Wychwood Hobgoblin (Pasteurized)

I noticed this brew from the UK brewer Wychwood at the local MLCC and thought I'd give it a whirl.

Hobgoblin is a pale reddish brown with a light tan head.  The head sticks around and laces nicely.  The aroma  isn't bad, smelling of malt, caramel, and tea, but the alcohol overpowers it a bit.  It dominates the middle half of the flavor profile, too, which has a medium burnt sugar bitterness that fades into prickly alcohol and then to a hops finish.

I found the alcohol flavor to be fairly distracting and odd, especially considering that it's only 5.2% ABV.  If it wasn't for that, though, Hobgoblin would fall fairly flat, as the only other major theme is the same hops and malt you can get from most any other brew.

The Bottom Line:  Not a horrible beer, but not a good one either.

The Rating:  Eh.