Riggwelter Yorkshire Ale
Once again, the beer guru at my local Whole Foods suggested I might like this one. And once again, he was dead on. The label, a black and crme motif on a brown bottle with a raised leaf design, hints at the color of the ale. It pours a deep red-brown and has a nice, frothy cream-colored heada real beauty. The smell was much hoppier than I expected. There were also hints of chocolate, coffee and fruit (raisins? grapes), but what really struck me was an undertone of what smelled like barley wine, which was off-putting for me at first because Im not a barley wine fan. The carbonation and texture makes for a refreshing mouthfeel. Very pleasant on the palate. And the tastealso much hoppier than I expected, again ever so slightly reminiscent of a barley wine, but not cloying, sweet or syrupy. Very, very drinkable. This is a damn fine ale.