IPA Export [baron rating 4/5]
£1.54 instead of £1.93

• Greene King Very Special IPA
355ml bottle: £1.59 instead of £1.99

Morrisons May ale & beer offers (7th June - 11th July 2010)

It's June's new beer & ale offers time in Morrisons so I popped into the local Ormskirk branch today to check them out.

Here are the details:

• Black Sheep Riggwelter [baron rating 4/5]
£1.50 instead of £1.70

• Greene King Abbot Reserve [baron rating 3/5]
1.55 instead of £2.05

• Greene King Suffolk Springer
£1.55 instead of £2.05

• Marston's Burton Bitter [baron rating 2/5]
£1.19 guest ale

• Marston's Strong Pale Ale [baron rating 3/5]
£1.55 instead of £1.75

• Morland Old Speckled Hen [baron rating 4/5]
£1.51 instead of £1.71

• Ringwood Old Thumper [baron rating 2/5]
£1.55 instead of £1.75

The Burton Bitter is the only ale within the 'baron bargain' price range (£1.30 or less) but I find it very thin and watery hence the [baron rating 2/5]. The Suffolk Springer is probably this month's winner have a decent discount on a high ABV ale.

Let's just say the baron didn't stock up on anything today :(

Hardys & Hansons Olde Trip

Hardys & Hansons Olde Trip [baron rating 3/5] - 4.3% dark amber ale,Greene King malt smell,sweet malt taste & tart bitter finish

Greene King Ruddles County is £1.18 a bottle in Tesco (until 11th May 2010)

Tesco has 500ml bottles of Greene King Ruddles County [baron rating 4/5] for £1.18 (instead of £1.59) until 11th May 2010

Greene King Hop

Greene King Hop [baron rating 2/5] - 5% golden ale,pale malt aroma,crisp sweet malty taste & astringent finish - why not be called 'malt'?!?

Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Greene King Olde Trip for 99p a bottle in B&M Bargains (Ormskirk)

B&M Bargains in Ormskirk has 500ml bottles of Greene King Olde Trip for 99p each, best before date was April 2010

Greene King Abbot Reserve for 49p/bottle in B&M Bargains (Ormskirk)

B&M Bargains in Ormskirk has 500ml bottles of Greene King Abbot Reserve [baron rating 3/5] for 49p! (best before Jan 2010 hence the price)

Greene King Suffolk Springer for £1/bottle in Sainsbury's (until 23th March 2010)

Sainsbury's have Greene King Suffolk Springer on offer at the moment until 23th March - £1 for a 500ml bottle instead of £2.03

Greene King Ruddles Best

Greene King Ruddles Best [baron rating 2/5] - this 3.7% amber ale has a subtle malt aroma,watery slightly bitter taste & tiny bitter finish

Morrisons March ale & beer offers (8th March - 11th April 2010)

It's March's new beer & ale offers time in Morrisons so I popped into the local Ormskirk branch today to check them out.

Here are the details:

• Greene King Abbot Reserve [baron rating 3/5]
  £1.49 instead of £1.99

• Morland Old Crafty Hen [baron rating 4/5 ♫]
  £1.99 instead of £2.49

• Morland Old Speckled Hen [baron rating 4/5]
  £1.45 instead of £1.65

• Greene King Ruddles Best [baron rating 2/5]
  £1.29

• Greene King Suffolk Springer
  £1.49 instead of £1.99

• Timothy Taylor's Landlord [baron rating 4/5]
  £1.65 instead of £1.85

• Classic Ales of England 12-bottle pack
  £14

So for another month there's nothing amazing - the discount on the Landlord is ok and the (un-rated) Ruddle Best is within the 'baron bargain' price of less than £1.33, as is the Classic Ales of England pack but there's nothing here that I'm going to stock up on.

As always, if I notice any changes before the 11th of April I'll let you know, otherwise there'll be a new post around then of April's offers!

My new classy glassy Abbot Ale tankard

Greene King have been running a free glass tankard offer over the past few months on bottled Abbot Ale [baron rating 5/5]. 13 bottle tops, £2, & six weeks later, this arrived on my doorstep:

 

Which contained this little engraved beauty:

Check out the lettering under the Abbot symbol... ;)