Hobgoblin Ruby Beer (Local Shop) By @SpectreUK

I haven't drank a Hobgoblin beer from the Wychwood Brewery for a while. I do like a pint of Hobgoblin now and then, but I have an overstocked beer fridge full of beers that I want to write about, and also a diet of over exercise and strict calorie counting to think about.

This Hobgoblin Ruby Beer was bought by my mom from a local corner shop, and is a perfect excuse to have my cake and eat it (well, beer and drink it). At 5.2% in volume the back of the bottle mentions caramel and fruity aromas. It also tantalisingly mentions Chocolate and Crystal malts used in the brewing, as well Fuggles and Syrian Golding hops. So I'm looking forward to a toffee sweetness, a little chocolate and fruitiness such as figs, dates and raisins in this ruby ale.

This beer should go rather well with my steak and ale pie and assorted vegetables for dinner. On pouring out the bottle there was indeed a sweet caramel and a deep fruity aroma from the dark red almost brown ale inside. Hobgoblin Ruby Beer would work well with either a meaty meal or even as a pudding beer.

Personally Hobgoblin Ruby Beer tastes so good, I'd rather drink it on its own with a good book or black and white movie in the afternoon. The sweet pale toffee from the mix of malts shines through in the initial tasting, followed by mid fruity bitterness from the added hops into the aftertaste. Gorgeous… I would love another.