Old Man Ale
Coniston Brewing Co. Ltd

Old Man AleOld Man Ale
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From:
Coniston Brewing Co. Ltd
 
England, United Kingdom
Style:
English Brown Ale
Ranked #65
ABV:
5%
Score:
84
Ranked #22,892
Avg:
3.7 | pDev: 11.89%
Reviews:
79
Ratings:
116
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 17, 2024
Added:
Oct 14, 2003
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  8
Malt - Roasted Barley, Crystal & Pale Ale Malts
Hops - Challenger/Mount Hood

“A radically different beer... it has roast barley added to the pale and crystal malts. It has a deep burnished copper colour, a rich port wine aroma, a big chocolate and creamy malt palate and a dry, grainy, roasty finish balanced by hop bitterness and tart fruit. It is a remarkably complex beer that deepens and changes as you sup it.”

Roger Protz - CAMRA
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Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Sallerj:
Photo of Sallerj
Reviewed by Sallerj from Illinois

3.09/5  rDev -16.5%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3
This is a great example of a beer that might have been awesome when and where it was brewed, but is mediocre by the time it gets here. It smells of lemon and stale bread. It has a great, creamy mouthfeel. The flavor is a mix of fading malt and hop flavors, with citrus and caramel. I'd love to try this at the brewery, but I'll never buy it in the US again.
Mar 02, 2010
More User Ratings:
Photo of Tolianych_Pivomnabuhanych
Reviewed by Tolianych_Pivomnabuhanych from Vermont

4.11/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
It's a very pleasant and subtle English ale. Nothing extremely special about it, just a good honest ale. Certainly not worth the "Award Winning English Ale" claim on the label.

Pour copperish amber, a decent amount of foam. Very smooth, somewhat similar to a very tame version of Newkie Brown / Old Speckled Hen.

At $6 a 0.5L bottle of 4.8% brew, it's one and done for me.
Mar 17, 2024
Photo of BJB13
Reviewed by BJB13 from Maryland

3.9/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
500 ml bottle poured into a nonic pint glass.

L: Coppery brown, clear, 2 finger off-white head has a red hue, foam is bothe creamy and bubbly, leaves lace.
S: Weak nose, malty caramel and nutty aromas.
T: Somewhat tart, fairly dry, bread grain and earthy/woody hops, tobacco, light roast coming at the moderately bitter finish.
F: Medium creamy body with medium carbonation, a little chewy.
O: English in character, easy drinking and enjoyable, on cask please.
Jan 12, 2024
Photo of StonedTrippin
Reviewed by StonedTrippin from Colorado

3.91/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
you either love beer like this or you hate it, and i love it! so stoked on an earthy malty slightly stale tasting brew in high summer, no really i am! unique and affordable, very authentically english, not enough beer like this in the states, glad this has come around. this smells and tastes ancient, i think its perfectly named. its got a pretty deep amber hue, a high tan head with nice retention, i bet this rages on cask across the pond! such a fantastic expression of english grain in aroma and flavor, nutty and baked, kilned and sweet, fruity like raisin and fig, tobacco and cocoa, some way back roasted bitterness and low end, buried in here but still present, more as it warms, leather and felt, old wood, definite oxidation too but i never mind that much in the english stuff like this, some bittering hops too and an old worldy classic english yeast strain, just perfect for this, probably done quite warm as its real expressive in this, even defining along with the grain layers. this is bready and tastes and feels almost healthy to drink on, i love the low alcohol, the lighter carbonation, and the classic authenticity, would be happy to have one of these anytime. awesome old malty thing! a treat.
Jul 14, 2023
Photo of ATL6245
Reviewed by ATL6245 from Georgia

4.57/5  rDev +23.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
Appearance: Clear brown, frothy off white head with very good retention.

Aroma: Earthy, grassy, bread and toast. Light fruitiness

Flavor & Aftertaste: Herbal and spicy.

Mouthfeel: Soft, low carbonation. Full bodied.

