Halloween is ten days past as I write this, but I still have ghouls and goblins hanging around the house. Well, Hobgoblins anyway. It’s OK though. They’re safely packed away in half liter bottles, where they can’t harm anyone. Unless you drink too many of them, in which case they might come back to haunt you the next day. Ouch.

Anyway, as you might have guessed, I’m talking about the Wychwood Brewery’s marvelous Hobgoblin ale. Wychwood is an English brewery that specializes in beers with spooky-sounding names (Black Wych, Scarecrow, Circle Master, etc.). But their best selling bottled brew is Hobgoblin.

To say the least, my past experiences with Hobgoblin had been pretty scary. I’ve gotten bad bottles of this beer a few times, either because it was skunked or had just been sitting around too long. The clear glass packaging certainly doesn’t help. That allows beer to skunk faster than green or brown glass does.

Skunking is a photochemical reaction that occurs when sunlight or even fluorescent light interacts with alpha acids in hops. It is not a nice thing, as the name implies. It’s a good idea therefore to try to get your Hobgoblin from an unopened case (as I did), preferably refrigerated. There’s nothing worse than a bad Hobgoblin, after all.

Fortunately, my sample this time around was in excellent condition. Likely a fresh supply was brought in with hopes it would sell as a gimmick beer during the Halloween season. Here’s what Wychwood says about their beer:

Hobgoblin is a powerful full-bodied copper red, well-balanced brew. Strong in roasted malt with a moderate hoppy bitterness and slightly fruity character that last through to the end

And here’s what I think:

Hobgoblin Ale pours to a deep mahogany color with a huge creamy tan head and a thick caramel nose. A generous foamy trail of Brussels lace follows the beer all the way down the glass. The chewy malt palate is full of creamy caramel malt flavor with a firm and luxuriant mouthfeel. Hints of raisin, toasted nuts, and mince meat pie are all detectable too. The finish is nicely balanced with a gentle, spicy hop bitterness, and all of the flavors linger on the tongue for a bit after sipping

This is an excellent English style ale that’s a pure pleasure for sipping on a cool autumn night. It’s certainly one of my favorites, and one that I can imagine would be great served on Thanksgiving with dessert. Why, I’m sure the guests will just be goblin it up.

Update 3/21/2015: Tonight I'm enjoying a delicious mug of Hobgoblin English Ale out on the patio at Taco Mac. Flinty, malty nose, slightly nutty palate with hints of chocolate, light butter, and balancing grassy herbal notes. I could sip this all day, it's such a wonderful English ale. A little above average in price at $7, but it is a full 20-ounce mug for me.

Update 4/15/2018: How about Hobgoblin....in a can? Why not? A can will protect the beer far better than clear glass bottles. My canned Hobgoblin pours to a dark brown color with a medium creamy head and a fresh nutty malty nose. The beer is slightly flinty, nutty malty with fresh hulled malt notes, cookie malty, and a sharp earthy bitter hop finish. Delicious, and not a bad deal at about $3 a pint can.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled, canned

(D)=Draft

 

 



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