Beer of the Weekend #157: Hobgoblin

It’s Thirsty Thursday so I decided to sample the beer I may or may not recommend in the Little Village’s October issue: Hobgoblin, brewed by the Wychwood Brewery of Witney, Oxfordshire, England.


The recommendation depends on another tasting I will likely do on Sunday. Between then and now is booked solid with PBR and the traditional BotW.

Tonight I’m breaking out my Hobgoblin glass. It was included in a Hobgoblin gift tin my cousin gave me for Christmas five or six years ago. I think this is only the third time I have ever used it.

Serving type: One 500 ml bottle. There is a cryptic code printed on the neck, but I can’t decipher it as a freshness date.

Appearance: Straight pour into my half-liter Hobgoblin glass (I’m really not sure exactly what kind of glass it is). The color is a dark caramel brown with ruby undertones. A good amount of sedimentation is hovering in the brew. Two fingers of tan head developed and slowly dissipated to leave a ring around the outside and a bubbly lacing.

Smell: Very British and very enticing. Roasted caramel, honey, toffee, and chocolate.

Taste: The flavor is not as potent as the aroma, but it follows. It tastes much like a stouter version of a British pale ale. The roasted caramel dominates and is complimented by chocolate and toffee, and a little bit of honey makes it a hair sweet. An adequate amount of hop spicing provides a nip to tingle the back of the tongue.

Drinkability: Good stuff. Wychwood says it is perfect for Halloween. Maybe the name is perfect, but I’m not so sure it goes well with five boxes of Nerds, 10 mini Three Musketeers bars, and a caramel apple with a razor blade hidden in it.

Fun facts about Hobgoblin:

-Style: Though the Wychwood website lists it as a “Ruby beer,” BA classifies it as an English Brown Ale:

Spawned from the Mild Ale, Brown Ales tend to be maltier and sweeter on the palate, with a fuller body. Color can range from reddish brown to dark brown. Some versions will lean towards fruity esters, while others tend to be drier with nutty characters. All seem to have a low hop aroma and bitterness.

-Price: $3.99/bottle at John’s Grocery in Iowa City. This reminds me that I still have not written a BeerAdvocate BeerFly review for the BevMo! on Beach yet. I need to do that.

-Serving temperature: 45-50ºF.

-Alcohol content: 5.2 percent ABV.

-Food pairings: This is direct from the Wychwood website:

Hobgoblin is the perfect beer to drink with meat stews & Steak & Ale pies, Sausages & Mash, Burgers & BBQs; roasts; & char-grilled vegetables. Ideal for Halloween!

The Quiet Man’s grade: B+.

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