Wychwood Black Wych 4.5%

Formerly brewed at Wychwood (Refresh UK - Marstons plc)
Style: Stout
Witney, England

Very black body with a large tan crown, walls of lacing left behind with every sip. Very mild aroma with mild burn chocolate campfire smoke and some coffee. Ckalky bitter mild taste, some chocolate, some ash the ash really lingers in the after taste. I can even detect hints of sweet vanilla. Taste overall is light and crisp making this a very easy drinking stout.

Does Wychwood not have amongst the best/coolest labels and bottles going today? I particularly like this one, with the embossed broom-riding witches. I also note the cleavage on the label’s witch. Nice touch! This one poured a modest,light brown head and a very dark colour; it was damned near black. The aroma was chiefly coffee, and quite enjoyable. Taste was better than the mouthfeel, being again mostly coffee.

[Sampled in 2004.] Black as the night and aromanotes of coffeechocs. Flavor is similar, but a bit watery in the end. Could be the bottle and I better rerate thisone another day.

Clear bottle, 500 ml, best before 18 JAN 05; eye: black with creamy-espresso-style head, opaque, lacing; nose: faint smell of roasted malt, caramel, really light hops; mouth: nothing for a long time, then roasted malt, acridity, dark chocolate, a bit of hops, finale in mildly acrid roasted malt, surpisingly thin, mildly bitter, medium body, slightly grainy texture, good carbonation; overall: ordinary FRANÇAIS Bouteille transparente, 500 ml, meilleure avant 18 JAN 05; oeil : noire avec mousse crémeuse style espresso, opaque, dentelle; nez : faible odeur de torréfaction, caramel, très léger houblon; bouche : rien pendant un long moment, torréfaction, âcreté, chocolat noir, un peu de houblon, finale en torréfaction moyennement âcre, curieusement mince, moyennement amère, corps moyen, texture légèrement granuleuse, bonne carbonatation; en résumé : ordinaire

Bottle, can’t recall where I picked this up from as its been kicking around for some time now. Pours dark brown/black with a thick light brown coloured head. Aroma of roasted malts and some coffee, taste was roasted and did have some chocolate and reasonable bitterness, but overall I found this to be a tad thin and lacking somewhat.

500 ml bottle - pours a deep brown/black with a decent tan head. Faint notes of cocoa and fruits and very little else. And that’s trying really hard - there’s really nothing distinct in the aroma or taste that stand out. Taste of sour grapes and a hint of roasted malts and some bitterness, but not a hoppy bitter - not much here, thin and watery. There’s nothing, well, stout, about this stout - matter of fact, it’s more like a dark brown ale, and not a very good one at that. I wanted to love this beer, I really did - I like the gimmick and the bottle, but the thing that counts - what’s inside - sadly doesn’t deliver.

Dark ebony body with a tall brown head. Aroma is coffee, slightly smokey. Caramel, licorice and roasted grains; traces of dark chocolate. Bitter finish. Smooth but still a bit too watery. I believe Silktork when he says this tastes more like a Mild than a Stout.

bottle: I have to agree with Pootzboy on this one. The over-commercialism is the first clue the contents are over-rated (oh look, a which on the front and the taste is spellbinding!). Oddly, not that black a body, more dark brown. Not much aroma, not much taste. Watery, very faint chocolate in there somewhere. You could interpret this as another stlye of beer and appreciate it but this is not a good stout. Not good mouthfeel or finish. Wychwood’s other brews are better to try.