Owd Rodger
Marston's Plc.
- From:
- Marston's Plc.
- England, United Kingdom
- Style:
- English Strong Ale
Ranked #46 - ABV:
- 7.4%
- Score:
- 82
Ranked #34,510 - Avg:
- 3.56 | pDev: 12.64%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 23
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Nov 03, 2023
- Added:
- Dec 21, 2002
- Wants:
- 3
- Gots:
- 4
SCORE
82
Good
82
Good
Brewed using malted barley, whole-leaf English aroma hops and well water, Owd Rodger offers an explosion of rich fruit flavours with a dry bittersweet finish.
Marston’s Owd Rodger is the perfect winter warmer, goes well with stews, slow cooker casseroles and hotpots.
Marston’s Owd Rodger is the perfect winter warmer, goes well with stews, slow cooker casseroles and hotpots.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway
4.5/5 rDev +26.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.5/5 rDev +26.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Nov. 2019: 500 ml bottle, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 7.4%. Mahogany colour, moderate off-white to beige head. Lovely aroma of malts, ripe red fruits and dark berries, raisins and sultanas, fruitcake and plum pudding. Rich and malty flavour with the same elements as the aroma, moderate earthy and fruity hops. An excellent and classical English strong ale.
Nov 03, 2023
Reviewed by OlaB from Norway
3.71/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.71/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Pours a dark-brown color with a small top off white head that dissolves quickly. Aroma is caramel ,toffee, bread,raisins, dark fruits and spices.
The taste is sweet with notes of dark and dried fruits, while the background has strong notes of caramel. The finish is bittersweet ballanced with the malty tones in the back. Aftertaste has a decent lenght. A little to sweet for my palate, but the flavours are complex. Mouthfeel is smooth and soft with a medium carbonation and a medium body. Not bad at all.
Nov 15, 2019The taste is sweet with notes of dark and dried fruits, while the background has strong notes of caramel. The finish is bittersweet ballanced with the malty tones in the back. Aftertaste has a decent lenght. A little to sweet for my palate, but the flavours are complex. Mouthfeel is smooth and soft with a medium carbonation and a medium body. Not bad at all.
Reviewed by JonnoWillsteed from England
3.54/5 rDev -0.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
3.54/5 rDev -0.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
L- Very deep chestnut, clear. Pours with 5mm dark tan head, clearing to lacing.
S- Toasty deep malts. Some rich fruits raisons/cherries with a slight whiff of liquor.
T- Rich, intense flavours into puddingy (Brit Xmas pudding) complexity of deeper/darker flavours.
F- Bold at the front, a meaty fulfilling middle, into rich pungent intensity vying with resurgent waves of hoppy bitterness into the finish. Carbonation good in the mouth (if not in the glass). I'm glad I chilled this, as the richness is tending to a touch sweet for me as it warms at the lower half of the glass.
O- This is what I'd call a winter-warmer. It's pretty full-on, rich, and quite strong. Good for supping in colder months by a log-fire, or indeed a campfire. Nice to try again decades after last time, but a bit sweet for me to seek out again.
500ml bottle. BB: 31/1/2020
May 04, 2019S- Toasty deep malts. Some rich fruits raisons/cherries with a slight whiff of liquor.
T- Rich, intense flavours into puddingy (Brit Xmas pudding) complexity of deeper/darker flavours.
F- Bold at the front, a meaty fulfilling middle, into rich pungent intensity vying with resurgent waves of hoppy bitterness into the finish. Carbonation good in the mouth (if not in the glass). I'm glad I chilled this, as the richness is tending to a touch sweet for me as it warms at the lower half of the glass.
O- This is what I'd call a winter-warmer. It's pretty full-on, rich, and quite strong. Good for supping in colder months by a log-fire, or indeed a campfire. Nice to try again decades after last time, but a bit sweet for me to seek out again.
500ml bottle. BB: 31/1/2020
Reviewed by CwrwAmByth from England
3.7/5 rDev +3.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
3.7/5 rDev +3.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Marston's Owd Rodger (7.4%) - a Burton Ale, brewed for centuries before dying out after the war (partially due to ingredient restrictions), and even as popular in Russia as strong porter/stout until it was banned under an import embargo in 1822. It gave it's name to the old saying "gone for a Burton". This example would be a middle-strength one, still keeping all the typical Burton Ale characteristics - warming, fruity, with a subtle, soft sweetness. Also if it's a subtly complex as this bottled, I'd love to find the cask version.
Drunk from my 1940s/50s glass for extra authenticity.
Oct 27, 2015Drunk from my 1940s/50s glass for extra authenticity.
Reviewed by Jerseyislandbeer from Jersey
3.42/5 rDev -3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
3.42/5 rDev -3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Pours a dark caramel brown colour with a light beige head. Aromas of fruity caramel with hops. Tastes of malty sweetness, fruits, berries and caramel with the alcohol content coming though a little. Aftertaste is quite warming with a bittersweet fruity finish.
Sep 10, 2015
Reviewed by DypsoBubble from England
3.16/5 rDev -11.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.16/5 rDev -11.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Aroma is pretty muted.
Pretty rich mouth feel with a good level of carbonation. Hints of lemon, vanilla and toffee. Not that hoppy and does not taste as high in alcohol as noted on the bottle. Good for just getting intoxicated on alcohol than being intoxicated on its gustatory qualities.
