Happy Goblin Ginger Beer
Happy Goblin Brewery

Bottle: a squat brown 330mL bottle. For a small microbrewery, the label is well presented and cute.

Appearance: pours a light yellow with reasonable fine carbonation. Quite nice, not much head (but hey, what ginger beer does?)

Aroma: a very strong ginger aroma, but that's about it. Not mind-blowing.

Taste: a very strong flavour of ginger - very pungent and a bit awkward. No spice behind either.

Aftertaste: just tastes like ginger. Seriously, like biting into a ginger. Pretty awkward.

Mouth feel: a moderate feel with a big carbonation to carry the flavours - a bit too much in this case.

Overall: I originally had this beer a few years ago when it was reasonably new. Although it is now heading in the right direction, it is still too awkward for my liking. There are better options out there for less.

 

Inverted and swirled for the pour, when it comes it's a very cloudy bright golden colour, with lots of suspended yeast and (hopefully) unfiltered ginger. Head is loose bubbled and rather insipid, which is a shame, and it fizzles itself out pretty quickly. No lacing. Not a bad body, although much of that can be attributed to my swirling skills. Haha.

Light ginger spice on the nose, with a slight barnyard funk. Ginger is the dominant character here though, it's fresh and spicy and genuine. Not the sweetness that comes from a non-alcoholic variety, but otherwise very tasty - just what I want in a ginger-spiced beer.

Definite ginger on the palate too, quite spicy and slightly pickled in character. Rather reminiscent of a Cambodian stir-fry. It's certainly very dry - there's minimal sweetness, so there's no mistaking this for a soft drink, it's all spice, herbaceous, raw and pungent. I approve. Mouthfeel feels slightly overcarbonated, and the beer is a little bloating after a while, but these are nits.

A very refreshing and drinkable true ginger beer. Easy to drink, and with very genuine ginger characters.