... Why was this important you ask? Well, it turned out that this particular homebrew was really rather good, indeed so good that the reputation of this little business grew and demand for his ale soared – until twenty years later we now have the Wychwood Brewery turning out 30,000 barrels of ... Read review
Advantages: Classic bottle and label design, full-bodied and flavoursome taste, Widely available in the UK Disadvantages: Not especially good with food, Does not export much yet
...later we now have the Wychwood Brewery turning out 30,000 barrels of varying fermented beverages annually. And not just that insipid lager you find all too often these days, either; proper beer brewed with English hops and other fine ingredients, and recognised for its quality by the Campaign for Real Ale. In fact, the Wychwood brewery has picked up a grand total of 20 different awards since its launch, which isn’t bad going at all.
... ...bottle is typical of the Wychwood desire for independence and originally, having the brewery logo proudly embossed on the chunky bottle, above the fantastic label depicting the Hobgoblin itself. If you are unfamiliar with the famous label at all, you can take a look at it here:
www.wychwood.co.uk/images/New_Hobgoblin_bottle_label.jpg
-The pour
Settling myself down with a bottle of Hobgoblin last night, I levered ... more
What were you doing back in 1983? Anything interesting? Well, one chap in deepest, darkest Witney (somewhere in Oxfordshire I believe) was doing something very important indeed. He was setting up a one man brewing enterprise and producing eight barrels a week of his homebrew, then selling it to nearby residents. Why was this important you ask? Well, it turned out that this particular homebrew was really rather good, indeed so good that the reputation of this little business grew and demand for his ale soared – until twenty years later we now have the Wychwood Brewery turning out 30,000 barrels of varying fermented beverages annually. And not just that insipid lager you find all too often these days, either; proper beer brewed with English hops and other fine ingredients, and recognised for its quality by the Campaign for Real Ale. In fact, the Wychwood brewery has picked up a grand total of 20 different awards since its launch, which isn’t bad going at all.
The Wychwood calls itself a “fiercely independent” brewer, which is why it is able to produce such a range of wonderfully different and flavoursome beers. They currently have an excellent selection of both draught and bottled ales, with names such as Goliath, Lucifer, Black Wych and The Dogs Bollocks, each distinctive and somehow more tempting than the mass produced “brand” beers you get these days. This review, though, is on their best selling bottled ale (in fact the 5th best selling bottled ale in the UK) – Hobgoblin.
- So what is Hobgoblin? As Wychwood’s top selling label, Hobgoblin has acquired something of a cult status amongst real ale fans – it has also earned itself the Beer of the Festival award in Blackpool (1993); a gold medal in the International Food and Drink Festival (1997); a silver medal in the Australian International Beer awards (1998), and a silver medal in the EFTA awards (2000). Hobgoblin is a strong and full-bodied ale made with pale malt and a touch of chocolate malt, with 5.5% volume alcohol. It is available on draught at a selection of real ale pubs, but most commonly in the 500ml embossed bottle, currently the most widely stocked bottled ale in British off licenses and supermarkets. The bottle is typical of the Wychwood desire for independence and originally, having the brewery logo proudly embossed on the chunky bottle, above the fantastic label depicting the Hobgoblin itself. If you are unfamiliar with the famous label at all, you can take a look at it here: www.wychwood.co.uk/images/New_Hobgoblin_bottle_label.jpg
-The pour Settling myself down with a bottle of Hobgoblin last night, I levered off the metal cap to be greeted with a distinct aroma of hops, and well, something else too. The smell of Hobgoblin is actually slightly sweet – I don’t know how else to describe it. As it pours, the liquid is a deep reddish brown colour, but settles into what I can only describe as like a Guinness-esque colour (only less thick), with a frothy head on top. Now the smell really hits you and gets your mouth watering!
- The drinking Honestly, the sacrifices I make for this site! Now, I am not a big fan of lager but I have been know to sup the odd ale – and this was unlike any other I had tasted. The first thing that hits you is a rather bitter, hoppy flavour, but it does have an aftertaste of sweet fruitiness (which is presumably what I could smell upon first opening the bottle). Personally, I wouldn’t like to drink this with food as the rather strong taste of it might be a bit overpowering, but as a pint by itself then I certainly give it a thumbs up. Being 5.5% it is rather potent as beers go though, so you won’t be able to quaff huge quantities of Hobgoblin. But then, this is a high quality brew that you wouldn’t buy with the express intent of getting bladdered on it – this is intended to be drunk slowly, to be savoured, to be appreciated and enjoyed. And if you should like to do so for yourself, then a 500ml bottle (widely available at any decent stockist of beers) costs around £1.50.
-The details The Wychwood brewery can be visited at: www.wychwood.co.uk, where you can find out about the full range of beers available, and where you can hold of exports if you reside outside of the UK. They also have a range of Wychwood and Hobgoblin merchandise for sale, and a free screensaver on site for you to download.
The Wychwood Brewery Co. Ltd. Eagle Maltings The Crofts Witney Oxon. OX28 4DP Tel: 01993 890800
And P.S.... This was my first beer review, so I would really appreciate some feedback. I know I am not in the same league as tange or proxam when it comes to writing about booze, but I had a bash at it anyway!
