A silky-smooth premium ale, Horndean Special Bitter was originally the flagship beer of Gales Brewery in Hampshire. First launched in 1959, it's still brewed with the same passion and pride today – and the age-old recipe continues to go down a storm
Challenger, Fuggles and Goldings
Pale, Crystal Light, and Chocolate
Overall rating: 4.7938147 / 5 from 873 reviews.
Gale's HSB 500ml Bottle is a premium ale praised for its great taste, smooth finish, and deep amber color. Customers enjoy its balanced bitterness and recommend it for various occasions. However, opinions vary on delivery and the bottle itself.
Review topics: ["size","quality","delivery","colour","feel","finish","value","service","style","husband","strength","price","balance","water","depth","order","texture","case","staff","beer","summer","weather","ale","taste","brew","pint","drink","fullers","bottle","bitterness"].
"A very pleasant aroma on removing the cap. Beautiful rich colour, full of promise. Ingredients: Water,malted barley and hops : absolutely no unwanted adjuncts to save on the cost of malt! I find the aftertaste is long lasting and extremely pleasurable. A wonderful beer to share with friends over conversation or even,^ as now, gently relaxing in solitude after 2 hours graft in the garden. A wonderful beer. Sadly not available in any Sheffield pub in case form"
"This is probably my favourite beer, a good abv, a great taste. Originally brewed in Horndean under the Gales ales banner. A great traditional beer now brewed by Fullers. Highly recommended"
"HSB was always a favourite of mine when it was brewed by Gales and I was sad to see it dissappear locally. Fuller's have made a fine job with this bottled version, and it has now become my all time favourite, even my wife likes it, and she doesn't even like ale!"
"Thirty years ago, I used to go to music events with friends in south hampshire and the pubs would often have the original of this beer and it was rich, full , fruity and great. It reminded me of the earlier version of Abbott Ale. I even knew a Fiddle & Guitar + vocal folk duo who called themselves the HSB Boys, even on the side of their vehicle. They were ticked off the brewery who sent them a stern letter and didn't like it."
"HSB is one of the best beers available (in my opinion). Textwith the warm weather, I’ve kept a couple in the fridge which I take out a little while before I drink them, so they are not cold but just below normal room temperature… surprisingly refreshing and more-ish!"
"Delighted that this has relatively recently made a reappearance in bottles, available direct from Fullers and in my local Waitrose. Need to work on getting cask HSB back into more pubs!"
"HSB is a great traditional ale. It is handy to have it in bottles to drink at home as well as on draft at the local pub. It tastes good in both the summer and the winter"
"I just received my order for Gale’s HSB. A refreshing beer for the hot Summer, relatively light alcohol wise compared to others in the Fuller’s portfolio, but a very distintictive taste."
"A fine ale, taking me back to my 6th form days. The same beer, just brewed somewhere different these days. It will always be Horndean Special Brew to me."
"Great beer, especially if you are craving the taste of the more traditional hop varieties for a change. One of my favourites."
