Black Sheep Milk Stout

Black Sheep is one of my favourite breweries so I had high hopes for their award winning Milk Stout and I was not disappointed. 

Brewed with lactose, it's a velvety black stout with a tan head that is thick, tight, creamy and robust, as we have come to expect from Black Sheep.  The head lasts a lot longer than the beer did, that's for sure!

The aroma is quite light with notes of malt, chocolate and hops that you would expect in a stout.  The flavour is delicious; it's so chocolatey and malty that it's almost the same sort of flavour as a chocolate Horlicks.  It's so smooth, creamy and full-bodied that it's silky smooth in the mouth.  It's perfectly carbonated - it's not too fizzy so it retains a lovely smooth mouthfeel.

It's a very well-balanced stout with an initial hit of sweet malt and vanilla contrasting with a slightly bitter chocolate and coffee finish.  It feels like a hug in a glass - it's so delicious and easy to drink that Ale definitely Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Black Sheep Brewery, Masham, North Yorkshire
4.4% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at Black Sheep Brewery

Black Sheep Yorkshire Square Ale

 

Pouring a beautiful golden amber, Black Sheep's Yorkshire Square Ale looks like molten toffee in my glass.  It has a small but robust cream coloured head that retains a thin layer while you drink.

The aroma is quite light for this one.  There's a bit of malt and hops but nothing else that stands out for me.  Thankfully, it redeemed itself in the flavour!  It's deliciously malty with a lovely dry finish.  There's also a hint of sweetness (from the addition of demerara sugar) which tastes quite treacly when blended with the malt.  To please bitter fans, there's a slight metallic bitter taste to the dry finish that rounds it all off nicely.

It's quite a fizzy medium bodied ale but the bubbles aren't harsh so it's very easy to drink.  As the bubbles burst on my tongue, I did feel like I could detect a little fizz of demerara sugar.

It's not up there with my favourite Black Sheep ales but it's a decent ale nonetheless.  Being sweet, dry and bitter, it has a bit of everything to appeal to many palates.  I would have it again, but I wouldn't actively seek it out; I'd definitely recommend you give it a try if you see it (you can also find it in Sainsbury's labelled as Yorkshire Bitter).

Brewed by Black Sheep Brewery, Masham, North Yorkshire

5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.5/5

Find out more at Black Sheep Brewery

Black Sheep My Generation

 

A bright golden yellow, slightly hazy session pale ale, My Generation is a collaborative brew between Black Sheep and My Generation Beer Co.  As we have come to expect from Black Sheep, it has an amazing thick tight frothy head that leaves excellent lacing.

The aroma is very fruity with underlying hoppiness and a little malt.  It's definitely a citrus fragrance but seems a little sweeter more like pineapple.  The hops gives it a slightly sour aroma too.

The taste of tangy hops and citrus blended with sweet malt give a lovely fresh, bitter finish.  The bitterness is slightly metallic at first but transforms to more palatable citrus as you drink.  Although you can see bubbles, which maintain the head beautifully, it is quite softly carbonated and medium bodied.

With just the right level of citrus for me, this is an easy drinking pale ale and I'd have one again; it's a lovely refreshing beer to drink during the day in Spring/Summer.  Yet again, award winning brewers Black Sheep can do no wrong in my eyes.  Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Black Sheep Brewery, Masham, North Yorkshire
4.7% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at Black Sheep Brewery

Black Sheep Blitzen

 

I LOVE Black Sheep beers and ruby is my favourite ale so I was over the moon to get my hands on a bottle of Blitzen, a ruby Christmas ale from my favourite North Yorkshire brewery.

It's a dark ruby coloured ale with the thick, tight beige head that we know and love from Black Sheep.  The aroma is AMAZING, it's very fruitcake-like with treacle, dark fruit and malts combining to create a mouth-watering smell.

My first sip took me to beer heaven.  It is so malty with a hint of sweet treacle at first then there was a layer of liquorice and caramel followed by a dark chocolate and zesty bitter orange finish.  It is exactly like biting into a Christmas cake as each layer of flavour hits your taste buds.

