Hobgoblin - Wychwood Brewery, Witney

Ah, Hobgoblin... the beer David Cameron presented to Obama earlier this year. This beer always struck me as a bit of a novelty. It's brewed by Wychwood, a fairly well regarded English brewery. When I first got into craft beer I lumped this beer into the same pile as Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale as beers I just didn't take seriously. It took a while but I finally bought a bottle of Hobgoblin just to see what it was like. To my surprise this beer was actually quite good. That was about four years ago, my tastes have changed and I've found myself to be in possession of another bottle of Hobgoblin. Let's see if anything has changed...

Wychwood Hobgoblin pours a dark brown color but the body is remarkably clear when you hold your glass up to the light. There doesn't seem to be any carbonation in this beer as no bubbles are visible. The head is quite thin and has a very soft looking texture to it. What the appearance of this beer lacks, the aroma more than makes up for. The Hobgoblin has a very pleasant aroma of dark caramel malt, roasted nuts and toffee. It's sweet but a bit grainy with an omnipresent darkness to it.

The flavor of the Hobgoblin matches its aroma pretty closely. There's a nut brown flavor to this English Mild Ale along with a sweet caramel and roasted malt flavor that gives a bit rich impression. The body really falls short here and does the flavor a bit of a disservice. The flavors are great but it's all just too thin and watery to be all that memorable. This beer isn't beyond the point of enjoyment, it's still a pleasant experience... but you're left with the sense that there's something missing. Namely, a body. The texture falls flat, literally. There seems to be very little, if any carbonation which doesn't help the watery texture.

In the end, this is a very drinkable and flavorful beer that certainly won't fill you up. As an everyday drinker the Hobgoblin excels. As a quality reward for a job well done, I think it falls quite short...