It was my birthday not too long ago and my lovely Uncle Trev couldn’t make the party. Our paths crossed in our local (as expected) and he mentioned that my present had arrived and was behind the bar. Visibly worried about the gift, he said “I’m not sure if you’ll like, but but hopefully you do”. I replied “Is it booze?”, which he confirmed was the case, and I quickly let him know that it didn’t matter what was in the box. Rest assured I would like it. Which is true, it could have been anything from prosecco to pink tequila and I would have been chuffed. As I am sure you’ve guessed, it was beer. Perfect, as no one buys me beer anymore since I stopped writing on here!

Enough of the contextual preamble to this review, todays beer is Old Henry. It’s a 5.2% ‘Rich Auburn Ale’ from Hobsons Brewery who are based in Shropshire. A totally new brewery for me (bonus points there Uncle Trev!), Hobsons was founded in 1993 and have been making award winning real ales since. Awards include a CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain in 2007, for their Mild, as well as two SIBA Best Green Business awards. I am partial to the occasional real ale so very much looking forward to trying the case Uncle Trev has gifted me!

Old Henry pours, true to its style, a clear auburn or chestnut colour with a small off white head to it. The aroma of the beer had a slight caramel sweetness to it but with spiced like qualities mixed in as well. Throughout the beer, there is a smooth consistent level of bitterness that underpins the biscuit, malty sweetness of the body. At times the beer seems to have a richness to it while still being very drinkable.

A quick note on the bottle art: Fairly straightforward in design. The name of the beer, the brewery and the bowler hat all reference the play ‘Henry’s Choice’ and the central character Henry. What I like best is the branded bottle cap. I always consider it a nice touch for bottle beer, that I’m sure costs more but is a sign of uniqueness and care of not just the beer itself but the brand too.

In an age of New England IPAs and Imperial flavoured stouts, I think it’s always lovely to dabble back into the beer heritage of the United Kingdom; Real Ale. Interestingly, having been to the States recently, I found it fascinating how many British-style ales they like to brew over there and how the inverse is true for the UK at the moment. Back to the beer in question however! I’ve never had an auburn ale and, while I can’t find much online about it specifically, I suppose it would be considered an off-shoot of your typical brown ale. ‘Old Henry’ comes across, to me, as a very good example of the style. The beer is bottle conditioned, helping emulate the taste and experience you’d get having it on cask in the pub, which I think shows. Really tasty and if I saw it in a Shropshire pub, I would most certainly ask for a pint of it. It’s complex enough to keep you interested but not ridiculously fancy. Grab it if you see it!

Score: 7.5/10

While I do typically go for a keg beer in a pale ale or IPA style I do like a cask real ale from time to time. Do you think it’s a dying product or is it just a London thing and the real flows freely further north? Let me know below! Thanks for reading and thanks Uncle Trev for the beer!

Additional Information:

Style: Auburn Ale

Hops: Challenger & Goldings

Malt: Maris Otter & Crystal

IBU: Not Available

ABV: 5.2%

Gluten Free: No

Vegan: No

Location: Available on their web shop!

Price: £37 for 12 500ml Bottles