Choc & Orange Stout, Black Sheep
Added: Tuesday, January 1st 2019
| Style | Stout | ABV 6.1% |
Black Sheep Choc & Orange Stout, 6.1%
If 2019 will see the big stout revival then we’ll kick start the year with a brilliant example of the style. It comes from the Black Sheep Brewery in Masham, North Yorkshire, famous as the home of the Theakston brewery.
Black Sheep was founded in 1991 by Paul Theakston when his family sold Theakston’s to Scottish & Newcastle (it’s now back in family hands). Paul found a site in a former maltings and was able to raise the funds to open his own plant. The name came from his wife, Sue, who told him he would become the black sheep of the family when he ran a rival company.
Paul has now retired and the brewery is run by his sons Jo and Rob. The success of the brewery was founded on Black Sheep Best Bitter, Ale and Riggwelter. But Jo and Rob have busily expanded the portfolio with a wide range of new beers.
Choc & Orange Stout is brewed with dark chocolate malt and flaked oats along with pale malt. Dried orange peel is added in the hop back – the vessel that holds the hopped wort after the copper boil. The single hop is Cascade.
It has a jet black colour with a barley white collar of foam. There’s a massive hit of rich chocolate and orange on the nose with bitter notes from both roasted grains and hops. Bitterness from grain and hops dominates the palate, balanced by tart orange fruit and spicy hops. A creamy sweetness emerges in the finish, diminishing the bitterness, followed by a finale rich in spicy hops, chocolate and citrus fruit.
500ml bottle. £1.70 in Morrison’s. From the brewery, 10 bottles £18, 20 bottles £36. www.blacksheepbrewery.com.
