Black Sheep Riggwelter (Bottle)
Bottle: Filtered
"Strong Yorkshire Ale"
Riggwelter is now our second best-selling bottled beer and has national listings in many of the major supermarkets.
Aroma
Roasted malt, hops and banana-fruit.
Taste
This strong, velvety ruby brown beer really is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It is deceptively clean drinking, with a wonderfully complex palate of coffee, bananas and liquorice which rewards you with a long, dry Goldings hop finish.
Ingredients
We use a base of Maris Otter malted barley, but add plenty of Pale Chocolate malt to give Riggwelter its rich dark colour, espresso nose and roasted malt flavours.
We use a touch of wheat which helps deliver the lovely creamy head and lacing down the glass - just what you would expect from a proper Yorkshire beer!
All our bottled ales are suitable for both vegetarians and vegans.
What’s in a name?
Riggwelter Ale takes its name from a local Yorkshire Dales farming term which has Old Norse roots; “rygg” meaning back, and “velte” meaning to overturn. A sheep is said to be rigged or “rigwelted”, when it has rolled onto its back and is unable to get back up without assistance.
It seemed the perfect name for a strong beer from the Black Sheep Brewery in Yorkshire.
"Strong Yorkshire Ale"
Riggwelter is now our second best-selling bottled beer and has national listings in many of the major supermarkets.
Aroma
Roasted malt, hops and banana-fruit.
Taste
This strong, velvety ruby brown beer really is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It is deceptively clean drinking, with a wonderfully complex palate of coffee, bananas and liquorice which rewards you with a long, dry Goldings hop finish.
Ingredients
We use a base of Maris Otter malted barley, but add plenty of Pale Chocolate malt to give Riggwelter its rich dark colour, espresso nose and roasted malt flavours.
We use a touch of wheat which helps deliver the lovely creamy head and lacing down the glass - just what you would expect from a proper Yorkshire beer!
All our bottled ales are suitable for both vegetarians and vegans.
What’s in a name?
Riggwelter Ale takes its name from a local Yorkshire Dales farming term which has Old Norse roots; “rygg” meaning back, and “velte” meaning to overturn. A sheep is said to be rigged or “rigwelted”, when it has rolled onto its back and is unable to get back up without assistance.
It seemed the perfect name for a strong beer from the Black Sheep Brewery in Yorkshire.
3.5
783 reviews
Masham, England
Community reviews
Lockdown March 2021 Italy v Wales. 500ml dark bottle from the brewery. Good chewy beer. Deep roasty malt with a bold earthy well soaked hop bitterness to add balance and interest. This is a hearty robust ale. Very satisfying. [3.7]
Dec, 2006 Blind tasting with Old Peculier, Strong Suffolk and ESB. 2nd place. Dark amber colour. Frothy carbonation - some long lasting cappuccino foam. Aroma is fridge ice, vanilla, coffee, roasted barley, rubbery plastic, raspberry jam and nappies. Noticeable bitterness - lingering after the finish. Roasted barley and English hops. Burnt chocolate. The bitterness makes this stand out. A tasty, strong English ale. [3.2]
April, 2009 Strong, dark beers stand up well to being poorly processed. This is a damn good drink. Lots of flavour, pleasantly presented. [3.5]
April, 2003 Compared with Bombardier. Dark hazelnut colour. Broken, thin, clinging nicotine cream head. Sweat yeast aroma - wet leather with a hint of cabbage and some creamy toffee. Quite complex and yielding. Stout like, roasty malt - burnt fruit cake. Fairly consistent, though occasionally a vanilla tone comes through. A dark, almost devilish beer - leaning in the roasty direction of a stout. The strong dark flavours stand up well to the pasteurisation process. [3.5]
Oct, 2002 Brewed by Paul Theakston, the black sheep of the Theakston brewing family, in the old Lightfoot’s brewery that the Theakston family had bought up and closed down many years earlier. Black Sheep beers are bold and uncompromising. This is a good dark brew. It has some of the dark twisted rooty taste of a stout, but with the sour fruit tang of a porter. A good old fashioned English ale. There is an interesting hop bitterness dancing around on an ever elusive malt body. There are chopped mixed nuts - some hazelnuts, some walnuts, some pecan - and assorted fruits - banana, fresh apple, grapes. There is toffee, caramel, licorice, some herbs and spices. There is enough going on to keep up interest to the end. And all this in a surprisingly refreshing body. The strength can quickly catch up with you - no wonder that damn sheep is rolling around cheerfully drunk! [3.4]
Catch up
500ml bottle and my 500th England rating. Ruby-brown colour, small off white head, nice retention. Aroma of chocolate, roast, raisons. Taste is fairly sweet, malty, stone fruits, toastiness. Surprisingly has a light refreshing quality to it. Dry moderately bitter finish. Good.
Decent strong English bitter. Didn't get the power I was expecting given the marketing and abv. It's a rather sessionable dark ale I believe. Malty and sweet with subdued yet appropriate English hop additions. Very good mouthfeel however, creamy and rich. It just lacks a certain bite. Not a bad drop by any means. Would love to try it from a cask.
Bday present
Aroma : Roasted toffee maltiness, merest hints of chocolate & coffee, some dark red fruity notes with a little oaked spiciness. Taste : As aroma. Medium bodied. Rich maltiness & well balanced bittersweetness throughout, with a little burnt woody spiciness underneath. Decent
Full bodied and strong alright!! Best way to describe is its like a juvenile stout that is caught just before it fills out which allows it to retain a thinner and more gassy texture.
Definitive chocolate and malt run through this beer which seems to have very little head.
I liked it, a big thumbs up from me!!
