Hop
Greene King / Morland Brewery

HopHop
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From:
Greene King / Morland Brewery
 
England, United Kingdom
Style:
English Pale Mild Ale
ABV:
5%
Score:
80
Avg:
3.37 | pDev: 13.35%
Reviews:
23
Ratings:
26
Status:
Active
Rated:
Dec 07, 2013
Added:
Nov 22, 2004
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  0
Formerly marketed as "The Beer To Dine For".
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Ratings by bros:

  None found.

 
Rated: 3 by BillRoth from Maryland

Dec 07, 2013
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.5 by harpus from Alabama

Aug 22, 2013
Photo of connecticutpoet
Reviewed by connecticutpoet from Connecticut

3.19/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
Had this bottle for several years in the cellar, and it's finally time to start drinking what I've been hoarding. Can't afford to buy more beer when there's 130 bottles downstairs.

On the pour this beer showed a one and a half finger head atop a deep yellow clear body. The head died away to a very thin ring, and that was it.

Aroma was biscuity malts, grassy hops, a little citrus, and some buttery scent way down deep. Not too bad.

Taste was... well... mild. That's it. Light malts, slightly sweet, very little spicy hops, almost no bitterness. Not quite like water, but not too much better than a macro brew.

Mouthfeel was barely more than water... a little syrupy if anything. Very little carbonation.

Overall this beer would indeed go well with most foods, as it's almost like a chameleon, blending in with its surroundings. Nothing big stands out so nothing to clash with whatever you're eating.
Jul 16, 2013
 
Rated: 2.5 by pin from Australia

May 21, 2013
Photo of FreshHawk
Reviewed by FreshHawk from Illinois

3.23/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
A - Light gold color with a decent sized white foamy head.

S - Light and clean smell. Slight hop smells of citrus and floral along with some light pale malt.

T - Mild, inoffensive taste. Balanced amount of pale malt and the hop flavors following the nose. The hops might have the slightest of edge on the malt, but there is also a faint sweetness. Fairly bland and nothing really jumps out, but rather it all kind of blends into a background type of taste.

M - Light body with a bit below average carbonation. Pretty crisp and slight smoothness.

D - Easy to drink a number of these, but the beer doesn't really make me want to grab and drink another.

Notes: Not a bad beer but not great, and I can't really decide when I would want to drink it. Not really a session beer, or one that I would want to casually sip. Seems like it is marketed to go with food, and it probably wouldn't be bad that way, but there are beers that I would prefer over this to have with food. Not really a typical British beer, but a decent beer. Flavors just a little too bland and faint.
Feb 26, 2010
Photo of fullsweep
Reviewed by fullsweep from England

3.41/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
500 mL clear bottle poured into a pint glass.

A: clear, deep amber beer with very thin head that dissipated immediately leaving no lacing at all.

S: rich malts and mild hops making for an interesting and enticing ale scent.

T: tangy, citrusy with orangish hops, mild malts, and a medium cheddar-type tanginess.

M: moderate carbonation and body.

D: would drink again--not a bad beer!
Dec 31, 2009
Photo of PartyBear
Reviewed by PartyBear from England

2.63/5  rDev -22%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
Appearance: Crystal clear and golden in colour. Pours with a giant fluffy head, which fades quickly. Mild to low carbonation.

Aroma: Crisp grassy hops, with biscuity malts. There is also a little grapefruit in there.

Taste: Not as bitter as I was expecting, the hops are quite restrained, and only provide a small amount of bitterness towards the end. A bit bland overall unfortunately.

Mouthfeel: Light, thin and carbonic (contrary to the appearance).

Drinkability: It is very easy to drink but the flavours are far too muted, and it gives the beer a bland taste, which is a shame. I can see why they pitched it as a dinning beer.
Aug 29, 2009
Photo of soulgrowl
Reviewed by soulgrowl from England

4.04/5  rDev +19.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Peachy honey-gold, thick with bubbles, but not up top where it counts. Brown sugar, caramel, apples, lemon, and a very nice, mellow but robust bay leafy herbal hop character round out the aroma. The flavor is balanced and light yet spicy. I suspected that in making a "beer to dine for" Greene King was basically attempting an ale that tastes like a bland, inoffensive continental lager. I was half right. The taste is comparable to Stella or Heineken, but only in the sense that it has a similar balance of clear, bready malts and quick, zesty hops. Bland it isn't; it's flavorful, grainy, husky, and sweet, well spiced with a sort of citric-herbal hop profile, nicely accentuated by a fizzy, airy mouthfeel. Nice fruity undertones of grapes and orange as well. Very good, I think, and indeed it was good with the chicken soup and rye crisps I paired it with. Refreshing yet robust.
Aug 17, 2009
Photo of GreenCard
Reviewed by GreenCard from Maryland

2.66/5  rDev -21.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
Appearance: light gold, great clarity, frothy layer of white suds, OK head retention

Aroma: skunked, of course (clear bottle)

Flavor: medium malt sweetness, light herbally hop flavor; a cidery quality; finishes dryish with a vapid aftertaste

Mouthfeel: medium-light body, spritzy carbonation, soft texture

Other comments: Very boring and very skunky. Friggin' clear bottles!
Mar 01, 2008
Photo of Phatz
Reviewed by Phatz from Pennsylvania

3.8/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
This is a very unique beer. I had the chance to share this beer with gottajiboo2.

