On the turn

The first Irish beer round-up of 2019 is here. I'm clearing up the tail end of last year's new (and new-to-me) releases, and taking a look at the early crop from the past few weeks.

The Swan on Dublin's Aungier Street has a new house beer called Swan Ale. The tap badge says it's from the "St Stephen's Green Brewery" but they've been very coy about where it's actually brewed. Turns out it's a very straightforward red ale, sweet even by the standards of the style with lashings of sticky toffee and caramel. There's no bitterness to speak of, and the carbonation is low, which made it a bit of a chore to chomp through, though a layer of dry tannin prevents it from turning actively difficult. At least it can't be accused of being watery or bland. More from the brand can be found in trad Dublin boozers The Bankers and The Ferryman. I'm sure the information will all come out in the wash eventually.

At the other end of the geek scale, another Vermont-yeast double IPA from Whiplash: Setting Sun. It's pale even by the style's standards, a uniform yellow emulsion. I got quite a lot of alcohol burn from the first sip, which was a little surprising. It takes a while for any hop action to emerge past this. There's savoury yeast first, then some garlic or scallion, and only quite late an emerging, but short-lived, lime bitterness. What little hop character there is fades even further on tasting, allowing more vanilla and cream out. There's no escaping the booze, though. This isn't one of Whiplash's best efforts, the hops just failing to land properly, whether that's because of the strength or the murk or something else entirely.

Having got their seasonal scotch ale and imperial stout releases out of the way early in December, Galway Bay's actual Christmas beer for Christmas week was a helles called, perhaps appropriately, Crispmas Hell. It's 5% ABV and almost completely clear with just a very slight kellerish haze in there. 100% spunded says the blurb, for extra crispness, and while I can't speak to the science it is exceedingly crisp indeed, a cleansing tingling sparkle. This does come at the expense of more typical helles softness but it's no hardship. Malt fans have to wait until it warms a little for a marzipan sweetness to emerge. The noble hops bring a mild sweet-pepper spice and a bitterer bite of fresh-cut grass, lasting long into the aftertaste. The latter element builds as it goes, to the point where my palate's aversion to German hops was kicking in by the end. Between that and the fizz I can't see myself horsing through masses of it (pun intended), but the first pint was bang on.

Just before Christmas, Hope dropped me a couple of bottles of their new nitrogenated Espresso Stout, number 13 in their limited edition series. I didn't have to pour it too violently to get a steady off-white head. The lack of sparkle isn't a problem as it's thick enough to not need it. That's well done with just 7% ABV to play with. Coffee isn't immediately apparent: I got chocolate first, albeit the dark and crumbly kind, then a sweet rose-and-honeysuckle perfumed sweetness. That balances well, and there's a proper green hop kick on the end. The only off-note was a weird oxidised sherry buzz, and I wonder if that was the coffee's fault. If so it's the only effect it had. Overall a very pleasant and drinkable winter stout.

White Gypsy's Woodcock pale ale has been showing up on guest and festival taps sporadically for the last couple of years. I think it's new to bottles, though, which is how I caught up with it. It's an American pale ale of 5.8% ABV, brewed with Citra and Mosaic. White Gypsy isn't exactly known for its hop-forward beers so I was intrigued to find out how this would go. The aroma wasn't a good start: astringent and somewhat sour, like the hops had been squeezed for every last microgramme of lupulin. It's similarly strange to taste, almost lactic in its sourness, but with notes of lime sorbet and vanilla ice cream too. Imagine a Loop the Loop ice lolly in beer form: it's something close to that. I found it hard to like. There are no soft edges; none of the gentle juiciness that Mosaic in particular does well. Instead it's hard edged, hot-tasting and severe. I wouldn't go so far as to say unpleasant, but it's a tough one to have fun with.

Black Donkey's winter release was a barrel-aged saison, quite possibly the first I've ever encountered, called Sergeant Jimmy. It's the clear pale amber of a glass of whiskey, though mostly smells of stonefruit, like the softer sort of saison. There's a definite something-else in the flavour, something distinctly oak-related, but I'd be more inclined to associate it with red wine or fino sherry than whiskey. It's certainly a mature flavour, and it contrasts nicely with the spritzy fresh saison. Pleasingly, the beer stays crisp and clean despite this, and despite the whopping 8% ABV. This is a mellow and gentle affair, not popping with novelty, but making good use of its constituent parts.

