Best Bitter
Hobsons Brewery in Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire, England 🏴
Bitter - Ordinary / Best Bitter Regular|
Score
6.52
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The very first of the Hobsons deliveries in 1993 and still a firm favourite. Best has lived up to its name and won many awards over the years including CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain, overall Bronze medalist in 1997 and CAMRA West Midlands Champion Bitter in 2012.
The pale brown to amber medium bodied beer has a strong hop character. It's a bitter but with unconventional warm tones of malt that lingers on the palette, the complex malty flavours gives richness, balanced by the clean hoppy finish. A good session bitter brewed with local British hops picked from the farm seven miles down the road in Worcestershire - Fuggles, Goldings, Challenger and Progress.
The pale brown to amber medium bodied beer has a strong hop character. It's a bitter but with unconventional warm tones of malt that lingers on the palette, the complex malty flavours gives richness, balanced by the clean hoppy finish. A good session bitter brewed with local British hops picked from the farm seven miles down the road in Worcestershire - Fuggles, Goldings, Challenger and Progress.
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6.5/10
—
Appearance 7
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Pours a quite attractive mid amber, pretty clear, small to average sized white head, good enough retention and hints of lacing. Very typical bitter aroma with a biscuity, slightly nutty malt base with a complement of delicate fruity notes (citrus jam, hints of apple). Stumbles a bit in taste: nothing major, but it lacks the easy but soft feel of a good bitter; plus, sweetness and bitterness fail to find harmony and feel quite disconnected. Taste notes as per aroma, average taste intensity. Pretty light in body, average carbonation (a bit more than usual per style), easily drinkable though, as mentioned, it seems to lack that hint of depth that comes from softness. Ok, but definitely not exciting.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Mar 2026
at 12:26
6.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6.5
Flavor 6.5
Texture 7
Overall 7
Bottle at home from Amazon thanks to my mum. A clear mid amber coloured pour with a lasting loose beige head. Aroma is semi sweet, nutty toffee, burnt grass, jammy woodland fruit, apple, white raisin. Flavour is composed of layered malts, nutty, toffee, brown bread, toasted straw, spicy, dried fruits, apple, raisin bread. Palate is semi sweet, well rounded, fine carbonation.
Tried
from Bottle
on 27 Feb 2026
at 21:28
7.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7.5
Texture 9
Overall 8
Cask at Akkurat, Stockholm. Clear amber, small head. Leafy nose with mild caramel and citrus. Dryish with light body and crisp, well rounded mouthfeel. Leafs, tobacco, hay and bread. Mid bitter finish. Very quaffable.
Tried
from Cask
at
Akkurat
on 22 Jan 2026
at 15:54
6.6/10
—
Appearance 9
Aroma 5.5
Flavor 7
Texture 7
Overall 6
Cask at Pickled Pig, Stafford. Pours “bitter brown” with a medium sized foamy off-white head and excellent lacing. There’s traditional hops and malts in the aroma plus hints of toffee and nuts. In the mouth it is quite bitter with a creamy texture. Flavours are traditional hops, grass, caramel and wholemeal bread. Finish is quite dry and flightly fruity. This is reasonable.
Tried
from Cask
at
Pickled Pig at the Bankhouse
on 19 Jan 2026
at 13:55
7/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Tried
from Cask
on 31 May 2025
at 09:23
6.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7.5
Flavor 7.5
Texture 5
Overall 7
30/5/2025. Cask at the 38th Colchester Real Ale and Cider Festival. Fruity biscuit caramel aroma. Decent session bitter.
Tried
from Cask
on 30 May 2025
at 13:33
7/10
Tried
from Cask
on 30 May 2025
at 13:29
7/10
Tried
from Cask
on 19 May 2025
at 19:53
7/10
—
Appearance 7
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 7
Overall 7
Old rating from 2014 - From the cask, pours amber with a white head. Aromas & tastes of fruits, cereal, grass, caramel, nuts & malt. Moderate body. Moderate bitter finish
Tried
from Cask
on 18 Apr 2025
at 15:34
6.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
[Cask at the Charlton Arms, Ludlow.] A classic old fashioned malty bitter, nothing wrong with it, but unfashionable nowadays. A pleasant reminder of times gone by.
Tried
from Cask
on 18 Aug 2024
at 21:10