RateBeer
Score
7442
OVERALLStyle
Ridgeway
Brewed at Hepworth

Style: Foreign Stout
Reading, England

bottled
common

on tap
available

Broad Distribution

Add Distribution Data
RATINGS: 571   WEIGHTED AVG: 3.25   SEASONAL: Winter   EST. CALORIES: 240   ABV: 8%
Share this beer with friends!
COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
Looking forward to a depressing holiday? Here is liquid consolation. This 8% bittersweet chocolate stout is the best you could hope for in these dark times. Come to think of it, considering how bad you’ve been this year, this little coal-black gem is more than you deserve for Christmas. Concocted by the vastly talented -- though, frankly, a little too cheery -- Peter Scholey, Lump of Coal will be hitting shelves and better pubs in November 2004.


yankeefan21's rating

2.8
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 5/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 10/20
yankeefan21 (129) - New York, USA - DEC 2, 2012
Bottle: Pours a dark cola brown with a bit of head - short on retention.. Aroma is sweet chocolate, sugar, and alcohol with some hints of plum. Taste was overly sweet sugar water and washed out cocoa with a hint of burnt grains in a medium dry finish. It is very light in body and mostly flat with a bit of an oily texture. Overall, this tasted way too watered down for what I was hoping for. Simply too thin in body, mouthfeel, and flavor to need to seek out again.


most recent ratings

3.7
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 5/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 14/20
Weefannybaws (37) - Paisley, SCOTLAND - MAY 17, 2013
Bottle saved from Christmas. Evil dark ale - 8%. Bitter maltiness to taste. Quite nice, but very strong, so could only have 5 or 6 pints in an evening. Goes perfectly with crisps or nuts.

3.4
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 14/20
Plovmand (5711) - Helsinge, DENMARK - APR 28, 2013
Bottle. Pours dark ruby brown with a medium beige head. The aroma is quite spicy with some dark fruity and roasted malts. The flavor is yeasty and spicy with light roast and dark fruity notes. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

3.8
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 14/20
zoucrew102 (149) - - APR 20, 2013
Bottle. Roasty, chocolate aroma. Pours very dark brown, but not black like its namesake with a thin white head. Strong chocolate flavor with some caramel notes. Finishes smooth with the chocolate flavor lingering on the aftertaste. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

3.4
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 14/20
BillWyce (532) - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA - APR 13, 2013
From notes: Poured clear, deep cola brown with a 1-finger ivory head. Roasty, chocolatey aroma, with some bready yeast underneath. Full body, medium-thick, with a very lightly oily finish. Roasty, chocolatey flavor, with a touch of yeast beneath, and a pleasant cocoa flavor that lingers in the finish.

3
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 10/20
VonDoom327 (1) - Ohio, USA - APR 11, 2013 does not count
Freebie from my local craft beer cornerstore. Poured from bottle into a pint tulip. Dark cola color with a half finger caramel head. Aroma is of very high cacao dark chocolate and a bourbon-esk hint in there also. Moderately enjoyable smell. Appearance looks of a flat cola. Not pretty and not as black as I would have hoped. Tastes pretty much how it smells. Dark chocolate and bourbon. Heavy bitterness on the back end and boozy. Starts quite chocolaty. Palate is the weak point. Pretty bad after taste. Chocolate and Bourbon that lasts longer then id like. Overall. Good for free but would not pay the $6 for a bomber ever. After taste and flat cola visual kill it for me.

3.2
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 13/20
gunnfryd (8543) - Kristiansand, NORWAY - MAR 29, 2013
Bottle. Dark brown colour with a beige head. Aroma is chocolate, roasted malt, hop. Flavour is chocolate, roasted malt, hop, coffee. Full to medium body. OK beer.

3.3
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 13/20
Scrapersnbeer (977) - Boston, Massachusetts, USA - MAR 26, 2013
Aroma of caramel and coffee. Very dark brown color, still pour. Semi-sweetened chocolate, much like a dark chocolate brownie. Thick, but not overly thick body with just a touch bite. Well executed strong stout; doesn’t have the sugar heaviness of the foreign style.

3.3
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 14/20
burg326 (2325) - Florida, USA - MAR 15, 2013
Poured a black color from the bottle aromas of roast, chocolate and earth. Flavors are the same with a light leather thrown in and an earthy finish. Ok beer overall.

3.5
   AROMA 5/10   APPEARANCE 5/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 14/20
Cool_Bond (470) - Eskilstuna, SWEDEN - MAR 13, 2013
Afterwork. A really good beer. Very taste. Not at all dry. Not so much to taste. Not much scent.

2.9
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 2/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 11/20
Theydon_Bois (2957) - The ’Sham, Surrey, ENGLAND - MAR 10, 2013
Bottle at home, 10/03/13. Pours dark cola brown with a fast disappearing tan had that dissipates to nothing. Not a pretty looker in my book - flat and lifeless! Nose is roast malt, liqourice, chocolate, leather. Taste comprises roast malt, sugars - quite sweet, yeast notes almost Belgian like, light spice, dark fruits, raisens, plums, dates. Medium bodied with soft carbonation, dry in the finish. Drinkable but far from a great and not one I’d return to.


We Want To Hear From You



Join us! RateBeer is made by beer enthusiasts for the craft beer community. Your basic membership is free and allows you to read all beer ratings. Click here to create your account... and give your opinion!

Join Us »




View Page
1 2 3 4 » 58


Tick this beer

for your profile
  • Currently 0/5 Stars.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5


tags




Copyright © 2000-2013,
RateBeer LLC. All rights
reserved.
about us
About RateBeer
FAQ
Contact/Feedback
New Beers
add
Advanced Search
Add A Beer
Add A Brewer
Add A Place
Events
membership
Log In
Edit Personal Info
Buy Premium Membership
Your Messages
the best
RateBeer Best
100 Beer Club
The Top 50