Greene King, Suffolk Springer (England) (RP) Greene King, based in Suffolk, is close Newmarket, famous as the training ground for young racehorses and the National Horseracing Museum. Suffolk Springer commemorates the home of horse racing with a new bottled beer that takes its name from a 'springer', a horse whose odds shorten dramatically before a race. The beer follows the ancient tradition of 'country ales': it�s a blend of two beers, one of them strong. A substantial proportion of Springer is made up of Greene King�s legendary Old 5X, the beer that matures for up to two years in unlined wooden tuns in the brewery. In this case, the Old 5X is fresh and not matured but it still imparts a woody note to the finished beer though it lacks the sour character that results from wood-ageing. The beer is russet coloured with an intensely complex nose: woody, with powerful hints of toffee, vanilla, chocolate and burnt fruit. There�s sweet malt, roasted grain, sultana fruit, caramel and spicy hops in the mouth while the finish has chocolate, ripe grain, peppery hops and a distinctive woody note from the Old 5X. The beer is made with pale Tipple malt and crystal malt: Tipple is Suffolk barley grown just a few miles from the brewery. The hops content is remarkably complex: Admiral, Boadicea, Challenger, First Gold, Pilgrim and Target. Malt: high. Hops: high. Fruit: medium. 6.0% ABV, 50cl, �1.99, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Waitrose.