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 the upside-down method of brewing paid off.
The Pour: A good description of the beer might be deep maple. I think the brewery suggests chestnut. There was a nice amount of head retention with a finger or finger and a half head. Not shabby looking at all.
The Nose: The name fits the beer well. I caught the distinct smell of sheep/dog hair on the nose. It sounds kind of gross to describe it this way, but it really wasn’t. It wasn’t strong and was a fitting aspect to the name of the beer. Caramel, probably from some raw sugar, came through on the nose, as well as hints of smoky malts. The distinct aroma of English hops made their way to the nose, but they don’t have the piney-citrusy quality of American hops.
The Taste: The maltiness of the beer had distinct caramel/raw sugar qualities along with hints of smokiness. Features of the darker grains definitely came through in the form of slightly burnt coffee tones. These slight coffee tones were an excellent counterpoint to the nice level of bitterness. Along with the dry woody qualities in the beer, biscuit tones and touches of hops made the beer a quality drink. Just the slightest sweetness, which held the beer in check, also graced the palate.
Overall, this is a good beer. I think I might have liked a little less of the coffee and a bit more toffee/caramel tones. However, the beer works very well as it is, and I’m sure the brewer is proud of this product (they should be). The beer did have a couple of layers, which were very nice, and the subtle complexity of the U.K. ale was certainly there. I vacillated on a slightly higher score.
Mike’s Rating:
Overall Satisfaction: 
Among other English Ales: 
When Bob the Brit reviewed Sam Smith’s Old Brewery Bitter he mentioned that they still use the Yorkshire Squares, so I based on that I believe you are correct. Sheepdog smell? Interesting indeed!
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That’s really a fascinating method…i guess it imparts more fruity notes into the beer from the Krausen?
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I’m sure limestone has it’s mineral say as well.
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I would suggest Michael, that the caramel flavour you detect doesn’t come from ‘raw cane sugar’ – to my knowledge Paul Theakston doesn’t add cane sugar, but the flavour might be attributed to the yorkshire square brewing process itself.
At the risk of getting geeky, the two tier brewing vessel allows a special aeration which creates diacetyl thatn in turn imbues a flavour that I describe as nutty and others as ‘butterscotch’ which in turn isn’t far from caramel.
Just a thought.
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Agreed. I think the aromas are similar. The raw sugar has that tone as well, so that’s what I’m trying to describe. I’m sure you are right about the diacetyl and can see the Yorkshire square being conducive to the production/retention. You can see the same thing in the Sam Smith’s stuff. Thanks for the clarification.
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