Appearance: Pours a pale yellow with a frothy white head tight. The head fades fast and leaves only a few little spots of lace.

Smell: It has a floral grassy nose with a distinct sweet element but also a bit of funk. I would say it is skunk funk or farm funk just a touch of tart that stands as a separate character from the citrus tart.

Taste: I found this to be extremely approachable. A light balance of sweet very gentle hop presence and a touch of tartness in the back end and aftertaste. Overall impressions, not glamorous but tasty.

Mouthfeel and Drinkability: It has a light bubbly body and is certainly easy to quaff. This is a beer that requires no thinking so it is a fine one to dine with. It goes down quick and easy.

Hope this is helpful.
Cheers!
Jun 16, 2007
Photo of chilidog
Reviewed by chilidog from Ohio

3.33/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
The Beer to Dine For; alot has been said on the name and clear glass bottle. What I will mention is i've seen these the past few months at my local beer store. Now they are Close-out priced at $1.49.

It poured a clear pale, but dark golden color. A fair white head that faded to a film,

The aroma was mild. Alittle grass, sweet malts and a mild metallic hop.

The taste was well blended sweet malts, fruit cake like with biscuit and a hint of citric and melon from the tettnang hops.

The mouth or finish is smooth and left alittle dry, crisp.

Good drinkability. Goes with foods well.
Jun 12, 2007
Photo of rhoadsrage
Reviewed by rhoadsrage from Illinois

4.22/5  rDev +25.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
(Served in a nonic)

A- This beer has a crystal clear body of yellow that can be seen in the clear glass bottles. There is a good carbonation of tiny bubbles that glide to the surface. The thick white head turns rocky then to a spongy white film for the rest of the beer.


S- This beer has a light bitter English hops smell with an aroma of fresh pale malt that has some depth like it has been floor malted. The hops and malt are very well balanced and both have really nice strength.

T- This beer has a light fresh pale malt flavor with some notes of fresh raw grain and a light nutty quality to it. There is a slight sweetness to the grain that blends into a green hop flavor at the finish. There is a light buttery taste at the finish that comes through when it is warm.

M- This beer has a light mouthfeel with a crisp and clean finish. Although there is a taste of butter there is no texture of butter in the mouthfeel.

D- I bought this beer on sale and wasn't expecting much, wow was I wrong. The Tettnang hops really add a nice character to the beer. This beer looks light but it has good flavors making this very drinkable. There is a nice flavor that reminds me of a very good Kolsch beer yet there are some nice ale qualities aswell. They say this is a beer to dine for but with food I think the subtle flavors might not hold up to spices and flavor of the food.
Jun 11, 2007
Photo of Osiris9588
Reviewed by Osiris9588 from Ohio

3.57/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
750ml bottle, capped, no date, with a wicked cool purple label and cap with a white fork emblem.Pours clear pale gold, with a creamy white head with decent retention.

Smells grainy with orange citrus, a little sweet grain. It tastes strikingly familiar to both Speckled Hen and Tanner Jacks: stong orange presence along with light malt and grain, a moment of creaminess, and just a slight push of hops.

The mouth is light bodied, a little creamy, with a gentle citrus buzz, and a mild hoppy dryness on the finish. Very drinkable, and I can see it pairing well with a wide variety of foods--thus it's achieved its goal. Yet, by itself it's merely an easy drinking, unremarkable brew. Decent overall.
May 26, 2007
Photo of BuckeyeNation
Reviewed by BuckeyeNation from Iowa

3.38/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Rich amber with a small splash of orange juice. Multiple bubble streams lead up to a pearl colored head that looks pretty good initially and continues to look good as it fades. Broken sheets of sea foam lace help keep the appearance comfortably above average.

The distinctive bottle may have won a design award, but it's a failure from a beer lover's perspective because it's made of clear glass. A classic example of form over function, marketing over the real world. The result is, unsurprisingly, a skunkiness that is only now fading, several minutes after the pour. Apparently, there aren't enough hops present to provide permanent skunk. The nose is minimally malty and minimally, muskily hoppy.

I have to give credit where credit is due. The Beer To Dine For follows the English pale mild style guidelines to a 'T'. It's gently pale malty sweet with an understated Tettnang flavor and bitterness that balances the whole. And it's definitely mild. The question, as always, is how to score a beer that is brewed in accordance with the style, but that doesn't really float my boat. The answer is.... I'm still drinking and thinking.

If the goal was to brew an ale that is inoffensive enough to appeal to most everyone, yet still has enough flavor (barely) to be enjoyed by the geekier set, then it's 'mission accomplished'. If the purpose was to brew a beer that would match up well with all manner of foods, as the name would suggest, then I don't believe the target was hit. The problem is that only the mildest dishes would allow the flavor of the beer to be noted while eating.