Onwards into the new year and O Brother has stolen a march on everyone with three brand new beers so far, all of which I located at UnderDog. Cloak and Stagger is described as a double dry-hopped New Zealand pale ale, just 5.5% ABV and a very hazy yellow. The Kiwi hops give it a certain grassiness over the tropical fruit these normally show, but there's also a sizeable dose of dreggy yeast, and a raw bitter hop burn on the finish, with a rub of garlic. It's not unpleasant, but does nothing particularly different with the hazy pale ale style. If you usually like them, you'll like this.

Presumably the brewery cat named I Killed This For You, a double IPA. It's another hazy orange job, this time thick and oily, tasting and feeling every bit of its 8% ABV. I don't know the exact hop line-up but it's lightly citric, more satsumas than limes. You get a decent wave of juiciness in there, while the finish is cleanly bitter. Again, it's a beer I feel I've tasted before; good at what it does but not doing anything distinctive or special. Could it be, with this pair, that there are just too many hazy hoppy beers out there? I'm sure I'd have been enamoured of both at one time. Now they seem quite run-of-the-mill.

They took a more daring step, fashion-wise, with Liberty, a plain old 4.3% ABV pilsner. Except there's nothing plain about it. Despite the watery appearance it has a filled-out bready malt base to which is added a mix of complex Germanic flavours. Eschewing grass notes, there's instead a rich green tang of crunchy sauerkraut, seasoned with a generous sprinkling of white pepper. While nothing fancy, it's rare for an Irish brewery to include a well-constructed pils as part of its one-off rotations. I'd be very happy to see more of this and its ilk.

Beer one from YellowBelly, released before I wrote it would be along soon, is Endangered Bap, a quirky collaboration with Whiplash. "Amarillo saison" is the description we're given to work with. It's a murky yellow colour and the texture also matches that of a New England IPA: that squidgy softness. From the flavour I got a strong one-two of juicy peach and sweet vanilla, while the saison side of the equation brings a sharp gritty burr. It's quite tasty, even if the Belgian roots are very difficult recognise under all those hops.

Keeping it topical were Two Sides and their Article 50 Brexit Stout, a sequel to summer 2016's Big Mistake IPA. At 6.5% ABV this will take the edge off current events. It's quite easy drinking too: a smooth and chocolatey affair, surprisingly light of body given all the dark malt character. That sits next to a bright floral perfume: rosewater and a little spike of jasmine spice. The fade-out is milk chocolate with some slightly gooey caramel. The floral thing seems like it might make it difficult to drink serially but it works well as a dessert or a nightcap.

The Porterhouse also has a big new stout, this one at 6.3% ABV and another which incorporates coffee into the recipe. I got to try Up & At 'Em on a visit to the brewery a few weeks ago, and it's also in their pubs and available bottled. It's quite dry and crisp, with a balanced roast from the dark malt and a subtle but distinct real coffee flavour. There's nothing extreme going on; instead the coffee is used as a true flavour enhancement rather than a simple gimmick.

We will retreat, strictly temporarily, into dry January with an alcohol-free West Coast IPA from Open Gate. As part of the promo for the Guinness no-alcohol lager, Pure Brew, the company staged a pop-up on South Anne Street the weekend before last. As well as the alcohol-free stout I reviewed last year, there was this 0.5% ABV hop bomb. It might not give you a massive head but it certainly had one, the staff blaming the densely nucleated glasses they were using. It tastes extreme: like raw hop powder or pellets, Cascade and Centennial being the varieties used. This gives it a concentrated citrus flavour and a heavy dankness too. And yet it's not all that bitter, possibly at least in part down to the huge and quite sticky body. Its hop credentials are beyond doubt, but compared to to the real thing, there was just something lacking: the complexity that full fermentation brings to a beer, regardless of how neutral the yeast is. Nevertheless it was pleasant drinking, convincing as a beer, and a genuine alternative for the hop-head on the dry. If Pure Brew lager goes well, the stout and IPA are worth investigating as successors.

And a final addition to the round-up comes in the form of Dark Side, a new nitro stout from Larkin's. I'm guessing this is intended as a core beer, for the customers seeking an alternative to the big brands. It didn't feel quite right to be drinking a pint of it among the fancy craft beers at UnderDog. It's a rock-solid stout: 4.7% ABV with a gentle kiss of sweet milk chocolate but not much else. I would love to try it away from the nitro as I suspect there's some extra complexity buried under there. It should be a cause for celebration in itself that an Irish start-up brewery is ready to go toe-to-toe with the big guys. Any move to disassociate the stout style with one particular brand is welcome.

That's it for now. Fingers crossed for lots of great new Irish beers this weekend at the Franciscan Well Cask Ales & Strange Brews festival. Doesn't it come around fast?