The tale of the three brothers

Over the last while, O Brother has been less a beer maker and more one of those machines for training tennis players, launching lager after IPA, after saison, after IPA, relentlessly. I've been struggling to keep up and missed today's first three when they were originally out on draught, picking them up after cans appeared a short while later.

First under the microscope is Elements, a sour job of 4% ABV, dry-hopped with Citra. This poured a hazy pale yellow with a fine white mousse on top. The fresh-squeezed lemon and lime of Citra is apparent from the aroma, with a slightly worrying edge of fried onion too. Happily it backs far away from that on tasting, turning full-on tropical peach party, all pineapple, mango and passionfruit. Not something I'd expect from Citra but by golly I'll take it. The sourness is a little on the back foot but what's there is good: spicy saltpetre, dry chalk dust, and a mild and friendly whiff of sulphur. Those hops, however, are singing the main melody, playing first violin and leading the dance. I think I finally understand the phrase "party in my mouth".

We keep the tropical vibes rolling with the Azacca/Calypso-hopped Hope and Love pale ale. The ABV leaps to 5.7% though the colour stays a wan opaque yellow. The aroma isn't especially strong, but is sweet and juicy. There's a hard bitterness at the front: waxy, acidic. The flavour is grapefruit pith and apricot skin, plus an intense alkaline dryness: plaster of Paris or even cement. It has a certain stonefruit softness, but it's well hidden behind the harsher features. This is technically flawless (though could stand to be cleaned up, blah blah blah -- yes John, we know) and I think it's just the hop profile that wasn't to my taste. Looking at the descriptors for Calypso ("earthy, tea-like"), it's perhaps not as joyful as it sounds. I expected better of Azacca though. Moving on...

The family resemblance continues in the third sibling: Silicon Head double IPA is also pale yellow, though does look a little less anaemic than the others. At 8.1% ABV it would want to. We are promised Amarillo and Citra, but not the magic initials "DDH". Perhaps that's why the aroma isn't up to much. It tastes good, though. A little on the savoury side: those crispy deep-fried onions from the Citra rather than yeast grit, thankfully. A concentrated orange and lemon kick flows behind that; an easy-going juiciness aided by the light texture and total lack of alcohol heat. It doesn't spark with tropical freshness the way the best of this sort do, but instead it's calm and rounded; balanced, not busy. As a closer to the evening's drinking it worked very well.

A very decent effort overall. Three glasses of inarguable murk but barely a trace of yeast interference and lots of hop jollies. That's the way to do modern craft beer.

To the pub, then, and just yesterday two new ones landed, in UnderDog, of course.

The lighter effort is 6.4% ABV, an American-style IPA called War Money Freedom. It's a bright orange colour, though hazy and quickly headless. The texture is appropriately thick, and there's a definite warmth from the alcohol, even when the beer is poured very cold from the tap. The flavour is a blend of savoury and bitter, with the former in the ascendant. I don't know if it's the hops or a touch of yeast bite bringing the red onion here, but that's the first thing. A jaffa-like citrus burst comes next: old-school west-coast, and enjoyable for that, but it's not loud enough. This is refreshing despite the heat, and has a decent modicum of zing. I wanted more zing, though.

Its hefty fraternal twin is Trajectories double IPA. It looks similar, though, and orange features in the flavour as well as the appearance. That's concentrated into a cordial effect but thankfully not sweet; dusted with enough bitter zest to balance it. The 8.2% ABV is apparent from the thick and slick texture. While there's no heat, it leaves you in no doubt it's a big beer. Subtlety does not feature, nor complexity particularly, but it's one of those hug-in-a-glass, late-night-finisher beers that have a definite role and purpose in the drinkers' life.

Keep 'em coming, bruvs.