Black Sheep Riggwelter (Bottle)

Brewed by Black Sheep
Style: Old Ale
Ripon, England

Pours brown with a nice tan head. Aroma is faint caramel with a hint of fruit. Flavor is roasted malts, caramel and brown sugar, with a slight nutiness. Pretty good.

Excellent first impressions on taste and aroma. Poured out a very nice looking crystal clear deep mahogany beer with a small white cap that leaves a bit of ropy lacing. There is still lots to love for aroma here but after letting it breathe for 10 minutes much of the early charm has hidden itself. Well defined roasted malts and nuts are the most forward but now it’s quickly joined by something that is reminiscent of sweat and corn. OK, I’ve left it for 10 minutes more and things are slowly returning to Happyland. Background coffee, some fruit that seems to be raspberry in nature. I actually think the aromas I though sucked are actually tobacco related and now I accept it. The taste is still pretty fine though: good roast balanced nicely with perfectly strengthed bitterness, slight slight coffee, corn husks, interesting spice that comes out later, mild caramel. Well carbonated, good bitter finish with lingering dull malts. A lot of these would be nice. I did get bored after awhile though...

Thin off white head over a dark caramel bronze body. Aroma is fruits, caramel sweet malts. Taste is big fruits, syrupy, chocolate, but a harsh thinning almost alcohol like finish.

Bottle. Nice dark brown with a red hue, pours a thick off-white head with decent lacing. Immediate caramel, banana, and dark fruits on the nose. A buttery soft biscuit character lurks underneath, along with a slight ashy character, and some nice roastiness.Palate is darker and softer than expected. Roasty, rich, buttery, not as sweet as I had anticipated, nice hoppiness comes through in time, more towards the rather soapy finish. Good, but the palate isn’t as complex as I’d hoped.

bottle, dark ruby brown color with thick foam, aroma is malty nutty, caramel, flavor is good mix of ripe plum, nuts , some hoppiness, sour bitter finish

Very dark brown crystal clear with some red elements. Cap is thick and nipple shaped , has very good retention. Lots of banana, caramel, milk chocolate, and mild hops show up in the aroma. After a minute all aroma seems to vanish. First sip seemed watery but then coffee and malty wood, with the some bitter hops starts showing up. Taste is so clean not a single trace of the beer lingers. Hops are very noticeable but I can’t seem to nail down what they taste like. Ok beer to have but I’ll most likely never purchase again

(bottle - 500 ml) Dark copper pour with a thick off-white head. Aroma is malty and earthy with some hints of hops and some toffee. Flavor begins sweet and malty with a light sour note near the end. A large roasted malt blast comes through right at the end. Smooth and bitter at the finish.

Another bottle of beer my Dad left at my house after his most recent visit. And this one is....nice. 5.7% ABV is not an ABV appropriate for an old ale; to my mind this beer is more like a nice Bitter or maybe a really mild Scottish Ale. Malty, coppery, with a touch of hop. Color is dark, and head was plentiful at first but faded quickly. Aroma was coppery maltiness, toffee-ish malt, and some light coffee roastiness. Flavor is more of the same, and is pretty good. This beer is a really nice balance of taste and drinkability, but the flavor, while pleasant, is mild and that mildness is a strike against it from my perspective. Mouthfeel is substantial. I liked this beer. It isn’t the RIS, DIPA, Tripel, Berlinerweisse, Flemish Sour or other big-flavor-packing style I usually favor, but it is still good. For the first time since my Dad’s last visit, I’m saying I am glad he left this beer at my house! Recommended.