The mouthfeel is as it should be for the style. That is, it's light without being thin or watery. In addition, there are enough bubbles to provide mouth interest without being overbearing. Firm with soft edges is how I'd describe it.

The Beer To Dine For is much too cutsie a name for a beer that expects to be taken seriously. I must admit, though, the name and the bottle ensure that this Greene King/Morland offering will get more than a few impulse purchases. In fact, I was one. In the end, it's a decent English pale mild that isn't quite worth the $3.99 that I paid for it.
Jan 29, 2007
Photo of sinstaineddemon
Reviewed by sinstaineddemon from Connecticut

3.1/5  rDev -8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
i must admit, the packaging helped sell the beer, as did the price. it comes in s large strange shaped bottle that says this is a lighter beer made to compliment food, including what i had, poultry. plus for such a large bottle, it was only $3.69.

A - it pours a light orangeish color with a white rocky head of about half a finger, with plenty of busy carbonation

S - it has a typical macro malty aroma with the addition of hops, which combine to an amalgamate sweetness

T - sort of bland, much like the aroma, with a coors kind of flavor with some hops added.

M&D - this beer is great on its own, too light and carbonated and malty for me, but suits a nice dinner perfectly, goes well with food and that was its intention so i must review it within its intentions and the style, for which it is very good
Jan 04, 2007
Photo of bruachan
Reviewed by bruachan from Massachusetts

3.68/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
the packaging on this guy is the strangest thing. the bottle is shaped funny and the whole premise is a little off-putting. as some of the others commented, i see where the brewery is going with it, but it seems gimmicky. i've paired it with some homebrewed lamb curry with chopped poblanos (i know...not authentic. and i'm preparing it in the wok)

it poured nicely enough. it sat clear gold in my london pride imperial pint. the head is good and it's kept supplied by some enthusiastic bubbles. they formed a vortex, actually, which is just about the coolest thing i've ever seen

tett hop aroma: spicy, grassy, musty. not much to smell of the malts. it's light-bodied, but not really that dry. it's a little bit palelagerish but it does have the increased depth of an ale, with some diacetyl. it's light but not delicate, and sports some interplay between the hop and malt flavors

a little more substantial than i expected (it's my first for the style) and actually fairly flavorful
Oct 14, 2006
Photo of wl0307
Reviewed by wl0307 from England

2.97/5  rDev -11.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
It's been more than a year since I last tried this beer. Purchased at the Sainsbury's when it was on sale. BB FEB 07, served cool in a straight imperial-pint glass.

A: pale golden hue, great clarity, with a restrained white beer head dissipating in no time; low carbonation.
S: floral scent, lemon-grass, crystal sugar, deep aroma of sweet orangey hops... overall it shows a very sweet nose of malts and flowery syrup, not intrusive though.
T: very Greene King... the floral and sweet citric flavour of hops is mixed well with thin-textured, sugary malts, leading fast towards a grassy and dryish+slightly zesty aftertaste with touches of bitterness from, eh, "Tettnang hops"... A strange burned-sugary edge is left in the end... (I don't know if it's to do with pasteurisation, which I believe this beer has undergone).
M&D: too spritzy to be nice on the mouthfeel, and the body is very thin as well... the carbonation is simply not right, making this beer less than drinkable if consumed alone... Well, probably that's why it's meant to be a "beer to dine for", rather than something nice to drink alone?!
Sep 19, 2006
Photo of BlackHaddock
Reviewed by BlackHaddock from England

3.88/5  rDev +15.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This beer has been produced purely to have with food, and it works!

A clear, tall 750ml stylish bottle, allows you to see a very pale, almost light blonde liquid within.

It poured well, but the head, which was off white and thin, soon disappeared.

The smell was of peaches and melons, due to only Tettnang Hops being used.

The taste was crisp and clean. The beer went great with the Mustard Thatched cottage Pie my daughter made. The label recommended Spicey food, Seafood and Poultry.

This is not your normal British beer, but I shall be trying it again, I suggest if you see it, do the same, give it a go.
Sep 01, 2006
Photo of plaztikjezuz
Reviewed by plaztikjezuz from Michigan

2.78/5  rDev -17.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
tasted at the classic wines annual beer tasting earlier this year, i am reviewing this from my notes.
was served a straw colored sample with no head.
the aroma was very skunky.
the flavor was little spicy and malty, ending in hopsack. but lacking in full on flavor, it was subdue, i'm not a hudge fan of milds but this was extreme.
yea, dont judge this beer by its name, what a let down.
Aug 30, 2006
Photo of andjusticeforale
Reviewed by andjusticeforale from Connecticut

3.97/5  rDev +17.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured nice and clear with a foamy fastly dissipating head.
The smell was just like they said on the bottle; mellons from the tettnang hops.

Absolutely mild and tasty; just enough bitterness to reminf you that you aren't drinking soda pop. This really would pair perfectly with Chinese or Thai food; with the bitter balance for a sweet and spicy dish, perhaps kung pao chicken or hunan duck.

At $3.49 for the big bomber, I will buy this again.
Aug 28, 2006
Hop from Greene King / Morland Brewery
Beer rating: 80 out of 100 with 26 ratings