With a medium body, it's so very smooth to drink and I would have guessed it was a Black Sheep ale if I'd drank it with my eyes closed.  The trademark Black Sheep head was even more robust than usual as it clung to my lip and left me with a frothy moustache.

Blitzen is a lovely ruby ale that you could drink all year round as it's not a spicy Christmas ale, it's just a lovely fruity ruby.  I loved it and I can most definitely say Ale Be Seeing You again, Blitzen.

Brewed by Black Sheep Brewery, Masham, North Yorkshire

4% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at Black Sheep Brewery

Black Sheep Glug M'Glug

If you follow my blog, you'll know that I am a huge fan of Black Sheep Brewery and I still think of the original Black Sheep Ale as one of my favourite beers.  Although I don't think they can improve on perfection, the Yorkshire brewery have expanded their range and today I'm taking a look at their dark IPA, Glug M'Glug.

Oh isn't it a thing of beauty?  A dark nut brown ale with a thick, tight and creamy trademark Black Sheep head.  The head is robust and leaves amazing lacing on the glass; now that's what I call a proper Yorkshire head.

With appetising aromas of treacle, malt and citrus I couldn't wait to dive in and see if it tastes as good as it looks and smells.  Oh indeed it does!  With a massive hit of dark, tangy maltiness with a dry, bitter citrus finish, Black Sheep have got the perfect sweet/bitter balance for me.  The citrus is stronger in the aroma than in the taste and that makes it definitely more my kind of thing, as I'm often put off IPA due to the overpowering citrus flavour.

It has a thin to medium body and it isn't overly carbonated but leaves a nice tingly feeling in the mouth, along with a frothy moustache on the lips!  

I was very impressed with Glug M'Glug; it's a superbly different, perfectly balanced dark ale and Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Black Sheep Brewery, Yorkshire
6.2% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.5/5

Find out more at Black Sheep Brewery

Black Sheep Pathmaker

 

I am a huge fan of North Yorkshire brewery Black Sheep and consider their bitter to be one of my favourite beers of all time.  I don't hesitate to pick up anything new that they brew as you're always guaranteed a quality beer.  

Pathmaker is an American style pale ale, it's a slightly hazy golden colour with a loose frothy head. Unfortunately, it's not a standard Black Sheep head as it does dissipate to a thin layer.  It has a very strong citrus aroma but with a sweet malty edge and a hint of hops and some floral notes coming through.

I was a little worried this would be too much of a citrus flavour for me but it's not as citrusy as the smell would suggest.  It is predominantly citrus flavoured but there is a sweet malt flavour that adds a caramel sweetness to balance out the citrus.  It's fizzy with a decent body and has a dry/bitter finish.

It hasn't quite tempted me over from the dark side, but it's a lovely full-flavoured pale ale in keeping with the quality you expect from Black Sheep.

Brewed by Black Sheep Brewery, Masham, North Yorkshire

5.6% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at Black Sheep Brewery

Black Sheep Ram Tackle

I consider Black Sheep Brewery to be one of my favourite breweries and ruby one of my favourite types of ale so it's almost as if Ram Tackle was made for me.  I like my ruby ales more on the dark side but there's no denying that this is a beautiful looking ale.  It's a mouthwatering amber colour and looks like molten toffee with the trademark thick and creamy Black Sheep head.

The aroma isn't terribly strong but I got whiffs of hops (unsurprisingly as there are 8 varieties of hops in it), juicy raisins, biscuit and caramel.  The aroma matches the flavour with malty biscuit flavours transforming into tangy bitterness.  The bitter aftertaste is lovely and if I had a blindfold on, I'd have said it was a bitter rather than a ruby ale.

With decent carbonation, a smooth mouth feel, medium body and amazing lacing, you can tell it's a Black Sheep ale.  I would have liked a stronger flavour to give my taste buds a workout but it's another quality ale from Black Sheep and one Ale Be Seeing again.

