Old Speckled Hen is one of the more recognisable names in British ale, and Greene King have kept the recipe fairly faithful in this low-alcohol version. Pale and Crystal malts give it a proper amber colour and the caramel sweetness you'd expect from a beer in this style. The hop selection, Challenger, Pilgrim, First Gold and Goldings, is a classic English combination that comes through as a quiet earthy bitterness rather than anything sharp or assertive. It's notably more substantial than most 0.5% beers. Medium-bodied with enough carbonation to keep things lively, it doesn't have the thin, watery quality that lets a lot of AF ales down. There's biscuit malt through the middle and a nose that's quietly toffee-ish with faint earthy hops. The finish is short and fades with a touch of residual sweetness, which is the clearest tell you're not drinking the full-strength version. Not a flaw so much as an honest limit of the format.