Sep 08, 2015Pretty rich mouth feel with a good level of carbonation. Hints of lemon, vanilla and toffee. Not that hoppy and does not taste as high in alcohol as noted on the bottle. Good for just getting intoxicated on alcohol than being intoxicated on its gustatory qualities.
Reviewed by EmperorBevis from England
3.48/5 rDev -2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
3.48/5 rDev -2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Bottled
So it's a rich dark brown body with creme caramel coloured head that diminishes but never goes below 50 % surface coverage
booze and caramel on the nose
creme caramel flavour
thin body for style
okay I guess
Nov 01, 2013So it's a rich dark brown body with creme caramel coloured head that diminishes but never goes below 50 % surface coverage
booze and caramel on the nose
creme caramel flavour
thin body for style
okay I guess
Reviewed by vinicole from England
3.98/5 rDev +11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
3.98/5 rDev +11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Bottle. Dark chestnut in colour. Thick frothy head that dissipates quickly.
Fruity malt aroma. Dried vine fruits. Toffee. Caramelized sugar.
Tastes like toffee apple. Sweet. Tea loaf. Quite boozy.
Somewhat cloying. Medium to full body.
Fondly remembered as a fantastic Christmas ale served from a cask.
Aug 22, 2013Fruity malt aroma. Dried vine fruits. Toffee. Caramelized sugar.
Tastes like toffee apple. Sweet. Tea loaf. Quite boozy.
Somewhat cloying. Medium to full body.
Fondly remembered as a fantastic Christmas ale served from a cask.
Reviewed by Radome from Florida
3.3/5 rDev -7.3%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
3.3/5 rDev -7.3%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Served from a 500 ml bottle bought in England.
A - Beer is deepest brown without being black. It appears opaque until held up to the light, at which point it lets a tiny bit through and you can see it is actually crystal clear and has a bit of red in the brown. The head is tan, thick and fluffy. A beautiful beer.
S - The aromas are more muted than I expected for such a big beer. I can just get a bit of bready malt and a hint of earthy, woody hops. Maybe a whiff of the alcohol. Nothing unpleasant, except the lack of more-ness.
T - The flavor is dominated by something sharp and harsh that I can't quite nail down. It may be metallic, but it is not clear. I suppose it is from the hops somehow, because it is mixed up with the faint earthy/woody hop flavor. Underneath that slightly unpleasant flavor, other flavors are hard to pick out. The malt is only sensed at the end of the sip, just before it fades into a slightly sweet aftertaste with a bit of raisins and rum.
M - Thin body. Moderate hops bitterness. A little alcohol warmth, but faint. Carbonation level is very low.
O - The thin body and metallic twang in the taste are a little disappointing. I was hoping for more from this beer.
Apr 07, 2013A - Beer is deepest brown without being black. It appears opaque until held up to the light, at which point it lets a tiny bit through and you can see it is actually crystal clear and has a bit of red in the brown. The head is tan, thick and fluffy. A beautiful beer.
S - The aromas are more muted than I expected for such a big beer. I can just get a bit of bready malt and a hint of earthy, woody hops. Maybe a whiff of the alcohol. Nothing unpleasant, except the lack of more-ness.
T - The flavor is dominated by something sharp and harsh that I can't quite nail down. It may be metallic, but it is not clear. I suppose it is from the hops somehow, because it is mixed up with the faint earthy/woody hop flavor. Underneath that slightly unpleasant flavor, other flavors are hard to pick out. The malt is only sensed at the end of the sip, just before it fades into a slightly sweet aftertaste with a bit of raisins and rum.
M - Thin body. Moderate hops bitterness. A little alcohol warmth, but faint. Carbonation level is very low.
O - The thin body and metallic twang in the taste are a little disappointing. I was hoping for more from this beer.
Reviewed by John_Henry from Japan
3.3/5 rDev -7.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
3.3/5 rDev -7.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
I was quite disappointed with this beer, perhaps my expectations were too high. One of the problems could be that I tasted this next to Marstons Oyster stout. It tastes incredibly similar, not just to this but to a number of Marstones other blends. That said as with others it is very easy to drink, just very un-interesting and even a little thin, you'd never know you were drinking 7.4%.
The problem for me with this, as with other Marstons bottles, is that they don't come close to the cask offerings. Growing up in Derbs and Staffs Pedigree was in every pub, and I still love a pint when I'm home, but the bottled stuff doesn't come close.
Mar 26, 2013The problem for me with this, as with other Marstons bottles, is that they don't come close to the cask offerings. Growing up in Derbs and Staffs Pedigree was in every pub, and I still love a pint when I'm home, but the bottled stuff doesn't come close.
Reviewed by Ciocanelu from Romania
3.4/5 rDev -4.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.4/5 rDev -4.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
500 ml bottle, poured into a pint.
Color is black-reddish. Large head that stays a while and leaves a thin layer.
Aroma is roasted malt and booze.
Taste is also dominated by roasted flavors and also a hint of liquorice . Not as boozy as the aroma suggested.
Body feels medium and is well carbonated.
Overall this is an interesting beer. Very drinkable at it's 7.4 ABV.
Dec 04, 2012Color is black-reddish. Large head that stays a while and leaves a thin layer.
Aroma is roasted malt and booze.
Taste is also dominated by roasted flavors and also a hint of liquorice . Not as boozy as the aroma suggested.
Body feels medium and is well carbonated.
Overall this is an interesting beer. Very drinkable at it's 7.4 ABV.
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