Beer #204 – King Goblin by Wychwood Brewery Company Ltd

King Goblin by Wychwood Brewery Company Ltd

This next beer brings me back to my old Dungeons & Dragons days.  That is correct, I was a dork of the highest order when I was in Junior High.  I spent many a night playing D&D (a pen and paper role playing game) in a friends basement battling goblins and orcs and all of sort of nasty creatures armed with my trusty twenty-sided die (oh yeah, I had a nice collection of dice…in a velvet bag).  I probably should have been out doing what other normal teen boys were doing at the time…drinking, chasing girls, etc. but that was not me.  I was a role playing game dork, a geek…and you know what…I still am and proud of it. That love of all things D&D fantasy wise still lives on with me today in the books I read (Lord Of The Rings, Sword Of Shannara, etc.), the shows I enjoy (Game Of Thrones), and the PC games I play (World Of Warcraft, Lord Of The Rings Online, etc.).

To that end, when I saw beer #204 sitting on the shelf, King Goblin by Wychwood Brewery Company Ltd from jolly old England, I knew I had to give it a go.  King Goblin is an English Strong Ale with an ABV of 6.6% with a very cool label of a goblin wielding a nasty looking two-handed axe (quite possibly +1 to damage).

It has been a while since I used my Starr Hill pint glass, so a quick rinse, a towel drying, and a pour brought me this reddish brown brew with quite a nice fluffy off white head which left some excellent lacing on the side of the glass.  The nose was weak though…it mostly consisted of a malty bread like aroma.  The taste was also on the light side…with roasted malts and an earthy component. It had a bitterness to it that lingered on well into the grainy aftertaste.  The mouthfeel was that of a medium bodied beer with fairly light carbonation.

This had me reaching for my twenty-sided die to make a saving throw roll (old D&D term…look it up) against poison.  Actually it wasn’t that bad…just pretty average.  I did notice for a 6.6% ABV brew, I was feeling the effects of the alcohol more than I should have been.  The tipsy feeling was making me think maybe I should join a LARP (Live Action Role Playing)…here is a clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ04mfAY2BU…enjoy!

Rating: C

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Beer #161 – Fraoch Heather Ale by Williams Bothers Brewing Company

Fraoch Heather Ale by Williams Brothers Brewing Company

Look at the label of beer #161, Fraoch Heather Ale.  It looks very medieval and is getting me psyched up for Game Of Thrones on HBO tonight.  Great show by the way…very much like an adult Lord Of  The Rings (which I also love).  Williams Brothers Brewing Company brews this Ancient Herbed Ale or Scottish Gruit in Scotland.  This type of ale has been brewed in Scotland since 2000 BC and according to their website, might be the oldest style of ale brewed in the world.  Fraoch comes from an ancient Gaelic recipe “leann fraoich” meaning heather ale.

Into the pint glass went this honey colored brew with a frothy white head.  It was absolutely mesmerizing to look at with hundreds upon hundreds of carbonation bubbles rising to the top.  The nose was very subtle…it had a flowery aroma and was very clean smelling.  It had a very nondescript taste…there was a bit of a malt flavor similar to biscuit or cracker and that was about it.  I really didn’t get any heather or much of anything else in the flavor which surprised me since it had a bit of a floral like smell.  It had a light body to it, light carbonation and was a bit crisp and kind of refreshing.  It was an easy drinking beer but that being said…it didn’t make we want to have another.

I say give this one to the Jesters to imbibe…there are far more worthy beers out there for a King to pour into his royal chalice.

Rating: C

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