Dr. Thirsty's No. 4 Blonde
Wychwood Brewery Company Ltd

Dr. Thirsty's No. 4 BlondeDr. Thirsty's No. 4 Blonde
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Wychwood Brewery Company Ltd
 
England, United Kingdom
Style:
American Blonde Ale
ABV:
4.1%
Score:
81
Avg:
3.52 | pDev: 12.22%
Reviews:
26
Ratings:
77
Status:
Active
Rated:
Nov 18, 2019
Added:
Nov 13, 2013
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  23
No description / notes.
View: More Beers
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by ChrisCage:
Photo of ChrisCage
Reviewed by ChrisCage from Canada (AB)

3.71/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
A- This one pours a clear-ish golden color....possibly chill haze happening, and is a golden color with tinges of orange in the background. The head starts out about a half finger in thickness and slowly dissipates into a nice looking ring around the brewtop....carbonation appears to be modest and the lacing is nice, with many wee tiny bubble patches sticking to the side of the glass!!

S- The aromas lean towards the fruity end of the spectrum, with floral notes hiding in the background....lemon rind, yeast, barley malt, candied zest, slight tones of light caramel....and the finish is of a muted hop bitterness.

T- Oh, this has citrus, hop bitterness and very well balanced malt sweetness.....caramel/toffee helps balance out oily hops and floral notes. Background tangy spice that is of sour orange marmalade and the bittering finish cleanses the palate nicely and has just a short lingering character.

M/O- Light bodied, refreshing and has a sparkling carbonation that helps scrub the palate and also allows flavors to burst in short sporadic fashion.....this is highly drinkable, especially with the lower alcohol and pairs well with spicy foods! I would look for this one again and recommend! Cheers again to Wychwood!
Aug 07, 2016
More User Ratings:
Photo of JonnoWillsteed
Reviewed by JonnoWillsteed from England

3.15/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
L- Mid gold, clear, pours with 3mm white head, clears pretty swiftly.
S- Light (I've congestion), reminds me of a pale ale.
T- Dry! Well hopped, so it's quite crisp.
F- Well it's 4.1% and it does come over as pretty thin on Feel, but I appreciate it's not aiming for a meaty feel.
O- This might suit me far better in summer than winter, I'm not finding it very rewarding this cold/mid November. The lable talks of 'fruits [and] an insanely fragrant aroma', sadly I can register neither.
Bought directly from the brewery. 500ml bottle BB: 30-Sep-20
Nov 18, 2019
 
Rated: 3 by Hayley_86 from Netherlands

Feb 18, 2019
Photo of BEER88
Reviewed by BEER88 from North Carolina

3/5  rDev -14.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
Ok, not bad for the style. Poured out of a 500ml bottle with a date to drink by 25jun2019. Wish it had more complexity and intricate flavors but it doesn’t
Sep 27, 2018
Photo of eddingsaur
Reviewed by eddingsaur from North Carolina

3.61/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Served by the bottle and poured out into a tumbler for the price of an import beer here in Singapore. Served and consumed at the Cider Pit at Joo Chiat Road by the gorgeously (in)hospitable staff here. Makes me wonder why this place is my local. At least the music is pretty decent...

Look: Poured straight into the tumbler. Nice thick, white, two-finger-wide foamy head builds up. I'm pouring this pretty vigorously, mind you. Head mostly fizzles out by the time Everlast's What It's Like finishes, so I'm guessing that's a good minute or so. Somewhat good lacing for a light blonde; there're some dregs here and there. As hay-colored a beer as you can possibly get. Any more blonde and it'd have a chihuaha in a bag. It's pretty cloudy, though. So it's more a 40-something year old Beverly Hill-er than anything else.

Smell: Truffles. Fresh truff... oh wait, that's the fries the dude next to me ordered. I need to reset my nostrils. It's fruity there somewhere. Mango, maybe? It's a creamy sort of sweet. The menu here says citrusy, but i'm distinctly not getting that. Maybe there's dried red dates in there, it's pretty subtle.

Taste: I tip the glass back to my lips. The beer hits my tongue with a distinct hop bitterness. I'm really starting to doubt the menu now. Citrusy? Really? This is anything but that. English-y bitter right up front and right up to the end. But it's not all that. The sweet maltiness does crop in and it lingers. This IS an English ale. Wychwood - you have yet to disappoint.

Feel: One word: creamy. I don't know if that's just the alcohol talking right now. It could be. I've had a few. No, it's definitely creamy. And it's more than that. It's not fizzy. It's lightly dancy-upon-the-tongue-y. Would it be idiosyncratic if I called this crisp and creamy? I doubt. I mean imagine a watered down beer yogurt and you're right around the ballpark.

Overall: Wychwood, you have yet to disappoint. I mean this beer probably won't change your life. It'll probably not change your evening. But it's a good beer that I'd probably not get when Hobgoblin is in the same fridge. But it IS a good beer, and I can't fault it for that. Just don't expect a sessionable ale, a daily local beer, or a life-changing sipper and you'll be fine. Make with that information what you want - I've got another half pint to drink and nothing's gonna sto... oh wow they're playing Genesis here now!
Apr 27, 2018
Photo of monkist
Reviewed by monkist from Hungary

3.58/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
I love the Hobgoblin from Wychwood but everything else seems a bit secondary somehow - and this Dr. Thirsty is no example, though the imagery is always nice.
This could be nice - nomen est omen - on a hot summer night when you're thirsty, served ice cold, but otherwise it feels a bit watery and mediocre, an English Blond Ale. Not THAT bad but feels a little sick, so I rate it a cat B beer, something that feel best in certain circumstances.
Mar 31, 2018
Photo of TheHammer
Reviewed by TheHammer from Canada (ON)

2.15/5  rDev -38.9%
look: 1.75 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2.25
Appearance: Produced two fingers of head that didn't lace nor retain, the slightly cloudy yellow body barely shows even a hint of carbonation.

