Gangly Ghoul
Greene King / Morland Brewery


- From:
- Greene King / Morland Brewery
- England, United Kingdom
- Style:
- English Bitter
Ranked #135 - ABV:
- 4.2%
- Score:
- 83
Ranked #32,866 - Avg:
- 3.51 | pDev: 9.4%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 5
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Nov 05, 2023
- Added:
- Nov 07, 2010
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
Gangly Ghoul uses some crystal malt in the recipe as well as a special brewing sugar. Both of these ingredients give a warming toffee character to the beer with the special brewing sugar adding an extra rich fruit cake note. Challenger hops add a fresh dry hop or classic English hop flavour often described as herbal. The First Gold hops in the recipe contribute a touch of orange peel citrus and some spiciness. All of these ingredients together contribute to an easy drinking beer with enough complexity to maintain interest. MALT: Pale, Crystal. Challenger, First Gold.
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Reviewed by hopley from Massachusetts
4.04/5 rDev +15.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.04/5 rDev +15.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Had on tap on 10-29-18 at the Sun Inn in Dorchester, UK
Really tasty beer - dark in color, ruby with a light shining through it. Nice white head that diminished quickly. Called a bitter but almost tasted like a dark lager - bready or caramel like, not bitter or hoppy, very smooth. Really coiffable and silky mouthfeel, especially when drawn at the pub (I'm American and not used to that). Cheers!
Oct 30, 2018Really tasty beer - dark in color, ruby with a light shining through it. Nice white head that diminished quickly. Called a bitter but almost tasted like a dark lager - bready or caramel like, not bitter or hoppy, very smooth. Really coiffable and silky mouthfeel, especially when drawn at the pub (I'm American and not used to that). Cheers!
Reviewed by jazzyjeff13 from England
3.13/5 rDev -10.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
3.13/5 rDev -10.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
A 500ml bottle with a BB of Sept 2018. Acquired recently from Morrisons; just in time for Halloween.
A: Poured into a pint mug. A dark reddish-chestnut colour with good clarity and plentiful carbonation. Forms a decent head of frothy off-white foam that lasts for a moment or so before reducing to a patchy surface layer and then dissipating.
S: Aroma of caramel malt with hints of toasted grain, subtle toffee, fruity ale yeast, faint hay and stewed hops. OK but rather run-of-the-mill.
T: Tastes of fruity ale yeast with notes of yeast esters, caramel malt, subtle roasted grain, a hint of toffee, faint dried fruit, vague hay and stewed hops. A mild harshness lurks in the background. Slightly sweet, followed by a moderate bitterness upon swallowing.
M: Mouthfeel is smooth, with spritzy carbonation and a thin, watery body for the style. Aftertaste of ale yeast esters, caramel malt, stewed leaves and an acrid cardboard note.
O: So-so, nothing special. Average looks, while the aroma and flavour are a mix of ale yeast, caramel malt and stewed hops/leaves. Unpleasant bitterness in the background. Subpar body. Comes across as a regular brew that's been tweaked a bit and dressed up as a cheap seasonal offering - uninspired. Give it a miss.
Oct 23, 2017A: Poured into a pint mug. A dark reddish-chestnut colour with good clarity and plentiful carbonation. Forms a decent head of frothy off-white foam that lasts for a moment or so before reducing to a patchy surface layer and then dissipating.
S: Aroma of caramel malt with hints of toasted grain, subtle toffee, fruity ale yeast, faint hay and stewed hops. OK but rather run-of-the-mill.
T: Tastes of fruity ale yeast with notes of yeast esters, caramel malt, subtle roasted grain, a hint of toffee, faint dried fruit, vague hay and stewed hops. A mild harshness lurks in the background. Slightly sweet, followed by a moderate bitterness upon swallowing.
M: Mouthfeel is smooth, with spritzy carbonation and a thin, watery body for the style. Aftertaste of ale yeast esters, caramel malt, stewed leaves and an acrid cardboard note.
O: So-so, nothing special. Average looks, while the aroma and flavour are a mix of ale yeast, caramel malt and stewed hops/leaves. Unpleasant bitterness in the background. Subpar body. Comes across as a regular brew that's been tweaked a bit and dressed up as a cheap seasonal offering - uninspired. Give it a miss.
Reviewed by vinicole from England
3.36/5 rDev -4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
3.36/5 rDev -4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Bottle. Dark amber. No head.
Toffee malt aroma. Not much else.
Stewed hops. Initially sweet and then a mild burnt caramel bitterness.
Medium body. Rather flat.
The toffee is the only reminder of Halloween.
Oct 07, 2017Toffee malt aroma. Not much else.
Stewed hops. Initially sweet and then a mild burnt caramel bitterness.
Medium body. Rather flat.
The toffee is the only reminder of Halloween.
Reviewed by BlackHaddock from England
3.38/5 rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
3.38/5 rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Half pint, hand pulled into a standard UK half pint sleeve: The Old Red Lion on Old Holborn, London being the venue of this review.
Pours a nice deep, dark brown, a full white crown sat above, lacing ensued from the said head as the beer level fell.
Malts, sweet malty molasses in the nose, with just a touch of hop floral notes to take away some of the malty sweetness.
The taste was very simular to the smells, malts, but roasted rather than sweet, the hops now asserting their bitterness a bit more, giving a fairly well balanced brew, but still on the sweet side.
This isn't as exciting as I hoped for, decent, but no world beater, a special beer for halloween? Nothing special about it at all.
Nov 01, 2011Pours a nice deep, dark brown, a full white crown sat above, lacing ensued from the said head as the beer level fell.
Malts, sweet malty molasses in the nose, with just a touch of hop floral notes to take away some of the malty sweetness.
The taste was very simular to the smells, malts, but roasted rather than sweet, the hops now asserting their bitterness a bit more, giving a fairly well balanced brew, but still on the sweet side.
This isn't as exciting as I hoped for, decent, but no world beater, a special beer for halloween? Nothing special about it at all.
Reviewed by AgentMunky from New York
3.56/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
3.56/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Served in a pint glass.
A: A nice pour results in one of my favourite beer phenomena -- a mass of descending bubbles as the creamy head stabilises. Dark ruby-brown, and almost opaque.
S: Flat, almost neutral. Light malt.
T: Mmm, creamy and fruity. The finish is a bit off, not sour, but oddly flat and dryish. The maintaste is thick -- strawberry cream right up until the hoppy bite at the back. This creaminess lessens over time.
M: You think it'd be nice, but it's a little dull. I think this beer might benefit from more carbonation.
D: The more I drink, it worse it is. At it's best it is rich, creamy, fruity, and pleasant. At it's worst it is sour, weird-sweet, and flat. Tentatively recommended.
Nov 07, 2010A: A nice pour results in one of my favourite beer phenomena -- a mass of descending bubbles as the creamy head stabilises. Dark ruby-brown, and almost opaque.
S: Flat, almost neutral. Light malt.
T: Mmm, creamy and fruity. The finish is a bit off, not sour, but oddly flat and dryish. The maintaste is thick -- strawberry cream right up until the hoppy bite at the back. This creaminess lessens over time.
M: You think it'd be nice, but it's a little dull. I think this beer might benefit from more carbonation.
D: The more I drink, it worse it is. At it's best it is rich, creamy, fruity, and pleasant. At it's worst it is sour, weird-sweet, and flat. Tentatively recommended.
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