Half of everything is IPA

Post two from the recent Rye River Rising festival is all about the pale ales, and variations thereon.

Hopfully ran a couple of pilot beers through its tap, beginning with a Hybrid Micro IPA at 2.4% ABV. Although this is a sickly looking yellowy white, it has absolutely nailed the texture, its body properly full, not watery. With Mosaic and Hallertau Blanc hops, it should have finished fruity but instead it's powerfully bitter, the flavour vegetal and green. The overall effect is akin to biting a raw hop pellet. I thought it wasn't bad at all, but the brewer didn't seem happy and replaced it quickly with...

Spelt Session IPA. We're up to 3% ABV here; still milky looking and still deftly avoiding thinness. Citra, Amarillo and Simcoe bring some classic American flavours to the table, yet without turning harsh as before. There's a gentle pithiness, and a zing of lemon tea, balanced by a crème caramel vanilla note. This is not the most exciting of beers, but very decent at what it does.

Before we go to New England and stay there, a trip to Hope's bar and a glass of Overnight Oats, an oatmeal IPA of 7% ABV, turbo-fermented with kveik. It's pale yellow with a full and quite greasy texture. Thankfully there's no alcohol heat, and I think that's because there's no room for it amongst the massive hops. The oiliness brings a sort of avocado effect to the flavour, and there's sharp guava and smooth mango alongside. This is uncompromisingly fresh and sharp, both a shouty wake-up call and a silken whisper. Iron fist in a velvet glove; that sort of thing. I liked it a lot.

The new Wicklow Wolf New England-style pale ale is called Avalanche. This arrived a deeper shade of orange and rather clearer than I was expecting. Idaho 7 and Azacca hops give it a stonefruit aroma: peach and white plum. There's a refreshing pith and peach skin juiciness, the light and quenching effect aided by a modest 4% ABV. In front of this is a more serious fried onion note and a waft of vanilla: both perfectly normal in this kind of beer but both I could do without. Still, the beer's overall easy-going nature means that these are just minor quibbles about a complex yet highly drinkable session beer.

Did someone mention juiciness? Third Barrel's latest is called Don't Blame It On The Juice, still modest at 5% ABV, made with more Idaho 7, more Citra and some Enigma because why not. Juicy? Actually, no, not really. The flavour explodes onto the palate with a hard dankness: fresh and bitter citrus oils; spiky, puckering and invigorating. A luxurious layer of vanilla is the only nod to Vermont here, adding more to the body than the taste; otherwise this is west coast undercover, and all the better for it, frankly.

Poor timing on my part meant I missed the imperial milk stout DOT was pouring but I did grab a glass of the double IPA, Pursuit of Juicy. This is the appropriate New England shade of beige. The aroma is mild, showing a little citrus and a little vanilla but not a lot of either. The texture is spot-on smooth for the style and there's a definite heat, appropriate to the strength. The flavour is... balanced, which I'm not sure is entirely appropriate to the style. There's a spritzy citrus, a kind of lime sorbet effect -- just acceptably hoppy enough, I think. In its favour there's none of the garlic or caraway which so often ruin these sorts of beers. The mildness may be disappointing to some, but I've come to be wary of New England-style double IPAs and this one treated me better than most.

Rye River are onto a winning model with this gig, and I hope they keep it going. Congrats to all who put it together and ran it so smoothly on the day.