Smell: Has a bit of a flowery hop smell with some fruit notes with a mix of grain and brine. Warming doesn't really help it's case either way.

Taste: Starts with some mild lightly roasted grain with a hint of honey and maybe a slight touch of berries, and then abruptly turns to a bitter earthy hop kick, that just annihilates the experience. Starts out decent but quickly turns terrible, fitting giving the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde impression the bottle gives.

Mouthfeel: The doesn't have a lot of carbonation to start with and it quickly turns flat. The transitioning is also pretty horrible on this one, making for a rough drinking experience, additionally a muddy hop aftertaste that lingers and builds is the legacy of the aftertaste. The only things stopping this from being a 1 was at least it did produce head and doesn't come across as hazardous.

Drinkability: This offering comes across as far heavier then it should for the style, which would be fine if this beer had more agreeable aspects and character, but it doesn't. Frankly, it tastes just plain over-hopped. At least it's not gassy in the slightest I suppose. It's not especially refreshing either. Just an all around weak offering, but not outright offensive enough for the drain.

Final Thoughts: I want to make it clear, I did not buy this of my own volition. Wychwood continues it's poor track record with me, and frankly they seem to have the uncanny ability to ruin the new year. It seems like every year, some relative, seeing the art on the bottle buys a bottle or mix pack of their stuff and wraps it under the tree, every year (perhaps out of a sense of obligation to steer people away from these guys, or the dim hope they might produce another gem) I review at least one beer, and every year I continue to be flabbergasted at how the same brewery that produces Hobgoblin, consistently produces these disappointments. A testament to their marketing I suppose. This brewery is the one hit wonder of breweries, and that one hit wonder is Hobgoblin. Anything else, including and especially this, you will want to pass.
Jan 20, 2018
 
Rated: 2.5 by Pmicdee from Canada (ON)

Dec 01, 2017
 
Rated: 3.85 by Macamah from England

May 05, 2017
Photo of StJamesGate
Reviewed by StJamesGate from New York

3.59/5  rDev +2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Fizzy gold with loose head. 3.75
Vague grain… and that’s it. 3.5
Straw, slight honey, vague grass and lemon peel. 3.5
Light, crisp, smooth. 3.75

Slight and dull. No hops to mention; that sour Brit leafy thing again. Manages to be worse than Hobgoblin Gold, which takes some doing. 3.75
Apr 03, 2017
 
Rated: 3.09 by Robertas from Lithuania

Dec 22, 2016
Photo of josanguapo
Reviewed by josanguapo from Spain

3.06/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 2 | overall: 3
From Festival de las Naciones. In Ikea's pint glass. Playing Broken Sword 5. Watery, with vegetal notes. Very drinkable but below other Wychwood offerings, too much plain
Oct 30, 2016
 
Rated: 3.91 by KitoUY from Uruguay

Sep 25, 2016
Photo of kitschiguy
Reviewed by kitschiguy from Hong Kong

4.09/5  rDev +16.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
500ml bottle into 350ml beer glass.

Poured a clear, bright yellow lager colour. Rocky head was ok died quickly to leave a loose film. Lots of lacing

Nice spicy hop aroma on the nose followed by some

Palate is light and refreshing with a strong bitterness in the finish. Plenty of maltiness in there too. Good.

Mouth is very good. Creamy

Was a bit dubious about this beer but I was very pleasantly surprised. Well-balanced and refreshing.

Highly recommended.
Jun 11, 2016
Photo of Lewnanny
Reviewed by Lewnanny from Canada (NB)

3.88/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
The first impression is the smell out of the bottle, the IBU came out directly at mynose. Not too bad as other beers I had.

The taste have just the good amount of bitterness. The color is a nice gold yellow with a 4.1% ABV out of realy nice designed bottle with small witches carved on the bottle.

Congratulation to Wychwood Brewery for this delicious no.4 blonde.
May 09, 2016
Photo of johnny2hats
Reviewed by johnny2hats from Singapore

3.66/5  rDev +4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
500ml bottle poured into a Saison Dupont tumbler.

A – Golden straw, lager-ish appearance. Slightly hazy. Thick but insubstantial head that dissipates quickly. Leaves some lacing.
S – Some people are getting a citrusy nose, but not me. More like gentle grassy hops and biscuit.
M – Light mouthfeel, medium carbonation. Very much appropriate for the style.
T - Grassy hoppy bitterness. Crackers. Clean flavours, but they don’t linger. Refreshing and drinkable.

Definitely a good summer beer, not the kind of thing I would expect from Wychwood. Was pleasantly surprised, and would buy again.
May 05, 2016
 
Rated: 2.51 by wremld from Wales

May 02, 2016
 
Rated: 4.01 by sephyrott from Spain

Apr 16, 2016
Photo of cesarrdgz
Rated by cesarrdgz from Mexico

2.87/5  rDev -18.5%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
No te brinda algo especial, es una cerveza buena pero hasta ahí, debería de tener un poco más de aromas o sabor, por lo menos por lo que cuesta.
Mar 11, 2016
 
Rated: 3.76 by innominat from Ireland

Mar 11, 2016
Dr. Thirsty's No. 4 Blonde from Wychwood Brewery Company Ltd
Beer rating: 81 out of 100 with 77 ratings