Wychwood Hobgoblin (Pasteurised)

Brewed by Wychwood (Refresh UK - Marstons plc)
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Witney, England

On tap at the Flying Saucer in KC. Pours a clear copper brown body with a finger-width, off-white, dense and creamy head that dissipates quickly leaving a light lace. Aroma is very fruity. Some toffees and caramel malts as well as a touch of chocolate. Flavor starts with some rounded caramels and a deeper toffee flavor while maintaining less fruit than the aroma hinted at. Nutty with some light chocolates. Finishes malty and nutty with just a touch of chocolate and a bitter roast. Palate is light to medium bodied and somewhat watery. Overall, not a terrible beer, but there certainly are better ESB’s. I’ll give it credit for having enough taste to put ahead of crap like Newcastle Brown though.

Poured a dark copper color with an off white head. Slight lacing. Smells of baker’s chocolate, berries, and some smoke. Tasted like red berries, toffee, and kind of bitter. I’m enjoying this one. Good brew.

Bottled. Brown with white head. Aroma of red berries and malt. Flavor with caramel and hop spices.

11.2oz (brown) bottle. I have tried this a few times and every time it has seemed a little off to me. I assumed that it was light damaged due to the clear bottle but this time it actually came in a brown bottle and tasted exactly the same. . It pours a nice dark brown but tastes thin, soapy and a hint of skunk. Guess I’m just not a fan.

Bottle from Market of Choice. Dark brown pour with hints of red, light tan head, okay lacing. Aroma is caramel malt, some light chocolate and toffee with some burnt notes. Flavor is roasted malts, chocolate, toffee, caramel. MInimal hop presence, earthy where it is there though. Very thin mouthfeel. Okay beer, great name.

No: 737
Rated: 23.06.2009
Bottle brown, 500 ml
Appearance: Pours dark ruby, intensively reddish, perfectly clear body, body carbonation is rather visually mild, head is cappuccino like in hue, frothy, initially medium, quite firm and slowly decreasing to small, leaves gentle lacing, not very impressive head but as for Premium Bitter it is still nice and lasting.
Aroma: Very nice caramelly aroma, dark bread is pronounced, very nice nobel type hops, very earthy hops, dryness, burned sugar, caramelly malt, notes of chockolate malt, burned dark malt, some notes of spices like ginger, looks like my first that dark version of Premium Bitter, all in all the aroma sensation are inviting to try the beer. Ginger bread at the top.
Flavour: Very typical flavour of Premium Bitter, however, what is initially characteristic and important for this beer is its more roasty, toasty, burned crystalized malt character with additional spicy accents of ginger bread, ashyness, dark bread, burned malted barley grains, earthy - leavy hoppyness reminding me nobel English hops, very decent beer but in fact not so standing out of its style. Quite easy going ale presenting a high quality, however, nothing revolutionary here.
Palate: Body is medium, texture is watery, carbonation on palate is moderate, finish feel is moderately astringent.

Bottle from international mixer pack from steph’s sister. Real cloudy copper with ruby tint and small beige head, some lacing. Aroma is real fruity, real sulphury (which went away as it warmed), plum, sweet dried fruit, some alc. Flavor is red fruit, burnt brown sugar, raisin, slight yeast but basically the flavor is all malt. Medium body and active carbonation. Very nice and enjoyable.

Bottle. Ruby and very clear.Malt dominates with a pleasant malty aftertaste. Some bitterness and left some lacing. As this is a very common beer in supermarkets I thought it was better than expected.But nothing exceptional.