Fullers Hock

Brewed by Fuller’s
Style: Mild Ale
London, England

Serve in English pint, Shaker

(Cask at Royal Oak, Borough, London, 15 Apr 2009) Very dark brown colour with brief, beige head. Roasted, malty nose with dark chocolate and coffee. Malty, roasted taste with notes of coffee and chocolate. Mild bitterness with dry coffee hints. Fairly thin body. Nice and tasty mild.

Cask on the guest pump at the Royal Oak, Borough, 31st March 09. Very dark brown, near black. Dark malt aroma but with a little coffee bitterness. Soft palate. A nice typical mild.

I first tried this beer back in the late 70s when it was still a regular Fullers brand. To their credit, Fullers have revived it for limited periods on more than a few occasions unlike the Young’s equivelent Best Malt Ale which vanished almost 30 years ago. Some of the Hock revivals have been very decent, but the last reincarnation, IMO was caramel and very little else. I first encountered the latest batch at the recent London Drinker beer fest and to be honest was not too impressed. I tried it a few days later at the Euston Flyer and it was impressed how much better it tasted. However the Hock that I drank a skin full of at the Wheatsheaf at Ealing Broadway a few days later was stunning. Dark brown/ruby black with a lively off white head. A complex beer for it’s low gravity with subtle roasted malt, a hint of caramel and restrained but evident fresh english hop content. An amazing session beer by any standards.

Cask @ London Drinker 25: A great looking beer. Very, very dark red/brown with an excellent mousse of beige head. Deep cereal aromas with the slightest hint of chocolate. Very dusty. Sweet fruits (raisin) meld with very dusty and airy cereals to create something robust and moreish. I really think this has the perfect balance of weight and drinkability. A heady and very tasty ale that punches well above its weight.

Hand pulled half pint, in a pub near the Barbican. Deep brown colour, small tan head. Wet blanket, momed grass with maltyness. Very light in the mouth, tending towards watery. An ok mild.

Cask-conditioned at the Old Fish Market, Bristol 28/3/09. Dark brown with a decent, frothy, near-white head. Aroma of red fruit, caramel and a hint of something nutty. Flavour had the same sweet fruit, with a short bitter finish and a slightly jarring, almost gravy-like savoury after taste. Ok, but there are a lot better milds out there.

Tried at the Royal Oak, Good looking pint, Luke mentioned that this was the best mild he’s ever tasted and was about to write milds off before he had it so i was keen to try it! Smokey nose followed by a caramel sweet nutty palate that finishes quite dry....impressive body for the abv!

Cask at Wellington Arms, Bedford. Dark brown with some head. A faint malt aroma and an initial sweetness in the taste, however this soon subsides into pointless, watery, tastelessness.