Wychwood's Hobgoblin

Beer: Wychwood's Hobgoblin
Brewery Location: Oxfordshire, England
Beer Style: English Brown Ale
Serving Style: on-tap
ABV: 5.2%


I am a little late getting this out. I usually like to do it right away, but it's been a very busy few days for me. Thursday I found myself out with the good people from The Hoosier Beer Geek at one of their meetings for a tasting. You should check out their website and come to a meeting when they have one. They are all very inviting and friendly, and it is always good to get out and talk about beer and experience one of the best things about good beer, and thats the social aspect that good beer and good people can create.

We met at the Chatham Tap on Mass Ave. It was fairly busy in the bar, but we had a big front table all to ourselves. I was bitching about the lack of imperial pint glasses, and then I was told it was because all English drafts on Thursdays are only four bucks. My bitching quickly stopped when I found out I was saving a couple of bucks.

The beer pours a reddish/amber hue with soft affects and had a thin white head. The head dissipated very quick and left very light lacing on the glass. There isn't much to smell on this beer when it is full. I picked up on a slight malty scent and bit of sweetness. As I got about halfway through the beer though the scent at least came to life and I got more sweet/dark fruit scent with a bit of yeasty/fruity esters. The first sip isn't really much to write home about for me. Middle of the road maltiness with slight tastes of dark fruits and also a slight iron/heavy mineral water flavor that got stronger as the beer warmed a bit. The beer is light and actually refreshing because it is so very smooth and coats about the same consistency as tap water. For what this beer is, being an English brown ale, it is not bad, but it just doesn't really deliver the flavor profile I am looking for here.

If you are a fan of English brown ales you will most likely really like this offering, but if you are in the mood for something with a lot of character and more bold this isn't your beer. I also was trying to compare this to another English brown I know well in Samuel Smith's Nut Brown and there is no comparison. They are both made in England with roughly the same ingredients and the Sammy Smith's delivers on the flavor and this is my beer of choice in the category.

3.0 out of 5.
Cheers!
Matt

Chatham Tap

The newest pub to open up in downtown Indianapolis is Chatham Tap. It just opened at the beginning of September, and I took the wife there today to check it out. It is in a very nice location at the end of Mass Ave close to College Ave. It sits right next to the Scholars Inn and a comedy place that I haven't been to, but have always said I would go.

You first see a big St. George's Cross and the Three Lions (these are national symbols of England) on the window and next you see a Tetley's sign saying they were going to be watching the Manchester City game, so I was excited about that. Since Rob and Jay's Chippie closed down on College it's hard to get a good soccer fix in town. The game wasn't being show because of College football, but I can't win them all. They were playing the 11 a.m. game of Manchester United game the next morning though.

Chatham Tap is a cozy pub very much in the English style (without the stink of cigarettes and old beer though). The bar isn't as wide as it is deep and has wood tables to the back of the pub, and some black and white soccer pictures on the walls, and a standard bar with hard alcohol in the middle flanked by mirrors and the taps. They have a great selection of English beer's on tap and a few locals that was nice to see. Tetley's, Boddington's, and Guinness all on nitro-tap. Fuller's ESB, Bell's Oberon (I hope this will be a Bell's rotating tap) Barley Island, and Hobgoblin. They also had two Kolsch offerings from Germany, but I didn't write them down.

I had a really good meal of a portabella mushroom cap and smoked Gouda. The menu has traditional English fare with steak and kidney pie, fish and chips, and Yorkshire pudding. I was sad to not see any cheesy-top cottage pie, but that will be saved for London only I guess.

I had a Tetley's while I was there and it was really tasty. I haven't had Tetley's on tap in Indiana, so I was very surprised to see it. The next blog entry will be for the Tetley's review.

The food is good, the bar has a good selection, and it's a great atmosphere. I think this is a great addition to the Mass Ave. area, and you should definitely give it a chance if you are in the area.

4.0 out of 5.
Cheers!
Matt