Wychwood Hobgoblin Ruby Beer
Brewed by Wychwood Brewery Company Ltd
Style: Strong Bitter/Ruby beer
Witney, England
Was planing on having a taste of this beer for a long time. Always stands out in the supermarket with its very interesting name, and its conspicuous label of what I guess is the ‘Hobgoblin’.
A goblin is a legendary evil or mischievous grotesque dwarf-like demon or monster that appeared in European stories and accounts during the Middle Ages. (Yes, I had to look that up, thanks Wiki!!).
Either way the label does look pretty cool. I am sure the brewery has cornered the beer market for the gaming geeks and fantasy fiction aficionados who like their fantasy and all that jazz. That is if they can manage to actually get their arse out of the house and off the computer, and down the shops to buy the stuff!
Wychwood Brewery is a brewery based in Witney, founded in 1983, on the fringes of the ancient medieval forest of Wychwood in Oxfordshire, in the South East of England, owned by Refresh UK, a subsidiary of Marston’s, and is the United Kingdom’s largest brewer of organic ales. The company’s flagship brand is Hobgoblin, a strong real ale that is well popular amongst the beer drinking masses of the UK
Review: Bottle of Wychwood Hobgoblin Ruby Beer: ABV: 5.2%
There is no doubt that this beer stands out with its very amusing logo, inspired by the local myths and legends of the ancient Wychwood forest.
The appearance didn’t look good at all to be frank. It looked like coca cola, no head to speak of, very flat, dead and unappealing.
The colour was a deep ruby red, and on pour I got a big head, very frothy but dies, and no real lacing. Nice colour but the overall look was disappointing.
A lovely aroma, smelt like a nice stout to me! I got a smell of caramel, toffee and roasted malts, and a slight sour smell, but overall I liked the smell, pleasant.
Taste: Didn’t like this one bit, which was surprising to me as it is very much a hyped up beer. I really wanted it to be good, but alas……
Not much of a beer at all. Too strong for me, had a really strong bitter taste and could feel the alcohol. Very hoppy throughout, too hoppy for me.
Very sour creamy aftertaste,
Harsh flavours, chocolate, toffee and sweet malts, a lot of flavours in it alright, very robust and thick
I found it very hard to drink to be honest, one to sip, definitely not for a session, that’s for sure, for me anyway, lol.
It is a popular beer, but I do wonder if people are more swayed with the hype and the vibe than the actual taste.
Now I know they say that if you are a lager drinker beware, I would say that’s true. I think this is definitively an acquired taste, and perhaps with all the hype one for the nerds who like their war craft or whatever, or an English man and his real ales……….
This is reflected in their ad campaign where they challenge drinkers of pale lager to try a brew with more distinct flavours, “What’s the matter Lagerboy, afraid you might taste something?”. Could be true, lol!
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purchased Hobgoblin Ruby today, not realizing it wasn’t the Traditional…. I found Ruby very bitter and prefer the original. I favour Guinness which is milder, but do miss the Hobgoblin … it is difficult to find in Toronto, Ontario LCBO, and only appears at Halloween season ….. Please encourage Canada to stock the Hobgoblin Traditional …