Tickers ahoy!

Two late-2018 canned releases from YellowBelly today, both featuring a ticker-tape parade motif on the label. In the first, YellowBelly is teamed up with Shane from Rising Sons brewery in Cork, for 'tis a collaboration between the two. Grand Parade is a session IPA, 4.3% ABV and utilising Citra, Simcoe, Mosaic and Azacca hops. As it poured I thought I was going to end up with something completely opaque but there's a certain pale translucency in the glass. The texture is light, but before the flavour tails off into a fizzy orangeade thinness it offers a tasty mix of mango, pineapple and mandarin, leading to a more assertive grapefruit and lime bitterness. It's fun to encounter the Big Citric Hops and the Big Tropical Hops working so well in tandem. The end result is quenching, quaffable, and despite that tiny watery bite, well-engineered for the session.

Next up is The Wolf of Malt Street. This time it's a collaboration with Wicklow Wolf, described as a Black Forest stout, with oats and cherries but relying on the malt for chocolate flavouring (though not using chocolate malt). It's 6.2% ABV, but so rich it could pass for a full-blown pastry monster. Cherry syrup dominates the taste: sticky and purple. There is a decent stout underneath, one which might have been better off without the embellishment. I could detect its molasses and caramel sweetness and would liked to have been given more of this, but the busy cherry chases it away quickly. It's fine, and there are no surprises or flaws here. It's just a little too dessertish for my out-of-step tastes.

I'm sure it won't be long before the parade of 2019 YellowBelly releases hoves into view.