Beer review: Black Sheep Riggwelter Yorkshire Ale

It's a typical North Atlantic night here in Sydney, Australia.  Persistent squalls of cold, diagonal rain, a leaky roof, and short-tempered neighbours....

Just the night for something appropriate.  Not having any Skullsplitter to quench my yearning for the sunny climes of Orkney, I settled on North Yorkshire.... currently bathed in sunshine with lambs gambolling etc. etc....

Speaking of lambs, a riggwelter is a sheep that's landed on its back, and unable to upright itself. The word derives from Old Norse, evidently.  The beer, on the other hand, hails from the Black Sheep brewery of North Yorkshire.  The Black Sheep Ale would be familiar to those of you who frequent Dan Murphy.  The Riggwelter is harder to find.... I picked my bottle up from Northmead cellars, and I believe the better bottleshops around the country provide also. e.g Slowbeer, International Beer Shop, Purvis....

Guide to review scoring is on the post Beeradvocate Ratings Systems
Unless otherwise specified, these reviews are my own.

Riggwelter Yorkshire Ale

English Brown Ale 5.7%

Overall: B / 3.7  look: 4 smell: 3.5 taste: 3.5 feel: 4 drink: 4

Pours a clear brown/amber, with a nice heavy 1" beige head. Looks the part.

Complex aroma of caramel, faint char, slight sherbet, dust.

Flavour starts with caramel, moving to a char & coffee, finishing with a herbaceous yet metallic/rusty hop note. Bitterness is good and balanced.

Feels astringent at first, with lightness in the mid-palate. Finishes dryly. This makes it a good drinking ale, as there is no cloying stickiness at the back.

Serving type: bottle