Hobgoblin Original IPA
Another Hobgoblin beer and another IPA. In general I like IPAs, but they do sometimes get too close to tasting like grapefruit juice. I have my fingers crossed that this will be a good one.
Details
- IPA, 5% ABV
- 500ml bottle
From the website:
An IPA with legendary status, forged from the finest hops. Famed for its taste explosion of hops, grapefruit and honey, leaving a juicy bitterness to finish. That’s why it’s called IPA (Iconic Pale Ale), but you already knew that.
See: Pale golden with orange glints Smell: Tropical, citrus, fresh, orange Taste: Juicy, zesty, complex fruit note, grapefruit
Expectations
I have a feeling that I have drunk this before, but not more than a feeling. In any case, it's an IPA, so I expect something refreshing with a hoppy taste.
Experience
It poured nicely, leaving about 7mm of foamy head. The smell is sweet, and gave me the impression of flowers mixed with yeast. The colour is darker than I had expected, closer to amber or copper than yellow.
The taste is good - sweet, bitter and quite strong. I'll call it "complex" because I can't pick out anything specific. It certainly doesn't taste like grapefruit to me, or honey either. The word that first sprung to mind was "nutty", but that might be more from the aftertaste that the actual in-the-mouth taste.
I had expected to enjoy this beer, but not as much as I did. I was actually quite sad to reach the bottom of the glass. By the end of it I had detected a bit of citrus tang, but it wasn't too much for me and I think this could be exactly the right amount.
Verdict
5/5 : Full marks for a really nice beer. I want more of this, or more beers that can match it.
