Wychwood Brewery

Lately I've been kind of obsessed with Wychwood Brewery's Hobgoblin beer. I find myself craving one just about every night, and as much as that makes me sound like I have some sort of drinking problem, its just that its been a while since I discovered a beer as delicious and satisfying that's readily available in Britain.

I miss being out on the road in Europe and being able to order just about any beer in any country, confident that it would beat the hell out of the piss-poor selection of tasteless carbonated lager available in most British pubs. One day I'll get around to compiling some sort of Top Ten list of my favourite beers from the continent that no-one will care about.

Anyway, after a good few bottles of Hobgoblin, I decided to see what else Wychwood have to offer. Luckily they made that very easy for me by selling these mini-crates of their four main beers!

I've drunk enough of the Hobgoblin that I can't really recall what my first impressions were when I first tasted it, except to say that I immediately loved it's strong, robust flavour, without the slightly sour mustiness of a lot of ales. I'm glad it's the most readily available of this range.

I was really looking forward to trying the Wychcraft as I love blonde beers, especially the crispy blonde from De Koningshoeven Brewery in the Netherlands, an authentic Trappist brewery. The Wychcraft blonde has a slightly sweeter, smoother kick, it's almost banana-y. It goes down easier than what I can remember of the blondes I had on the continent (and no, that's not a double entendre). I'd definitely demolish a few of these if I can get my hands on them!

I tried the Goliath next, cracking it open and immediately digging the aroma wafting out of the bottleneck, but it was a little light in terms of taste, at least compared to the previous 2 beers of the evening, then I noticed it only packs a 4.2% punch. This beer needs an accompaniment, and it definitely works well as a thirst-slayer when you're demolishing some food on the side.

Last up was the Scarecrow, an 'organic pale ale'. If this is the organic beer, what goes into the others? Are they brewed by robots using old battery acid and genetically engineered hops? [I apologise for the terrible attempts at humour, I was slightly (very) drunk when I scrawled out the notes for this review]
It sure tastes good n' wholesome, a perfect smooth, flavourful way to end the evening.

Blurriness provides accurate portrayal of my vision by the end of the four beers.

I still make no pretense that I actually know anything about beer in a technical sense, but I know what I like, and that's beer and ale with character, which is exactly what Wychwood Brewery offers!

Check out the brewery's awesome website for information about all their beers, as well as pretty good competitions and other stuff here:
http://www.wychwood.co.uk/#/home//hobgoblin/home

You can order all these beers as well as t-shirts, glasses and tankards from Wychwood's online shop:
http://www.wychwood-shop.co.uk/

Beerislava

Coming to you live from Bratislava, Slovakia, it's the completely unhyped and unmissed return of beer reviews that tell you nothing about anything! I don't know how long the internet in this hotel room will hold up, so I'm just gonna get right into it.

But first you should read this article that explains a little about Slovak beer http://travel.spectator.sme.sk/articles/1231/how_to_read_a_slovak_beer_label

I picked up the Kozel because it has a picture of a happy goat holding a big jug of beer, and it just doesn't get any better than that does it?I say this about most beers I like, but the smell when I crack it open is an awesome smokey pungeance. High hopes! The first swig is pretty average, but it's not bad, and I'll doubtless drink a couple more of these during my stay here. I'm okay with that.
This is 10 Plato things, so it's a relatively weak beer, alcohol content-wise, but it's still full of flavour, dry and wheaty. Damn good first beer, hope the others are as tasty!

Next is the weird smiling monk beer, Smadny Mnich. Soon as I pop the top the smell fills the hotel room. Whoah. The taste isn't as overpowering as the smell. In fact, there ain't a lot of taste, just fizziness. I'll give it a few more sips...Nah, it just ain't happening, too bland. Ah well.

Last beer of the evening is Kelt, which has a cool-as-fuck label, sporting a Viking helmet. Badass. Let's hope it tastes it.It has a meaty odour, though my girl reckons it smells like stem ginger cookies. Huh. Well, here's hoping it tastes like neither of those!
Phew, this is the strongest yet, despite being another only 10% Plato units (4.2% actual alcohol), a real robust flavour. Quite bitter aftertaste too, though I'm undecided as to wether that's a good thing or not yet. A couple more swallows and I decide it's a not-bad thing.

Though I probably wouldn't get any of these beers again, I enjoy trying new varieties every day while I'm on the road. If anyone has any suggestions for good Hungarian beers, I'll be there for a week starting tomorrow, so get at me!
designosaur at live dot com
Cheers!