Sowing Your Oats!
Jan 18 '05
The Bottom Line A tasty, dark beer. Full of flavour with a nice texture.
When we go to Beer Festivals (as we seen to do from time to time) we like to try new beers. We also like to have a couple of beers we KNOW we like to drink when we get there while perusing the beer list to see what to have next. One such beer is Wentworth Oatmeal Stout. As people who know me realise, I am partial to the odd pint of stout and this particular one is a fine example.
~~~THE BREWERY.
Wentworth Brewery was first started in 1999 (September as it happens) by the landlord of a pub called the Commercial (located in the Chapletown area of Sheffield. The Brewery itself is based in Wentworth (not surprising really), which is near Rotherham in South Yorkshire, and can be found in the former power house of Wentworth Woodhouse Hall.
They brew a regular selection of eight beers and a few occasional or seasonal ones too. Most are available either as Cask Ales or as bottled beers ~ they export some of them to the US as well. Some of these beers include Rampant Gryphon (a strong and sweet beer at 6.2% ABV), W.P.A (a lovely pale ale known as “The Woppa” at 4.0% ABV) and Gunparkin (a slightly spicy beer at 4.8% ABV).
Wentworth beers seem to be reasonably easy to get hold of where I live because of my close proximity to Rotherham. They are also frequent visitors (and often winners) at Beer Festivals around the country ~ the most obvious being Rotherham’s
Oakwood Festival held in February of each year.
~~~THE BEER.
***A Bit of Information***
Wentworth Oatmeal Stout is an award winning beer ~ ranging from medals at various regional Beer Festivals to being rewarded twice at the 2003 National Winter Ales Festival (it got a Silver Medal in the Stouts Category and was third in the overall best beers).
The style of this beer is an Oatmeal Stout… allow me to give you a bit of information about what this actually means. A Stout is a black beer which is usually full-bodied and brewed from dark roasted barley. The name itself was originally “stout-porter” because the recipe was similar, but the beer produced was richer and “stouter”. Oatmeal Stouts (and English brewed Stouts in general) tend to be sweeter and are really brewed using Oats ~ a small proportion are added to provide the beer with body and extra flavour.
***Vital Stats***
Wentworth Oatmeal Stout weighs in at 4.8% ABV and (as well as the oats) is brewed using Goldings hops and a blend of Maris Otter pale malt, wheat malt, black malt and roasted barley.
***Look, Aroma & Texture***
This is a very dark, virtually black beer with a light beige coloured and quite long lasting head. Aroma is that of black coffee and dark chocolate, with a hint of liquorice and loads of roasted malt. Texture is rather rich, creamy and smooth with a lot of body and a nice silky mouth-feel.
***Taste***
The taste of this Oatmeal Stout kind of reflects all the aspects present in the aroma. The dominant flavours are roasted malt, giving a lovely nutty taste almost like slightly overdone toast. This combines well with elements of dark chocolate and coffee. There is a nice blend of flavours ranging from an initial sweetness to a rather dry finish. The after taste is also quite dry with a slightly heavy mouth-feel from the oats.
~~~WHAT TANGE THINKS.
I am rather fond of Wentworth Oatmeal Stout and have drunk it at many a Beer Festival. I like the balance and mix of flavours and would certainly say that it is easy to drink. The rich body is pleasant and the oatiness gives it texture and an interesting character. The dark chocolate and coffee flavours are great and the nutty toasted malt adds depth. I can see why this one has won awards!
Usually Beer Festivals sell half pint measures to allow you to sample a greater variety than if you were having pints. When I had this one at the Rotherham Beer Festival a half cost around £1.00 ~ that seems to be pretty standard and compares with the £2.00ish I usually pay for a pint measure. When I’ve drunk this in pubs I have paid a similar amount too.
Wentworth Oatmeal Stout is a comforting and tasty beer to be enjoyed at any time of year. The dark colour and toasty flavours make it a good beer for winter drinking, but it is refreshing and has enough going on to drink whenever you are out. I’m not sure if this would appeal to the hardened lager or light beer fan, but I would advise anyone not to dismiss it until they’ve given it a taste! It is a well-crafted, well-balanced and easy drinking stout with lots of flavour and character.
Recommended!
~~~BREWERY DETAILS.
Wentworth Brewery Ltd
The Power House
Wentworth
Rotherham
South Yorkshire
S62 7TF
01246 747070
www.wentworth-brewery.com
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Epinions.com ID:
tange
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Member: Andrea Waterhouse
Location: UK
Reviews written: 139
Trusted by: 35 members
About Me:
The beer monster has entered the Building!
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