Thorny thorny thorny

Three beer beers from Derbyshire's Thornbridge today. The brewery is probably tired by now of being told that they said they'd never can their beer and then they canned their beer. My first experience of metal-clad Thornbridge came, unexpectedly, via Tesco in Portadown. Both of these are available in Dublin now too, however.

Florida Weisse attracted my attention with the words "bracingly tart" on the blurb. This is a raspberry Berliner weisse of 4.5% ABV and it's certainly bracingly pink, its rosé head quickly crackling away to nothing. It tastes... authentic, in that it tastes like the pre-raspberried Berliner Kindl Weisse: artificially sweet, like candy or ice cream sauce with a very simplistic yoghurt sourness in the background. I guess the name is meant to suggest frivolous summer fun, which this does offer, but I was hoping for something more punchy, more interesting.

From the same shelf came Thornbridge's "Vermont Session IPA", named with a certain literalness Green Mountain and a mere 4.3% ABV. It's appropriately hazy topped by a pile of white foam this time. The flavour is odd. There's orangey juice, an almost margarita-like lime bitterness and then a very strange twang in the finish which begins as fried onion but grows more intense, turning to burnt plastic and acrid smoke. This last part really takes the shine off what should be a jolly and easy-going pale ale. I don't know if it's all down to the intense hops or if something more nefarious has happened, or if it's just me. Anyway, I kept wanting this to be softer and fruitier and it let me down all the way through.

Collaboration beers are ten-a-penny these days (not literally; they're often very expensive) but it's relatively unusual to see two breweries combine the recipes, and names, of their flagship beers. That's what we have here with Jai JAI from Cigar City and Thornbridge, their Jai Alai and Jaipur respectively. The ABV is exactly half way between the two at 6.7% and it's a clear golden colour, the first sign that Jaipur is the dominant partner. I get Jaipur's waxy green dryness in the aroma too. The flavour definitely has two sides: chalk and asparagus at the front, turning sharp and lime-like at the end; and also a sweet lemonade and Juicy Fruit gum sugariness running all the way through. Balance is preserved, and a smooth body ensures it's easy drinking. There's nothing special or different or outré about this collaboration, but no harm. It's a very tasty fruit-forward American-style IPA, refreshing, quenching and satisfying with no novelty factor at all. A real best-of-both-worlds job.

And then a lovely mixed box of Thornbridge bottles came my way as a Christmas gift. There were three new ticks in there, including Melba, a peach-infused IPA. It poured clear and headless, smelling powerfully of peachy syrup and tasting of it too. The texture is light to the point of thinness, which does at least mean it's easy drinking and doesn't get cloying. There's no real indication that it's an IPA, however. Pour peach cordial into vodka, prosecco, fizzy water, and you'll get the same effect. This is quite pleasant drinking but it doesn't particularly inspire or impress me. I'd file it along side those Lindeman's fruit concoctions, and Pêcheresse in particular.

I hoped for better crack from Crackendale, at the same strength and described on the label as a Citra pale ale. Turns out it's very pale indeed, and slightly hazy with it. It suffers a little from the same lack of substance as Melba, but again that serves to help the drinkability. There's a gently spritzy carbonation, propelling a light lime and pine flavour, with some bitter herbal notes tailing behind. I was hoping for a little more punch; maybe some sticky hop resins, but instead it goes for the lighter, more accessible aspect of American C-hops, and I can't fault it for that. I'm guessing this works better as a cask beer than bottled, but what I got was a very passable refresher.

Last up is Coco Cocoa, in the popular style of chocolate and coconut porter. Coconut is all the aroma has to offer, in a pleasingly bitter format. The flavour is mellower, presenting moist and chewy coconut flesh, a subtle dry roast and some sweet milk chocolate, but not too much. It's very well balanced overall, picking the best from its novelty elements without overusing them. This is another I could see working very well by the pint, especially with the ABV at just 5.5%.

So, on the balance of this lot, Thornbridge's best beers are still the bottled ones? Maybe this guy was right.