1001 BEERS: #71. RIGGWELTER

# 71: RIGGWELTER

Black Sheep Brewery - England (Est.1992 )
First Brewed - 1995

ABV - 5.7% - Porter style
IBU's - 30/40

Ingredients:

Malts: Marris Otter Pale Ale, Crystal, Torrified Wheat, Chocolate Malt
Hops: East Kent Golding

Tasting Notes:

E:  Ruby brown in colour with a lively bubbly head and fantastic clarity.

N:  On the nose there is dried fruit and a sherry sweetness backed up by a caramel toffee aroma and a spicy hoppy nose

P:  Sweet fruitcake flavours lead to an earthy bold hop bitterness with a hint of vanilla at the end.

M: There is a dry hoppy bitterness that lingers leaving a refreshing finish.

Other comments:

The Black Sheep brewery is one of those household names in the beer industry, born out of the fall out of the Theakston brothers, Black Sheep was set up by Paul Theakston in 1992.  His family own the Theakston brewery in Masham, North Yorkshire and after an acrimonious split of the family, Paul set out to brew fine ales that were respected not only in Yorkshire but across the UK.  The name as you can well imagine comes from the now healed family argument, a black sheep is one who is seen as a disgrace or a failure to his family, and Paul took this idiom and played upon it.

Today Masham houses two breweries that live and work side by side producing ales for both the UK and World market.  The Black Sheep Brewery's Riggwelter is their flagship 'strong ale' first brewed in 1995 it uses a wonderful blend of Goldings hops and three malts with a touch of wheat that develops the creamy lacing.  The beer is a fine blend of fruity hops and roasted malt flavours that combined with a healthy 5.7%abv creates a well-rounded strong ale that is very accessible.

Not the most obvious of names for an ale, but one that is a talking point.  A Riggwelter is an old Yorkshire farming term which has Norse roots.  A "rygg" meaning black and "velt" meaning to overturn.  A sheep is said to be "rigged" or "riggwelted", when it has rolled over on its back and cannot get up without assistance.  An apt saying for a strong ale in Yorkshire.

Food Pairings:

Strong ales are best matched with strong flavours.  The pale chocolate malts in Riggwelter provide a roasted flavour and intensity that works brilliantly with roasted red meats such as beef and even gamey flavours like venison.  Strong British cheese's by the way of mature cheddar and stilton would make a perfect accompaniment as well.  

The slight coffee and chocolate flavours of Riggwelter and the slight fruitiness of the beer makes it a perfect partner to rich desserts.  Thanks to the wheat the beer has a creaminess that works well with chocolate helping complement each other, so look at chocolate tort or ganache's.

My food pairing is a classic dish:

Beef & Riggwelter Pie

http://www.howtocook.cc/htmls/recipe/Beef/Beef-Porter-Pie-recipe-40.html

SCORE: 3.3/5

Page: 239