Bottle from trade with Dantomlinson, many thanks man. Amber color with medium off-white head. Aroma of coffee, toffee, malt, herbal notes. Taste, caramel, coffee, malt, toffee, herbal notes. Good.
It might be dark and a bit high (ale wise) in alcohol, but it's quite light in taste. Smooth and not overwhelming. Very clean and malt is definitely the leading taste note.
Clear ruby appearance. Aroma is toffee and herbal. Flavour is brown sugar, toffee, herbal and malt.
500ml bottle brewed in England at 5.7%. Super-dark ruby with a good large head that doesn't overdo it. Chocolate roast aroma, reminiscent of some full-on stouts! Low carbonation. Roast cacao and coffee flavours, mainly sweet with plenty balancing bitterness and dryness and some slightly paler notes from the wheat in the malt. Really decent flavour with plenty of breadth (although pretty to-the-point with it); would be a fun head-to-head to do with Old Peculier. Sort of a pseudo-stout in the same vein, really, and quite unlike other 'strong ale's' in the manner of, say, Hobgoblin.
Seemed between a strong and a bitter. Clear body with thin white head. Grain aroma malt and something else. Full bodied. Lots of malt. Thin hop skin. Glad to get an English ale.
Pours an amber colour ale with a beige coloured head
Notes of roasted toffee caramel and bananas
Bottle from Asda 4 for £6.
Pours an almost clear dark chestnut colour with a thin to medium sized creamy beige head. Aromas of dark fruits, plums, caramel, toffee, nuts, brown bread and roasted malts. Taste has the same notes as the aroma but with a much more roasted flavour, hints of coffee and chocolate and an earthy hoppy bitterness. Medium bodied with a fairly smooth and slightly oily mouthfeel. A long roasted earthy hop finish. A really good old fashioned dark ale.
500ml bottle from Tesco, Watford and drunk on 22/03/2006. A quite easy drinking, malt heavy bitter.
Aroma of malt, caramel, nuts, fruits and toast. Deep amber with a off-white head. Medium + sweet and medium bitter. Medium + body with average to soft carbonation. Dry and bitter finish. Overall a decent Strong Ale. A well balanced brew with plesant notes of fruits and roasted malts.
Medium brown, thin head. Neutral light caramel nose, great caramel with a hint of toasty roast fading smoothly to an astringent/hoppy finish. Nutty, very nice.
Clear Amber. Aroma is light oat. Nothing much. Taste is rural earthy back with juicy nutpeel. Quite tasty but no aroma.
Pours dark and ruby with a beige head. Looks good. If I had one major criticism, it's that the head was quite thin and went flat fairly quickly. However, this can depend upon the glass and what you've had to eat, so it may vary depending upon factors. Can't smell much in this, but it's inoffensive. There's loads more in the taste department, however. It has burnt, chocolate notes, with a fairly powerful bitter finish. It won't be to everybody's liking, but it's a taste that grows on you the more you drink it. I rather enjoy it personally. Riggwelter probably isn't the best ale I've tasted, but it's a damn decent effort, and once your palate has acquired its flavour - especially that strong, bitter (though not unpleasant) after-finish - other beers can taste quite bland by comparison. With a good, commendable strength of 5.7% ABV, definitely worth a try if you haven't had it already.
clear chestnut tcolour with ruby hue, one inch of dense creamy beige-ish head; aroma of toast, dried cherry and some dried plum; taste of toasted rye bread, some roasted nuts, dried cherry and plum, as well as some dark chocolate; quite enjoyable
Really rich strong dark beer that feels stronger then 5.7%.
It tastes like a mix between a "Porter" and a ale with bitter fruit background....If you like dark ales this is a winner
Bottle - clear, dark amber/red. Thick off white creamy head. Pleasant malty aroma. Ok mouthfeel. Malty caramel tasting - lasting finish.
Alluring malty aroma in a red brown pour. Tasty hop malt balance tends to the latter with a hint of caramel in the body and finish. Makes a nice change from the usual hop bomb IPA.
Bottle from Morrisons. Clear amber/ruby body with a tight off-white head. Steady carbonation. Faint lacing. Aroma of toffee, rust and dried fruit. Flavour of Dr Pepper and salted caramel. Medium body with a slick texture. Soft fizz. It’s quite boozy but there’s lots of flavour.
Dark. Good strenght. Nice on palate. Bottle in Norton. Plum whiskey and coffee. Malty. Will drink again
Clear dark brown, with a small head that doesn't last long. The nose is profoundly malty, with bread, dates, plum, caramel and whiskey. There is very little sweetness on the tongue - this beer is dry and fairly bitter. My only (minor) gripe is a slightly too sour finish. I would certainly buy this one again.
Auf dem Etikett kommt die Erklärung für den Namen: "Wenn ein Schaf auf dem Rücken liegt und nicht mehr aus eigener Kraft aufstehen kann, dann sagt man im lokalen Dialekt, dass es "rigged" bzw. "riggwelted" ist."
Das Bier hat den World beer award UK 2016 gewonnen und wenn man es kostet versteht man warum.
Es ist eine feine Kombination an Röst- und Kakaoaromen und ist gleichzeitig interessant anders und trotzdem gut süffig.
Bottle from Asda. Nice strong ale with taste of roasted malt
Pretty good strong ale. Light on the tongue, dark in character. A little chocolate, a little fruit, and a mild grassy hop afterburn. Tried at Anouk's b-day party in 2018.
Bottle at Beer Family, St Petersburg. Ruby red pour, finger of head. Not getting any aroma. Toasty pleasant chocolate, cherries, cookie malts. Dry but not very bitter. Tasty treat to find this randomly in Russia.