Old Empire
Marston's Plc.

Old EmpireOld Empire
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From:
Marston's Plc.
 
England, United Kingdom
Style:
English IPA
Ranked #110
ABV:
5.7%
Score:
78
Ranked #26,894
Avg:
3.41 | pDev: 13.49%
Reviews:
114
Ratings:
208
Status:
Active
Rated:
Friday at 01:40 PM
Added:
Sep 03, 2003
Wants:
  11
Gots:
  29
Crafted to produce an authentic re-creation of an IPA. With its pale appearance, strong hoppy taste and higher alcoholic strength it comprises all the genuine characteristics of a true India Pale Ale, which were necessary to survive the three month long journey from Burton to Bombay - 5.7% abv.
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Ratings by GreenCard:
Photo of GreenCard
Reviewed by GreenCard from Maryland

3.74/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Appearance: pale coppery straw, slight chill haze, frothy later of off-white foam that collapses on itself

Aroma: fresh floral hop scent with a touch of grapefruit; sweet caramelly malt in the background

Flavor: semisweet malt profile offset by a decent grapefruit rind bitterness; hints of unripe plums and golden raisins; finishes dry with a bitter aftertaste

Mouthfeel: medium-ish-full body, pert carbonation, crisp texture

Other comments: If you're able to find a bottle of this that hasn't been skunked because of the clear bottle, it's actually quite a scrumptious IPA.
Jun 20, 2007
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.48 by dymott from England

Friday at 01:40 PM
Photo of BurtonRed
Rated by BurtonRed from England

3.18/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
Veeerrry fizzy, not particularly hoppy for an IPA. Decent enough but not that interesting.
Feb 18, 2024
 
Rated: 3.52 by shelby415 from Oregon

Jun 28, 2023
 
Rated: 3.64 by ronniebruner from Arizona

May 09, 2023
Photo of jlindros
Reviewed by jlindros from Massachusetts

4.17/5  rDev +22.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Pours a frothy 1/2 finger head with good retention, good retention, soapy lacing, semi hazy slight clear golden tan to almost orange color

Nose nice English style hops, herbal and earthy, herbal tea, mild earthy forest floor, a hint of pine, mild sweet grainy malt, and a bit toasty, some fruity esters

Taste starts with the sweet malts, grainy cereal and fairly toasty, bread crust and a hint of caramel, a little biscuity toffee like grain, then hops with more herbal earthy English hops, a bit grassy herbal leafy, touch of herbal tea, mild earthy mossy forest floor, not quite mushroomy but towards that direction, hint of pine, fruity esters, semi sticky sweet finish, lighter bitterness up front, but a longer med-high bitterness lingering

Mouth is med to a bit fuller bod, med to lighter carb (typical for style),

Overall pretty nice for English IPA, got a lot of the ESB like bases but extra hops especially the long bitter finish. A good beer in general. I think the people giving this low ratings are expecting an American IPA, very different!!
Jan 20, 2023
 
Rated: 4.25 by hopley from Massachusetts

Oct 01, 2022
Photo of BigMac59
Reviewed by BigMac59 from Texas

3.69/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
It poured a golden color with a white head that dissipated to almost nothing.
A small amount of lacing
Aroma is grassy and citrus.
Taste is grassy, lemony citrus.
Very acceptable, but would never be a favorite.
Jul 07, 2022
 
Rated: 4 by JamesLeung from Florida

Jun 22, 2022
 
Rated: 4 by paulish from New York

Oct 09, 2021
 
Rated: 3.19 by Maxms from Russian Federation

May 08, 2021
Photo of Sigmund
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

3.22/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
500 ml clear bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 5.7%. Deep golden colour, moderate white head that does not last very long. Moderate but nice hoppy (Cascade and Goldings) aroma, hints of toffee too. Fizzy mouthfeel. The flavour has noticeable Goldings and Fuggles hops and some caramel, moderately bitter finish. Okay, but not particularly interesting.
Mar 26, 2021
Photo of Fordcoyote15
Reviewed by Fordcoyote15 from Pennsylvania

2.5/5  rDev -26.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
$2.00 on a discount rack so I said what the hell. No bottle date unfortunately.

Looks turbid as hell. Aggressive pour yields little frothy head.

Smell is pure skunked and then some butterscotch or cream corn. Smell extremely similar to Corona but more potent. Strangely, I actually like a bit of skunkiness at times so im not entirely off put by this.

Tastes NOTHING like an ipa. There are almost no detectable hops initially. Its all grainy-ness. As you finish it theres some grassyness you pick up on as the hops finally present themselves.

Feel is nowhere near as flat as it looks.

Overall a pretty terrible beer. I wish i knew if it were intended to taste as it does or if its solely a victim of time and light.
Mar 25, 2021
Photo of elnachooo
Reviewed by elnachooo from Spain

3/5  rDev -12%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
De color dorado con un dedo de espuma blanca de buena retención. Ligera y de carbonatación media. Aroma lupulado. Sabor ligeramente dulce con un final cítrico.
Nov 27, 2020
Photo of JezzC
Reviewed by JezzC from England

4.58/5  rDev +34.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
Old Empire is delicious mix of malt and citrus. It's a cross between Amber ale and IPA. Goes really well with food - particularly streak or burgers but also curry surprisingly - much better than Cobra or Kingfisher.
Oct 31, 2020
Photo of marcbosch
Reviewed by marcbosch from Netherlands

3.45/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
L: Pale orange, faint head. Pretty good. The bottle is modern-vintage, but I could've done without the elephant.
S: European hops (peppery, grassy), caramel malt.
T: Following the nose. Good hops kick with a supporting malty backbone. A bit of caramel sweetness at the end.
F: Moderate body, dry finish. Medium carbonation. Good and in style. Perhaps a bit too filling, I was left wishing it came in a 33 cl bottle instead of 0.5 l.
O: Very good English IPA.
Oct 17, 2020
Photo of MarkCairns99
Reviewed by MarkCairns99 from Northern Ireland

3.97/5  rDev +16.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
A no nonsense and quite malty traditional English ale, the bottled version I had was very carbonated but give it a few minutes and it settles down. On opening the bottle I did notice a stale smell but this disappears and is not noticeable when tasting. A powerhouse of an ale I’ll definitely be buying again!
Apr 25, 2020
Photo of Hanglow
Reviewed by Hanglow from Scotland

3.91/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
A 20 day old bottle

Pours a very light amber, large head for an english ale, many bubbles too.

Aroma of apples, pear drops, green hops.

Taste is a pleasing mix of mainly english hops and malt, decent bitterness, great dryness body and lots of carbonation that works in this beer. Fair bit of minerality as you would expect but it isn't too much.

Marstons do make good beers from time to time and this is one if you get it as fresh as this. Really nice cask beer too IIRC.
Feb 21, 2020
 
Rated: 3.62 by 2beerdogs from California

Jul 19, 2019
 
Rated: 2.97 by Goity from Scotland

Jul 14, 2019
Old Empire from Marston's Plc.
Beer rating: 78 out of 100 with 208 ratings