As a kid Halloween was one of my favorite times of year, second to only Christmas for obvious reasons. Halloween enabled you to dress up and be what ever you wanted to be for one day, or at least without people thinking "who's the weird kid?". We never spent much money on costumes and primarily made up our own with what we had in the house. I did however dress as the usual suspects from time to time, Dracula, Ware wolf and of course a Hobo. I was telling my wife the other day that one of my very first and fondest memories of Halloween was when I was in kindergarten. We had a dress up day and went on a parade around the local neighborhood, my mom was there taking lots of pictures like moms do and I got a ton of candy. What was I that year? It was 1983 and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi was the greatest movie ever to me, so Darth Vader it was. I think I may have even asked for an actual Ewok for Christmas that year was well. The older I get the more I miss 1983.
Now, at almost thirty five with a son who is about to turn two before the month is out, I've found out how little I have grown up. I still love the Star Wars franchise, the original three were the best. I also love any super hero, sci-fi, fantasy kind of movies. I am a "dork" at heart. So when I saw the label for Hobgoblin Dark English Ale I had no choice but to buy it. Given the season as well as my kid at heart psyche I thought this brew would be perfect (plus the bottle it pretty cool).
People say never judge a book by it's cover. That may be true when reading books and I've fallen victim to that a few times. But when it comes to beer it can be the complete opposite. Anchor Steam Brewing Co. uses a unique bottle and there beer is great. Sierra Nevada, though not an unusual bottle, it is different in its own way, is another great brewery. Grolsh beer, with the cork in the bottle is also a pretty good beer. I could go on, but I'm sure you get my point. This bottle is not only unique in marketing and labeling but also different with the bottle itself.
Hobgoblin is brewed by Wychwood Brewery in Oxfordshire, England. No it is not the beer of choice of Hogwarts, but if they ever make another Harry Potter movie, it should be. I was disappointed to have to pour the beer from the bottle into my glass, but my disappointment soon turned to happiness. The color is dark as the label says, not like a Guinness, but more like a Boddington's, with a thick tinted head The smell of spices and malt did not let down in the flavor. This beer will warm you up on a chilly fall night or even a cold winter day. Very smooth with great flavors of malt and caramel. There is no other way to put it, I love this beer!
Questions: Does this beer crack the top ten? Absolutely! It's one of the best beers I have had...ever. I'm usually an IPA / Hops kind of guy, but the flavor and taste of this beer is crafted perfectly. I am placing this beer at number 3 on my top 10 list, without hesitation. Was it worth the price? I have to say it is a little pricey. The going rate for a six pack is $11.99, I was only able to purchase the last three in the store, so I paid the prorated price of $6.00. But I would easily pay the asking price for 6 of these any day.
My rating: 5 out of 5. A great beer; heavy enough to only be able to have 2-3 in a sitting, which in turn makes the price of the six pack well worth it. I liked it enough to go on line at www.wychwood.co.uk to research their other brews and almost bought a t-shirt at £9.99, which converted is $13.02 USD. I might make the purchase, or just save the money and buy another six pack of this tomorrow.
Until the next brew...may the force be with you!
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