Advantages: Tasty, from a well known recognised brewery. Disadvantages: Can't seem to find it on draught, that picture of the goblin scares me.
...---
It's produced by Wychwood brewery. This brewery calls itself ' fiercely independent ' and this can be seen written on all of the bottles of their brewed ales. The brewery itself has won many accolades in the world of alcohol, round about 20 to date. Is this a sign of a good brewery? I think so. Wychwoods also produce ales such as 'Goliath' , ' The Dog's Bollocks ' ' Alchemy Gold ' as well as the one in question ' Hobgoblin Ale ' As you can see ... ...things. You can contact wychwood at the following address:
Wychwood Brewery Co. Ltd
Witney, Oxfordshire
0X8 7AZ.
Unfortunately their website www. wychwood.co.uk appears to be unreachable, I'm not sure whether it is unavailable at present or whether it no longer exists but I've tried for the past three days to log onto it with no luck.
--- THE ALE ---
This ale is the best selling ale of Wychwood Brewery and not surprisingly it, like the brewer, ...
justme 08.07.2003
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Wychwood Hobgoblin Extra Strong Ale
Advantages: good, solid ale with a bottle that makes an interesting talking point when left casually on the coffee table Disadvantages: Dire in the pubs (in my experience!), nothing to get too excited about
...that is the symbol of Wychwood brewery, it’s apparently named after the forest of Wychwood in the Cotswolds somewhere, and brews many occult-sounding beers, of which this is their flagship ale. So what is it actually like?
Well, for a start it is a premium ale of 5 ½%, so a few of these and you’ll notice it. It is a brown ale, the colour is strong and rustic, and the brownness extends to the considerable head you get from the bottled version. It ... ...to Somerset, bearing a big Wychwood sign and suitably gothically decorated. However, at the risk of brandishing any other Wychwood pubs with a bad name, this student pub served me a suspiciously watered-down Hobgoblin, with a flat head, that tasted nothing like the bottled beer I was used to. Several other Wychwood varieties tasted similarly off-hand and when I woke up in the morning I felt very dodgy indeed. Maybe I had a bad experience, but I for ...
peppermint 26.11.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Wychwood Hobgoblin Extra Strong Ale
Advantages: Interesting flavours, very drinkable Disadvantages: Hard to find on draught
Brewed by Wychwood Brewery in Oxfordshire, this English ale is 5.5% alcohol and is brewed using a combination of strongly-roasted pale malt with a touch of chocolate malt. The Wychwood Brewery in Witney, Oxfordshire, England began life in a small way in 1983. These days it is a well established brewery, still small but growing in stature daily. They now produce around 600 barrels of beer a week. Their beers are brewed with local water from the river ... ...additives are used in any of their products. Enough of that....what about the beer. ~~~~~~~~
The Pour ~~~~~~~~
Hobgoblin pours to a dark, coppery, ruby-red colour - rather like a tawny port. More like a brown ale than a pale ale, it is medium-to-full bodied, is lightly carbonated and settles with a good but light head at the top of the glass. The aroma is of hops with definite chocolate overtones and a little fruitiness - somewhat smoky. ~~~~~~~~~
...
proxam 25.06.2002
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Wychwood Hobgoblin Extra Strong Ale
Advantages: Drunk the ale, read the label, worn the T-shirt. A strong bitter mahogany red ale. Disadvantages: Bitterness a little overdone for my taste
...Hobgoblin, the second of my Wychwood Tryptich. SOME MORE BACKGORUND.
I did say last time that I would try my hardest not to repeat myself and I shall resist the temptation. Suffice it to say that Wychwood Breweries are a “Fiercely Independent” (their mantra) company is based in Witney in Oxfordshire.
They take great pride in brewing a number of character ales – many of them from organic ingredients. They have come up with some quite innovative ... ...bitter for the winter.
Wychwood ales have been winner awards and medals at championships at home and abroad on a regular basis since the company was started in 1986. A variety of the labels are also exported to countries all over the worlds (including the USA and Canada, Scandinavia, the Far East and the Middle East). They even have an agency in the Lebanon!
So what do the brewers think of Hobgoblin? “Hobgoblin is a powerful full-bodied copper ...
Newfloridian 03.04.2003
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Wychwood Hobgoblin Extra Strong Ale
Advantages: colour, taste Disadvantages: not a summer beer
...I tis produced by Wychwood a fairly new brewery since they only came into existence in 1983, based in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds. The brewery although new has had much success with its ales and has won many awards. Hobgoblin is their most successful ale to date. The beer can be bought in any reputable supermarkets and off licences and can be bought for about £1.50 for a 500 ml bottle. Art 5.2% it is quite a strong beer.
The appearance.
On pouring ... ...am used to beers being golden in colour. This one is much darker. At first it looks almost as dark as Guinness but on holding it up to the light the ale changes to a wonderful dark red colour. The nearest thing I can describe the colour of this mysterious brew is that it is like blackcurrant juice. It poured very nicely and did not have too much of a head once it had settled. I also noticed it was not over carbonated either so it was easier to drink ...
duskmaiden 08.12.2003
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Wychwood Hobgoblin Extra Strong Ale
