100 Beers, 100 Days: Day #5
Another 16.9 oz bottle, this one doesn’t have as much to say as yesterday’s. There’s the name of the beer, a bit on the side that says they’ve been making for a while and think they’ve gotten pretty good at it, there’s an address in Yorkshire, and a description: “Crisp, dry & bittersweet.” The website has a little more to say, noting the use of Golding hops and the Yorkshire square method for fermentation, a process developed in the early 18th century that’s mostly fallen out of favor, Black Sheep and Samuel Smith being among the exceptions. According to Internet, Black Sheep overcame some of the difficulties of the slate squares by using stainless steel “round squares” that maintain the double-chambered shape but aren’t as much a pain to clean out.
Black Sheep Ale isn’t black—it’s more a deep gold, bordering on brown—which makes this the second in an accidental series of black-named beers that aren’t black. It formed a couple finger of head that thinned quickly but hung on through to the bottom. The smell isn’t really much special; it smells like a pale ale, malty but not roasty. The taste is more or less like a pale ale, too, but with a couple of flourishes. It has a rich, thick, but not heavy feel that reminds me of Samuel Smith, so I guess at least something about the round, metal stone squares is doing its job. And second is the sweetness. The beer starts out malty with a creamy, fruity (kind of raisiny) sweetness that sneaks past the drier, earthy flavors, and fades into a lingering, bitter finish. In all, though the aroma is lackluster, the tastes are well put together and no part of it’s overpowering.