Old Cannon Perfect Storm - Old Ale

Tasting Summary

These comments are the opinion of the individual reviewer and represent what they thought of the beer on a particular day in a particular pub. If a review is less favourable, it may be because the beer suffered somewhere in the supply chain between them and the brewery.

Horley Lions 2026 3-Day Charity Beer & Cider Festival, Horley, Surrey

Who	Score	When	Notes
Hogan Sampling		08 Aug 2026	6th beer of the visit: Good head and lacing on its pour on this Suffolk old ale from Bury St Edmunds where the site originally opened as the St Edmunds Head pub with its own brewery in 1845. Following brewing ceasing in 1917, the Old Cannon Brewery was set up in 1999 with a visible brewhouse built into the bar area at 86 Cannon Street, Bury St Edmunds. A dry smoky first bite. A sweetened fruited maltiness from its locally grown East Anglian malted barley rising aided by its chocolatey cocoa nibs flavouring. A malty bitterness prevailing with its dark chocolate, cocoa and caramelised bitter flavours. Dark fruits coming to the fore before its downwards passage aided by its traditional English hops lending it its bitterness and fruit flavours. The hops are most likely to be East Kent Goldings lending sweet, honey-infused earthiness, and Challenger or Progress lending a spicy, herbal and cedar-wood flavouring to also complement the infusion of raw cacao nibs. Served with good conditioning.

The Mermaid, St Albans, Hertfordshire

Who	Score	When	Notes
Hogan Sampling		16 May 2026	2nd beer of this visit: Presented with very good head and lasting lacing, this Suffolk old ale* from Bury St Edmunds, and where beer has been brewed at this old ale’s historic site since 1845, came with a malty fruited first bite with hints of dark chocolate and cacao nibs, the latter being crushed, raw pieces of cacao beans from the pure kernels found inside the seeds of the Theobroma cacao tree and being "the purest form of chocolate" to quote a tasting note for it. A caramelised bitterness rising. Dark fruits coming to the fore with a pervading hoppy fruitiness arising from its traditional English Hops. A maltiness rearing up from its East Anglian malted barley that is locally grown. Served in top nick and full of flavours on the mouthfeel. *Classified as a hybrid between a traditional English Old Ale and a light porter.