As the description on the bottle indicates, "riggwelter" is when a sheep gets stuck upside-down and can't get up.  At 5.7% this beer isn't exactly going to put you on your back, but it's a large bottle, so who knows.  The beer is described as Yorkshire, which is an indication of the fermentation system used.  (Samuel Smith is another brewer who uses the Yorkshire Square system for some of their brews.)  Essentially, the system works on a two deck principle.  The lower deck is where wort and yeast are initially placed.  The krausening yeast moves to the upper deck and is captured.  The beer from the lower deck is pumped and runs through the upper deck, collecting the yeast, and then runs to the lower deck.  The process is stopped at some point, allowing most of the yeast to sit on the upper deck.  It's a unique, expensive, rarely used and terrific process.  It lends a ton of character to the beer.  Of course, these guys use a stainless and round square system (I know, it doesn't make sense), which they developed. However, I believe Sam Smith still uses stone vessels, which adds its own unique quality.  Let's see if ...

Rich, delicious, classic.  These are just three words I associate with Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout.  Ever since it was commissioned at the behest of Merchant du Vin, it's had a serious foothold on the world of oatmeal stouts.  It's odd that we've not reviewed it before now on the site.  It's widely liked, and I've always had a special love for this beer.  Better late than never, I suppose. Oatmeal stouts have not been around for too long a period.  Their introduction seems to be connected to some time in the 1890s.  Of course, oats themselves have been used in brewing for multiple centuries.  It used to be that oats were seen to detract from the quality, adding bitterness via tannins to a beer (especially in higher amounts).  Michael Jackson mentioned an oatmeal stout that he had tried, and that was enough to peak the curiosity of many and essentially revive the style.  In my mind, Samuel Smith's is the classic example. The Pour: As I've mentioned before, sometimes stouts look like porters and vice versa.  I would certainly categorize the colors of this beer as being along the lines of a robust porter.  It's dark but light enough to let some ...

An unusually warm 70 degree November day in Ohio made Wychwood's Fiddlers Elbow seemed a perfect fit for my Saturday evening.  Described as a beer that "evokes the lazy, hazy days of summer in golden meadows & ripe corn fields," I assumed a light and fruity beer.  To some extent it was, and to some extent it wasn't.  I would love to see the actual grain bill for this beer, as Wychwood was slightly ambiguous (as would I be, were I a brewer). The Pour: Describing beer is as subjective as personalities are unique.   Described by Wychwood as Golden in color, I expected a a blonde hazy liquid to enter my glass.  On the contrary the color was more along the lines of an English Pale ale, only a tad lighter in color.  There was a slight haze and a rich white head that left great lacing designs as it slunk into the beer. The Nose: Up front are classic toasted/biscuit malt aromas.  Buttery and coppery aromas mingle with floral and grassy hop notes.  There is a hard to pinpoint fruity aroma in there too.  With my nose in the bouquet of smells, I can imagine the summery, hay like nature of this beer.  ...

This week's Sip With Us Saturday beer comes from a unique English craft brewery, Wychwood Brewing Company.  Always appreciative of unique label art, I have to hand it to Wychwood for never failing to dress their bottles up in provocatively dark, yet colorful labels that lend one to believe something interesting is on the inside. It seems that every brewery has some sort of unique interest that becomes their marketing focal point.  Wychwood is no different, drawing from English folklore.  From the Brewery's website: Wychwood Brewery is named after The Royal Forest of Wychwood which was recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086, and covered much of what is now West Oxfordshire. Much of the artwork for Wychwood beer labels depicts characters from myths and legends associated with the ancient medieval forest. The term 'forest' referred historically to areas where hunting rights were reserved for the Sovereign and included in this area would have been meadows, cultivated open fields, heaths and downs as well as woodlands. You can just imagine the Hobgoblin trundling past and jeering at The Circle Master as he scamps around the fields looking for trouble. Fiddler's Elbow is an English pale that utilizes Styrian and Northdown hops with a ...