Brewed by Black Sheep, Masham, North Yorkshire
4.1% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Black Sheep Brewery

Black Sheep Riggwelter

I have to say that Black Sheep Brewery always seem to deliver when it comes to good ales and I consider Black Sheep to be one of my favourite breweries.  When I first saw Riggwelter I got the impression from the label that it would be a very dark almost stout style ale, so you can imagine my delight when this mouthwatering mahogany dark ruby ale poured out of the bottle.  As we've come to expect from Black Sheep it has a thick tight beige head that doesn't budge a millimetre.

Dark fruit and malty aromas are released as you pour the Riggwelter followed by a metallic whiff of copper coins, almost like you've emptied a money bag full of 2p coins.  There is an initial metallic taste but this quickly disappears to be replaced by flavours of liquorice, fruit, sweet treacle and malt.  Each mouthful tastes different, giving a hint as to the complexity of flavours that have gone into making the Riggwelter.

It's also fizzy yet smooth and goes down far too easily for such a strong ale, with the thick creamy head leaving impressive lacing down the sides of the glass.  Oh yes Riggwelter, Ale Be Seeing You Again.

Brewed by Black Sheep Brewery, Masham, Yorkshire

5.9% ABV

My rating:

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Black Sheep Velo

This offering from Black Sheep is as sunny inside as it is out.  Made to celebrate the Tour de France Grand Départ, the bright yellow label, reminiscent of the yellow jersey, also gives us a hint of the pale golden ale that is hiding behind the smoked glass.  There is a distinct orange and hoppy aroma on pouring and I couldn't wait to have a sip.

The bright white head does die down but, as with all Black Sheep ales, it doesn't disappear completely and does leave a bit of lacing on the glass.  So on to the taste...it is so completely unique and I've never tasted anything quite like it.  I wouldn't have identified coriander as one of the tastes but it certainly gives an added extra to the hint of orange. With a little fizz on the tongue, it has a slight bitter grapefruit aftertaste but is so completely addictive that it definitely won't last long in my glass.

If Black Sheep have ever made a less than perfect ale, I have never found it.

Brewed by Black Sheep Brewery, Masham

4.2% ABV

My rating:

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Black Sheep Brewery Monty Python's Holy Grail

This was first brewed in 1999 to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of Monty Python.  It's a lovely golden colour with the perfect amount of carbonation and a creamy head as I have come to expect from Black Sheep - there's still some left right to the very end.

It certainly smells hoppy but with none of the metallic aftertaste due to the addition of just a hint of citrus and I can definitely taste delicious malty biscuity flavours in every drop.

A quality ale just as you'd expect from Black Sheep Brewery.  It does feel like a perfect lunchtime ale but after a few of these at 4.7% you'll be clip clopping home with coconut shells like a knight who says Ni.

Brewed by Black Sheep Brewery, Masham, Yorkshire

4.7% ABV

Find out more about Black Sheep Holy Grail

Black Sheep Brewery Golden Sheep

Everybody knows I love Black Sheep ales so it was no surprise to find this Golden Sheep on my beer shelf.  I couldn't contain my excitement as I opened it and saw the mouthwatering pale amber colour.  It has a delicious slightly malted aroma and a reasonable head which doesn't fully disappear.   It really is very tasty and so smooth that it went down far too easily.  It's almost like a lighter summer version of its big brother Black Sheep Ale.

Brewed by Black Sheep Brewery, Masham, Yorkshire

4.7% ABV

Find out more at Black Sheep Brewery

Black Sheep Brewery Black Sheep Ale

My old favourite - Black Sheep Ale

Brewed with Goldings hops it has a lovely bittersweet taste with fruity aromas and is the most amazing amber toffee colour.  It pours with a nice frothy head that remains until the last drop leaves the glass.

It's not too fizzy and there's no unpleasant aftertaste, just a warm pleasant glow as this smooth beery goodness slips down your throat.  It may just be the colour, but I do feel it has an underlying toffee taste to it.

This is another ale I can't resist when I see it on tap.  Always guaranteed a good pint - take my word for it!

Brewed by Black Sheep Brewery, Masham, Yorkshire

4.4% ABV

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