Beer 266 - Black Sheep Brewery Riggwelter Strong Yorkshire Ale (3.5 out of 5 stars)

Brewed at the Black Sheep Brewery, Masham, North Yorkshire, UK.  Bought at ASDA store in Telford Town Center where we stopped to buy flowers and a cell phone on the way from London to visit Mum in Wellington.  This is Mum at the dining room table.

Patricia and I had a great start to our vacation, arriving on time in London, picking up the car without problem and driving through London to look at (and take pictures of) Kensington, Chelsea, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, Horse Guards Parade, Trafalgar Square, St. Pauls Cathedral and the city.  Many of the roads in central London were blocked by the police in preperation for the big march that was planned in London today to protest the cuts in the budget so we were unable to stop and walk around or even get close to Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament.  Eventually we found a place to park at a Waitrose supermarket close to the Tower of London.  We ate lunch at an all-day breakfast cafe at St Katherine's dock - sausage, egg, bacon, beans, fried tomatoes, toast, coffee, tea and orange juice - just what the doctor ordered, before walking through the dock to Tower Bridge. After a quick look at Tower Bridge and the Tower of London, we drove through the city to the M1 and headed for Mum's where we were treated to a delicious dinner of roast lamb, roast potatoes, mixed carrots and cauliflower and meat gravy followed by apple pie and custard.  Very delicious.

This beer was drunk as an aperitif before dinner while Patricia and Mum enjoyed a Croft Original sherry.

The brewery web site: http://www.blacksheepbrewery.com/beers/riggwelter_cask_ale/

The bottle says "Riggwelter: from the old Norse; rygg - back and velte - to overturn.  When a sheep is on its back and cannot get up without help, local dales dialect says its rigged or riggwelted.  Best served at 13 deg C, alc 5.7% vol"  The web site says "Aroma, Roasted malt, hops and banana-fruit.
Taste: Dry palate with a complex mixture of hops, fruit and roasted malt with a dry refreshing finish.  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 refreshing Goldings hop finish.
Food and Beer Pairing: The pale chocolate malts and inherent strength of Riggwelter means it stands up to any strongly flavoured rich red meat or strong cheese. At the same time, the rich espresso and chocolate flavours combined with strong fruitiness makes Riggwelter the perfect accompaniment to decadent deserts such as dark chocolate torte.  Riggwelter is also the best beer to soak fruit in to make a deliciously rich fruitcake."

I enjoyed this beer through the fog in my mind from jet lag.  It was tasty, had a nice body and was pleasant in the first taste and the aftertaste.