Wye Valley Dorothy Goodbodys Wholesome Stout

Brewed by Wye Valley
Style: Dry Stout
Hereford, England

Bottle Pours a clear very dark brown with a medium sized but lasting tan head. Attractive thick lacing with laegs even better than what is on the label. Nice dark roasted aroma with molassas, hazelnut, chocolate, dark pited fruit and quite sweet. Its all down hill for here though. Flavor is thin, sharp, bitter, sour, astringent and heavy on the burnt flavors. Some of yesterdays coffee grounds are in here too. Feel is thin and lacking tht smooth slick sensation. More like a Porter is some respects. Maybe thats how Stouts are accros the pond, but it’s not for me.

Pours with a five-finger light brown head leaving a good lace. Totally black color. Medium carbonation and full bodied. Nose is roasted coffee. Starts with a roasted coffee flavor that finishes with a burnt coffee aftertaste. A dry stout. $4.45 for a 500ml bottle, from Colonial Spirits Acton, Ma.

Slightly generic aroma. Pours coal black with an ultra fizzy off-white head that quickly dissipates. Lacing is quite foamy. Very thin in appearance - a bit too thin for a "wholesome" stout. Tastes of brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, and roasted malt with a fair amount of bitterness late. Palate is too thin for my liking and doesn’t quite live up to the stout namesame. A decent offering, though nothing spectactular here. Would probably buy again, though it’s not the first thing I’ll be looking for next trip to the packy.

Black with a light tan haed. Milder and less indentifiable aroma than most stouts. Though somewhat thin in body, it had a rich, creamy mouthfeel. It reminded me of a chocolate milkshake, with some mild coffe biterness...overall, it’s ok, but kinda bland.

Black body with a hint of amber highlights when held to the light. A large light tan head. The aroma is blueberries with some molasses and roasted peanuts. The taste is a light toast with some roasted peanuts. There is a nice cocoa finish in this. The mouthfeel is creamy and somewhat rich, but not thick. A decent, but light flavored stout.

Bottle... Pitch black ale with a mid-sized, creamy, beige head. This offering is a bit non-descript in almost every way. Thin, but nicely bittered and dry. Fizzy. Short, crisp finish. Unremarkable, but not offensive.

Definately bought it for the label, but glad I did for the beer. Nice dark beer with plenty of roasted flavors and aroma with a nice bitter, but not overpowering, finish.

Late 2004 bottle at the Downtown Liquors Stout tasting, 3/10/05. Mahogany/chestnut brown pour, with some darker blackish-brown tinges. Big, foamy beige head, moderate retention. Aroma of roasted barley, black malt, dark chocolate malt, spoiled milk-like, almost buttery yeast, as well. Flavor begins with light butter cream mixed with roasted barley and light black malt. The bitterness is there, but I’m not a huge fan of bitter, black malt on top of a medium to medium-light body. Some graininess, but it’s fleeting and all I really end up with is a mouth full of roast and light coffee. I don’t think Dorothy travels too well. I guess the cask version took 1st? place at a recent CAMRA competition. Well this is certainly no cask version, but I would give it a 1st place at recreating a standard, American brewpub porter.