King Goblin

A few months ago I had to go on a business trip to the Czech Republic.

During the evenings we would all head down to the local bars and restaurant for food and a few beers.  I had already realised that I was a fan of the Czech lager from a previous trip but I noticed that the Polish team had all taken to drinking a dark beer.  I went and chatted to them and they tried to tell me about it but in the end they just told me to try it.

The next beer I ordered was a dark beer.  That was it, I just said Dark beer and they gave me a pint of the same beer that my colleagues from Poland were drinking.  The taste was completely unexpected but what really amazed me was that this beer was really light.  Being so dark I had expected it to be a heavy beer that filled you up quickly but it was really easy to drink and still allowed you to eat a full meal without getting that horrible bloated feeling that you sometimes get with a Mild or a Stout.


Sadly I never did find out exactly what this beer was called but if you ever find yourself in Prague then I am sure the bar staff will know what you mean when you say Dark Beer.

Just before the weekend of my first week in Prague I was joined by my wife and I took her to my favorite bar and ordered my favorite Czech beer and she tried a little.  She agreed it was tasty but isn't really a beer drinker so declined my offer of a full pint, deciding to be more classy and ordering a glass of wine.  She did, however, make it her mission to find this beer in the UK.  And so began the search.

After a few month of sampling various beverages I was presented with a bottle of Wychwood King Goblin.  At 6.6% it is quite a strong beer but it certainly is not reflected in it's taste. It is a lovely smooth drink and feels really light.  I have to agree that this is the closest I have come to finding the Czech beer that I have dreamed about since leaving Prague.  It may not be totally identical but the similarities are enough to bring back the memories of my Czech trip.

This is what Wychwood Brewery says about King Goblin....I can say I am 100% in agreement.

A full, rich, sublimely fruity & satisfying indulgent beer; a beer for the connoisseur of the finer things.

Newcastle Brown Ale

I am going to start things off with an old favorite of mine.

This was possibly one of the first ales I ever tried.   Like most people, when I reached the legal drinking age I was drawn towards the lagers and anything that wasn't light and fizzy was considered to be an old mans drink.

I used to go to a pub called The Cock Inn,

this was basically a Rocker/ Biker bar and there seemed to be a lot of people stood around drinking this interesting looking brown liquid so i thought I would give it a try.

Luckily this was a pleasant experience and it made me a little more experimental in my choice of beverages.

I guess this first attempt at a different drink paved the way for the rest of the posts that will be on this Blog.



Unusually for a beer, this drink can be enjoyed as much when it is served ice cold as it can when served at room temperature.  It has a totally different taste at the different temperatures, When it is warm it has an almost Nutty after taste but served cold it loses this but gains a richer, more refreshing tang to it.

The Geordies swear by pouring their ale into a half pint glass to get the distinctive frothy head and topping it up to maintain the froth but it is just as good if you take it straight from the bottle.