A legendary high gravity ale brewed with plenty of malt and generous portions of English Fuggles and Golding hops. Dried fruit and hops dominate an aromatic nose. The palate is full-bodied with an exceptional toffee maltiness. Hicks Special Draught is a classic strong ale of considerable depth and complexity.
Beer Ratings and Reviews:
[1] Review by EyeChartBrew from CA, Liechtenstein who has tried this beer a couple times. (7/28/2005 6:47:05 PM)
"First sampled cask-conditioned at The Ship Inn, Mevagissey, Cornwall.
HSD is nicknamed "High Speed Death" and/or "High Speed Diesel" by the locals, due to this beer having something a reputation for being so much bigger and bolder than the standard line-up of cask-conditioned Cornish Ales typically available around town. But while I think that's a bit silly -- we're only talking about an extra 1.0% increase in alcohol, compared to the standard 4.0%ABV Bitters seen around town! -- I personally only had a single pint of this, so can't fairly judge it's night-ending potential...! ;)
But I can still have a fair judgement of this beer's overall merit. Basically, this is a fairly nice drop all-told.Fuggles n' Goldings, so nothing strange or avant-garde on that front of course. And the nutty front-end (biscuity) is surely nothing I haven't run across before (on either side of The Atlantic). But the odd hints of fruit in the mix is something of an eyebrow-raiser IMO. Has almost some vague cider-like aspects to the middle and the finish, that I can't rationally explain.
Either way, this is nice in the mouthfeel, and a pleasure to drink. Could imagine that this might catch up to you after, say, 4-5 Imperial Pints of this. But for a solid counterpoint to The Ship's Inn famous fish n' chip lunch platter, this worked quite nicely in my book. Recommended.
[Like the Tribute, this is also available bottled -- and a month later won over a host of hop-head Foamies to the merits of true Cornish Ales...!]
//TB"
Aroma:
8/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
8/10
Overall:
8/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4)
Sampled: Forced Draught
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
[2] Review by jonmoore from United Kingdom who has tried this beer a couple times. (6/14/2004 5:10:52 PM)
"On draught at the Ship, in Looe, Cornwall. Dark brown beer with medium malty head. Malt turning to a sweet bitterness. Quite rounded and drinkable, pretty good.
"
Aroma:
6/10
Appearance:
7/10
Mouthfeel:
7/10
Flavor:
7/10
Overall:
7/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.4)
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure Compared to this brewer's other beers:
[3] Review by keith903 from Torquay, United Kingdom who has tried this beer many times. (4/11/2002 2:37:54 PM)
"Strong taste - a good winter beer"
Aroma:
6/10
Appearance:
6/10
Mouthfeel:
7/10
Flavor:
7/10
Overall:
6/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.2)
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure Compared to this brewer's other beers:
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