Gale's HSB
Fuller's Brewery in Chiswick, Greater London, England 🏴
Bitter - ESB / Strong Bitter Regular|
Score
6.54
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Horndean Special Bitter (HSB) was first brewed in 1959 to meet a growing demand for a higher strength bitter. Sales growth was slow throughout the sixties when BBB and the cask milds were the predominant Gales beers. However, following the creation of CAMRA and the greater public interest in cask conditioned beer, HSB sales grew throughout the seventies and eighties and became Gales major brand. Production moved to Fullers in early 2006.
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6.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Cask at Old Joint Stock; hazy chestnut brown pour with off white head, sweet malt aroma, sweet caramel taste with quite an excellent balance of bitterness.
Tried
from Cask
on 10 Sep 2013
at 12:29
6.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Cask from the King Charles, Kings Worthing, Hampshire. Copper dark-brown amber colour, foamy tan head leaving some lacing and aroma of toffee, malt. Taste is sweet, toffee, caramel, roasted malt, fruity, with a warming bitterness. Smooth creamy mouth feel, medium bodied. Quite drinkable.
Tried
from Cask
on 25 May 2013
at 10:19
6.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Thought I’d finally rate this. Cask at the Spread Eagle, Croydon. It pours clear brown with a small white head. The nose is earth, wood, leather, varnish, brown bread and dried fruit. The taste is wood, earth, leather, brown bread, toffee, varnish, date, raisin, hint of fig and touch of brown sugar with a rather dry finish. Medium body and soft carbonation. Pretty good depth of flavour for the style. Decent.
Tried
from Cask
on 07 May 2013
at 09:46
5.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
Bottle from Waitrose [160413]
Reddish caramel brown, clear, large frothy head, some lacing
Aroma of caramel malts, hint of dark fruits, dab of spicy hop, rather faint aroma overall
Taste of caramel malts, soft dark fruits, hint of yeast, touch of spicy hop, some roasted cereal, light soft bitter twig hops, bit dull
Palate - medium carb and body, soft bitter palate. Finish as main flavour, some more spicy English hops come through, touch of minerals
Overall - Came across as a standard OK brown bitter, bit ordinary for a Fuller’s beer - didn’t do much for me - maybe it’s better on cask
Reddish caramel brown, clear, large frothy head, some lacing
Aroma of caramel malts, hint of dark fruits, dab of spicy hop, rather faint aroma overall
Taste of caramel malts, soft dark fruits, hint of yeast, touch of spicy hop, some roasted cereal, light soft bitter twig hops, bit dull
Palate - medium carb and body, soft bitter palate. Finish as main flavour, some more spicy English hops come through, touch of minerals
Overall - Came across as a standard OK brown bitter, bit ordinary for a Fuller’s beer - didn’t do much for me - maybe it’s better on cask
Tried
from Bottle
on 20 Apr 2013
at 17:40
9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9
Cask at the Union Tavern - London. Pours perfectly clear amber with a fine, frothy white head. Lightly toasted brown bread in the nose, some berries, purple grapes, suggestions of brown sugar. Medium sweet flavor, lots of sweet, semi-sugary brown bread malts, light leafy bitterness, more ripening berries. Light bodied with fine carbonation. Lightly sweet but dry finish, more berries and grapes, rich brown bread that’s almost cake-like, toasty sugars, ripe dark fruits, prunes, plums and some figs. Just a delicious beer start to finish. Perfect balance. Great work.
Tried
from Cask
on 01 Apr 2013
at 14:10
6.3/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 7
Overall 6.5
Isle Of Wight Holiday Beer#28. The Goddards GSB went as the barman pulled it for me. This had several times Gales beer was the only other option. First tried many years ago. A fuller-bodied malt-hop balanced bitter.
Tried
from Cask
at
Simeon Arms
on 26 Mar 2013
at 15:54
5.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 5
Texture 8
Overall 5.5
500ml bottle. Pours dark orange brown with a medium head. Aroma is caramel, toffee and bread. Taste has toffee, dark fruits and boiled sweets. Ok.
Tried
from Bottle
on 22 Mar 2013
at 16:11
6.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
28/2/2013. Bottle enjoyed at Fuller’s Old Fish Market pub, Bristol. Ruby brown colour, quite thick. Quite a good example of a premium English Ale. Also 22/1/2026. Bittle from Fullers. See photo.
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 Feb 2013
at 14:38
6.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
Cask at Pikkulintu, Helsinki. Colour is reddish brown with small white head. Aromas and flavours are hops, caramel, bitterness and malts.
Tried
from Cask
on 15 Dec 2012
at 03:39
5.3/10
—
Appearance 4
Aroma 6
Flavor 5
Texture 4
Overall 6
Cask at In de Wildeman. Dark brown colour, no head. Aroma of your typical bitter, light caramel, light chocolate, liquorice. Flavour is light sweet, light malty, nuts, caramel, light bitter finish. Light bodied, watery. Very average bitter.
Tried
from Cask
on 13 Dec 2012
at 00:24