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Thursday, December 13, 2007

An Errant Knights Journey Part 2

Old Speckled Hen was an Ale I discovered while studying in England in 1979. It's very rare to find it here in the States, and even rarer to find it on draft. Well, the secreat is out thanks to this Errant Knight. Old Speckled Hen is on draft in a small airport pub, called The Pub, in the C Concourse of the Cincinnatti airport. I had a four hour layover from Baltimore back to Evansville, so I enjoyed every minute of it. Not to mention that the music selection there is awesome. The inside feels like a traditonal pub, drinking Old Speckled Hen on draft and listening to Jethro Tull...how does live get any better than that? Oh, I journaled, that's how! Anyway, I sent the picutre on the left to our Honorary Founding Father across the pond, Sir Dayvd of Oxfordshire, and he proberly emailed me back the story behind Old Speckled Hen as follows: "Old Speckled Hen" is a popular bitter, available both as a cask ale and pasturised in bottles. First brewed in 1979 by Morland brewery in Abingdon, Oxfordshire to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the MG car company setting up in Abingdon, and named after the brewery's own MG car - the paint splattered Owld' Speckled 'Un which was made by the factory for Morland as a runaround ( gopher ). The Morland Brewery has since been taken over by the giant Brewery Greene King, and the brewery itself, turned into apartments. But they still have retained the unique strain of yeast first used in 1896 for the brewing process. Abingdon is about 5 miles south of Oxford, and was where i was born, when my folks lived in a village near there, and i went to school in Abingdon. In the late nineties i used to paint all the pub swing signs for Morland and the Oxford brewery Morrells until they were both taken over by Greene King, and now computer printed signs are used when they need updating. ( these fade in UV sunlight, so one day they will come knocking my door again )"
So, Knights, go throttle a Old Speckle Hen!
Sir Hook

1 comment:

  1. This Tull song popped into my head:

    "Christmas Song"

    Once in Royal David's City stood a lonely cattle shed,
    where a mother held her baby.
    You'd do well to remember the things He later said.
    When you're stuffing yourselves at the Christmas parties,
    you'll just laugh when I tell you to take a running jump.
    You're missing the point I'm sure does not need making
    that Christmas spirit is not what you drink.

    (Hey! Santa! Pass us that bottle, will you?)

    Sir Bowie of Greenbriar

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