Milling pints

The third annual Indie Beer Week begins today, an opportunity to shout a bit about the small-and-independent brewing scene across the island of Ireland. A press launch event was held a couple of weeks ago at Lost Lane, the new venue above Porterhouse Central. A selection of brewers brought wares to show to the assembled journalists and liggers. My attention was drawn immediately to Old Mill Brewing, recently established in Co. Donegal but not currently distributing its beers very far from the brewery, not to Dublin anyway. Brazil native Julio has turned his homebrew hobby into a business and produces three core beers and regular specials at a renovated woollen mill. I tried the range on the evening but was also given a set to take away.

The one nod to mainstream styles is Red Brick, although it's a little overclocked for an Irish red, at 5.1% ABV. It's the appropriate dark copper shade, topped with a lasting off-white foam. There's an interesting herbal-coconut aroma, and the body is decently full. That carries lots of toffee, with a small bitter tang on the end. There's quite a lot of buttery diacetyl in the mix, but this is one of those beers that gets away with it. Unless you're very sensitive, it's a good example of the Irish red style, given a little extra heft.

Session IPA Wool Store brings us down to 3.9% ABV. This was a little gushy on opening and a little murky in the glass. Again, no argument with the head retention, however. Citra and Mosaic are the hops and, despite the soupy appearance, manage to bring a fresh and tropical spritz to the aroma. The flavour is less exciting but still clean. Apricot and mango flesh are just about discernible, mostly in the finish, but before that it's just water. Yes, you definitely could session this merrily, but it's not a beer that will hold your attention.

Last of the cores is Seven Thirty, described as an American pale ale. Authentically strong at 5.8% ABV, the hops are all the Cs with Cascade, Columbus, Chinook and Citra. It has the same amber-tinted-with-gold colour of Sierra Nevada's flagship. For all the hops I found it strangely sweet, a basket of summer fruits with raspberry to the fore. Caramel in the background lends it a red ale vibe, while the bitterness is a tokenistic metallic pinch of aspirin. It's fine as a beer, but I think it's a little off the mark as regards the APA style. Even the old-fashioned malt-forward ones have more of a hop punch than this.

On to the specials, then, and I nabbed two of them. Labbadoo is a New England IPA, 5.8% ABV and only modestly hazy, the orange-amber body topped by a dense, ice-cream thick, head. Cream is a particularly apposite descriptor as there's a lot of smooth lactic vanilla here, though no non-core beer ingredients have been employed. Mosaic is the primary hop and that gives the beer a luscious stonefruit sweetness, rendered slick by whichever New England yeast is involved. It's incredibly moreish, each mouthful just slipping back and inviting another. As before, the taste isn't bold or extreme, but it's very good at what it does. Irish NEIPA brewers could learn from this.

And finally, the head-banging BlackRepentance chilli chocolate stout. 5.8% of your ABVs and properly, seriously, black. On first tasting I thought the chilli was lost in the mix, but it builds slowly in the belly, producing a comforting warmth by the end of the bottle. In front of that there's a rich milk chocolate, albeit with a quick and somewhat watery finish. As a chocolate stout it's basic, but the chilli adds a fun twist, one that saves the beer. Chilli-infused commercial beers are rare, and I'm delighted that this one is out there.

Old Mill balances the mainstream with the daring, and I wish them the best of luck with it. They certainly seem to know what they're doing.