Hobgoblin Ruby
Wychwood Brewery Company Ltd

Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Wychwood Brewery Company Ltd
 
England, United Kingdom
Style:
Extra Special / Strong Bitter (ESB)
Ranked #56
ABV:
5%
Score:
85
Ranked #21,554
Avg:
3.76 | pDev: 13.56%
Reviews:
1,142
Ratings:
2,764
Status:
Active
Rated:
Nov 21, 2023
Added:
Jan 15, 2002
Wants:
  102
Gots:
  550
Formerly Hobgoblin

Drink legendary. This distinct ruby beer’s sweet caramel and fruity aromas tease the taste buds. Brewed with smooth and rich Chocolate and Crystal malts & a blend of Fuggles and Styrian Golding hops. Expect a delicious full-bodied toffee flavour and a fruity finish of figs, raisins and dates. Hobgoblin: Born Different.

Hops: Fuggles & Styrians
Malt: Pale, Crystal & Chocolate

Only bottled Hobgoblin Ruby is 5.2% which is this listing. Canned, cask (tap and hand-pull draft), and 5L mini-cask's of Hobgoblin Ruby are 4.5% and reviews of them belong under that separate listing.
View: More Beers
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 3 by altrio

Nov 21, 2023
Photo of BillyNoonan
Reviewed by BillyNoonan from Ireland

3.77/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Poured from bottle for this review, although have had it on tap in London many a times. Beautiful ruby amber pour, medium soft head. Subtle aroma of raisin, dates and molasses. Taste follows with toffee and classic ESB bitterness. Absolute classic and one of my favourite English beers. Nostalgia!
Oct 11, 2023
Photo of JohRvs
Reviewed by JohRvs from England

3.76/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Look: A rich ruby colour.
Smell: Aromatically fruity with a caramel sweetness.
Taste: Vibrant and rich on the tongue.
Feel: Exciting and full of flavour.
Overall: A very findable ale.
Jul 26, 2023
Photo of ThrewRedButter
Reviewed by ThrewRedButter from Massachusetts

3.84/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
LOOK
Beautiful Mohagany, ruby red color with transparent body and two fingers of off-white, yellowish head.

AROMA
Dark fruits, cherries, almost Quad-like. Overall subtle, but lots of character

TASTE
Like the aroma there's a theme of subtlety going on but it is highlighted with those cherries and dark fruits. Sweet malts and maybe a hint of grass. It's very pleasant.

MOUTHFEEL
Light with little carbonation. Easy to drink.

OVERALL
A low abv ESB with a lot of fruity notes and toasted malts. Easy to enjoy round after round.
Jun 09, 2023
Photo of willesco
Reviewed by willesco from Ireland

3.94/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Drank in a Teku Rastal glass. Would choose this over Guinness any day. Bought for €2.50 in supermarket. Dunnes Store/Tesco.
Nice, creamy tan head. Not as good as a Guinness obviously.
Hood smell of raisins, figs, plum, etc.
Nice toffee and bready notes as well.
Drinking under the sun in the back garden
May 12, 2023
 
Rated: 3.54 by cd34 from Illinois

Feb 11, 2023
 
Rated: 3.8 by beaulabauve from Louisiana

Nov 13, 2022
Photo of Matym92
Rated by Matym92 from Sweden

1.99/5  rDev -47.1%
look: 2 | smell: 1.75 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.25
Taste of caramel. Ruby color
Aug 07, 2022
 
Rated: 3.89 by morinessan from Sweden

Aug 07, 2022
Photo of mpk2020
Rated by mpk2020 from Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Bottle from victory station
Jul 28, 2022
Photo of BigMac59
Reviewed by BigMac59 from Texas

3.92/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Dark reddish amber (OK, Ruby) with a creamy light tan head.
Smell is malty and fruity, but just barely.
Taste is a toffee and fruit combo, definitely can pick up the raisin, date and fig taste.
It has a nice mouthfeel and a moderate amount of bitters.
I really like it, one of my favorite bitters.
Apparently one of Hobgoblins consistently highly ranked!
Jul 03, 2022
 
Rated: 3.75 by Stengelfoot from California

Jun 15, 2022
 
Rated: 4 by shu from Georgia

Feb 28, 2022
Photo of Strid
Reviewed by Strid from Sweden

3.9/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
A great stout-type of beer. I tried Guiness for the first time maybe 5 years ago. I expected a lot and was so dissapointed. It was watery, terrible burned aftertaste, and just overall not a good beer.

This tastes as I imagined a Guiness would taste like, maybe a bit too watery, but it's a dark, sweet, malty, caramelly delicious beer. For me it's too sweet, but it's in the beer style rather than fault of the beer.

It's a great a beer if you are in the mood for a sweet beer. Perfect to food or maybe a dark rainy or cold day. One of my favorites in this segment of beers, but not my prefered style of beer overall. Anyway. Def give it a try, you might like it.
Feb 18, 2022
 
Rated: 3.75 by Tenebris

Dec 15, 2021
Photo of Borzov1982
Rated by Borzov1982 from Russian Federation

3.25/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
Nothing unusual.
Sep 22, 2021
 
Rated: 3.88 by Electros from Canada (ON)

Aug 30, 2021
 
Rated: 3.28 by bad_poetry from England

Aug 15, 2021
 
Rated: 3.68 by Ushouldbeworkinh from England

Aug 09, 2021
Hobgoblin Ruby from Wychwood Brewery Company Ltd
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 2764 ratings