Overall: Quite a rich, robust brown ale. Nice soft mouthfeel. Very well balanced between sweet malt, mild bitterness, and herbal spiciness; plus a very pleasant light fruitiness. Bitterness is mild and restrained. The more you drink the more you discover. Like peeling the layers of an onion. Excellent brown ale.
May 11, 2023
 
Rated: 3.56 by Chuckdiesel24 from Illinois

Apr 24, 2023
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3.86/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
500ml bottle from Brewers Haven. Dark, clear amber pour, thin coating of fine foamy head. Light toasty malt aroma, notes of brown bread. Taste is malty, sweet, tobacco. Small bitter bite at the finish, which lingers for a bit. I'd love to try this on cask.
Mar 30, 2023
Photo of puck1225
Reviewed by puck1225 from Texas

3.74/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Poured from a bottle into a tulip glass. Medium brown color with with a decent head and good curtain lacing. Nice fruity, malty smell and taste. Earthy bitterness. A bit metallic. Nice with dinner.
Mar 08, 2023
Photo of Bouleboubier
Reviewed by Bouleboubier from New Jersey

3.77/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
(50 cl bottle, BBF 30 11 23; purchased off shelf at Shangy's yesterday... decanted into my Belhaven pub pint)

L: crystal-clear liquid, cedar-water or deep amber or dark tawny in color (not quite chestnut); big, frothy foam stand on the pour, crumbling into jagged, gummy splotches... keeps a messy collar; laces thick; love it

S: automobile upholstery (velvet), mellow phenolic (cinnamon?) spice, old lady perfume, soft toasted caramel undertone... high on the floral, perfumy aromatics, probably not a great indicator of malty adventures ahead

T: lots of earthy, herbal hop activity; roasty, shrubby aftertaste, with roast and hop bitterness pervading the palate, lingering... relatively dry, moderately spicy; its dryness likely from the bottle conditioning... roasted nut skin accents; malty, but wanting of more caramelized, dried fruity undercurrents... dry dry dry; herbal like amaro, but too dry

F: mellow residual viscosity... dry and fumigating upon the palate, cleansing and awakening... semblance of roundness, but it quietly slinks away

O: brown ale and Challenger hops are faves of mine, and this is an interesting display of both... easily one of the most robustly-roasty English imports in memory... would love to try this freshly-bottled... good enough to buy a few more bottles to share with my fellow brown ale fans (2082)
Feb 01, 2023
 
Rated: 4.36 by festizio from California

Jan 30, 2023
Photo of MonDak_Joe1953
Reviewed by MonDak_Joe1953 from Minnesota

3.72/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
500ml bottle. Label is stamped for best by as 'BBF 30 11 23'.
Clear, deep amber colored body. Thin head is off white colored. Leaves behind spots and patches of lacing.
Aroma is driven by malts, with roasted barley included.
Taste has roasted malts expressing chocolate and grains, with a later flavor of ripe apple and plum/apricot. Some lingering bitterness and the beer dries considerably in the aftertaste.
Medium weight mouthfeel with some creamy texture. Abrupt dryness at the end of each sip. Good carbonation.
Complexity comes from a range of flavors and how the beer sits in the mouth. Puts a real emphasis of the brew being a fermented grain product. Really has a good balance between the malt sweetness and the hop bitterness.
Jan 27, 2023
Photo of GuyFawkes
Reviewed by GuyFawkes from Illinois

3.25/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Undated bottle; drank 12/23/22 @ Pokemon Communion.

Mostly see-through orange/brown appearance.

Small off-white head; minimal lace.

Rye, library book & rice wine notes in the nose. Not super appealing.

Medium mouthfeel. Library book, rice wine & acorn flavors.

Rustic & not overly pleasant. Not one I'll seek out again.
Dec 28, 2022
 
Rated: 3.75 by kjkinsey from Texas

Nov 21, 2022
Photo of puboflyons
Reviewed by puboflyons from New Hampshire

3.97/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
From an imperial pint bottle sampled on Oct 15, 2022.

Fine looking mahogany colored pour with reddish hues and a modest, lingering cream colored head.

Aroma is toffee up front, sweet malts, ash, peat, and a little apple.

Medium mouthfeel.

Sweet malt forward taste with toffee again and a slight bitterness. Does not warm like other old ales I have tried but I found it to be a nice traditional English ale.
Oct 16, 2022
 
Rated: 3.7 by acurtis from New Jersey

Sep 29, 2022
 
Rated: 4.54 by Beecham from California

Sep 21, 2022
Photo of vinicole
Reviewed by vinicole from England

3.77/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Bottle conditioned. 4.8% ABV. Clear chestnut with a thick dense head and gently rising effervescence.
Malted barley and nuts when smelt. Distant English hops noted.
An initial sweet caramel and nut flavour followed by some gentle earthy bitterness.
Light carbonation and a medium body.
An old fashioned beer.
Sep 16, 2022
 
Rated: 4.09 by ElGallo from New Hampshire

Sep 07, 2022
 
Rated: 3.81 by smithj4 from New York

Jul 02, 2022
 
Rated: 3.87 by 322wingedfoot from Pennsylvania

May 24, 2022
Old Man Ale from Coniston Brewing Co. Ltd
Beer rating: 84 out of 100 with 116 ratings