Wye Valley Dorothy Goodbody’s Imperial Stout, 7%
Congratulations to Wye Valley. They’ve been brewing now for 25 years and have produced some outstanding beers.
I’ve come to know the company as one of the most trusted bottling brewers and it’s always a pleasure to sample anything new they care to create. The latest offering is Dorothy Goodbody’s Imperial Stout.
Brewer Jimmy Swan has taken Herefordshire Maris Otter pale malt, combined it with crystal and chocolate malts, plus flaked and roasted barley, then seasoned the result with Herefordshire Northdown and Challenger hops.
He has produced a beer with a seductive deep, dark ruby hue, the official celebration beer for the silver anniversary.
The presentation is excellent, with each of the 6,000 bottles packaged in an impressive carton featuring the equally seductive Dorothy on the front.
It certainly looks the business but what really matters, of course, is what’s inside the container.
There are now many takes on the historic imperial stout style produced around the world. Some are enormous, hugely complex beers that tease and test you with every sip; others are more gentle and fall at the milder end of the strong stout spectrum, and that’s where we are with Wye Valley’s contribution.
There is certainly plenty going on in this beer. The aroma nods towards caramel and liquorice, with perhaps some blackberry fruitiness in the background. There’s more liquorice, along with dark chocolate, in the bitter, drying taste, with again berry fruit bringing some sweetness and also a tangy note from the hops.
It’s a smooth drink with clean flavours that ends with a warming swallow as the 7% alcohol begins to assert itself. Dark grains pile up in the finish, adding some tartness, while the bitterness they bring is complemented by that of the tangy hops.
This is a bottle-conditioned beer, which means it drinks fresh and light, although the carbonation in my bottle was just a touch on the low side. But it’s early days for a beer like this and both carbonation and flavours should improve with ageing in the bottle.
As it currently stands, I like it very much but I find it a bit too mellow and easy to drink for a beer of this style. I expected a more challenging drink. In a few years’ time, it may well be that.
If someone can keep a few bottles and wheel them out five years from now for Wye Valley’s 30th birthday, I’ll be the first in the queue to taste them.
I’ve come to know the company as one of the most trusted bottling brewers and it’s always a pleasure to sample anything new they care to create. The latest offering is Dorothy Goodbody’s Imperial Stout. Brewer Jimmy Swan has taken Herefordshire Maris Otter pale malt, combined it with crystal and chocolate malts, plus flaked and roasted barley, then seasoned the result with Herefordshire Northdown and Challenger hops.
He has produced a beer with a seductive deep, dark ruby hue, the official celebration beer for the silver anniversary.
The presentation is excellent, with each of the 6,000 bottles packaged in an impressive carton featuring the equally seductive Dorothy on the front.
It certainly looks the business but what really matters, of course, is what’s inside the container.
There are now many takes on the historic imperial stout style produced around the world. Some are enormous, hugely complex beers that tease and test you with every sip; others are more gentle and fall at the milder end of the strong stout spectrum, and that’s where we are with Wye Valley’s contribution.
There is certainly plenty going on in this beer. The aroma nods towards caramel and liquorice, with perhaps some blackberry fruitiness in the background. There’s more liquorice, along with dark chocolate, in the bitter, drying taste, with again berry fruit bringing some sweetness and also a tangy note from the hops.
It’s a smooth drink with clean flavours that ends with a warming swallow as the 7% alcohol begins to assert itself. Dark grains pile up in the finish, adding some tartness, while the bitterness they bring is complemented by that of the tangy hops.
This is a bottle-conditioned beer, which means it drinks fresh and light, although the carbonation in my bottle was just a touch on the low side. But it’s early days for a beer like this and both carbonation and flavours should improve with ageing in the bottle.
As it currently stands, I like it very much but I find it a bit too mellow and easy to drink for a beer of this style. I expected a more challenging drink. In a few years’ time, it may well be that.
If someone can keep a few bottles and wheel them out five years from now for Wye Valley’s 30th birthday, I’ll be the first in the queue to taste them.
