Fullers Hock

Brewed by Fullers
Style: Mild Ale
London, England

Cask at Mad Bishop & Bear, London W2. Back for Fullers Autumn ’06 "festival"-this latest incarnation seems fuller bodied & creamier than i remember. Still a rather straightforward dark mild though.

2009-04-23, cask conditioned at Bishop’s Arms, Malmö, 5-3-6-3-12=29
Dark brown color. Light aroma, caramel. Soft mouthfeel, quite good body, some caramel flavor, light chocolate malt. Easy but ok.

2005-05-20, cask conditioned at Charlie’s Pub, Copenhagen, 6-3-6-3-12=30
Very dark color. The aroma is light. The mouthfeel is quite thin, but with a pretty harmonious combination of roasted malts and hops.

(On tap) Very dark, almost mahogany, with a vague reddish hue. Clear and filtered, pretty much without any head. Weak notes of malt, but otherwise incredibly light-bodied. Rather watery with a decent, hoppy finish. I was told that "Milds" used to be way stronger - up to 6% - but the alcohol was lowered during the 1st world war so the workers wouldn’t cause terrible accidents in the munitions industries.... 210505

Cask at Charlie’s. Copenhagen. Very weak aroma, some malt, and some nuts. Dark ruby body, with a nice small white head. Dryish malt flavor, notes of tobacco. A good mild ale.

Cask. Deep reddish beer with a small thin off white head. Malty and light fruity aroma. Flavor has a dark fruit sweetness and a light bitter finish.

Nice to see this back, if only for a limited run. Appealing rich chocolate brown colour, with a hint of red. The aroma is rather indistinct, but vaguely malty. Nutty notes on the palate with more dark malt and a smoky edge. A touch of ashtray too. Maybe a bit thin, but better than I was expecting as I was never much of a fan of this beer when it was in regular production. Mind you it was often in keg back then and I suspect my tastes have changed anyway. Cask (handpump), Mad Bishop & Bear, Paddington station (on the way home from Reading Beer Festival - only really went in to use the toilet but couldn’t resist another beer once I saw the Hock was on).

Cask@The Gateway, Leicester. Very dark beer with a hint of ruby redness. The aroma is light and slightly caramel, and the flavour is weakly mild. Overall a plain mild.

Cask, The Gateway, Leicester. Dark brown with a dense beige head. Aromas are light roast malts with some chocolate and dry hops. Flavours are light roast, earthy malts with some oatiness and chocolate smoothness. Quite hoppy on the finish. Light bodied as expected of a mild but not enough depth of flavour to make it great.