Hag stragglers

Following on from Monday's Hagstravaganza round-up, the beers which were at the festival but I didn't bother with on the day, for one reason or another.

In the case of The White Hag's own Glás, that was because it's a milkshake IPA. Yuck. But then it showed up in UnderDog earlier this week and I gave in. It's 6% ABV and a hazy orange-yellow colour. It smells extremely sickly, like the cheaper and nastier sort of milkshake from my 1980s childhood. The texture is thick, each pull being hard actual work. And the flavour... ugh. I don't know what they made it from other than lactose, but the fruit flavour is highly artificial, giving it the taste of children's medicine. There's something resembling real fruit in it: a buzz of peach or apricot juice, but it's peripheral to the clanging, cloying milky sugar bullshit. I didn't expect to get such a cliché of everything wrong with the concept of "milkshake IPA" but here it is. If this is what you wanted beer to be in 2019, fill your boots.

I also deliberately didn't have either of the new O Brother beers, figuring they would find their way to my usual haunts in Dublin sooner or later. Sure enough, within a week both were pouring at UnderDog.

8 Track Mind is an IPA in the New England mould. 6.1% ABV and the de rigeur shade of opaque yellow. Garlic and onion flavours are a regular issue in beers of this style and this one has them both in spades, to the exclusion of almost everything else. It's a sharp and burning acidity, and it comes with a side of yeasty dregs. Then it all tails off quickly in a dull savoury finish. No fruit, not even a dusting of sweet vanilla. This isn't an awful beer, and is within the boundaries of the style, but I found it hard to see the good in it. Again, I guess some people like this sort of thing.

We double down with Curated Reality, a triple IPA. "Custard Reality" might be a better name: it's thick, yellow and quite sweet. There's a white wine effect in the foretaste; a mix of juicy grape and lots of clean alcohol. There's some cool and crunchy green apple too, in that crisp sauvignon blanc sort of way. The finish is a little sickly, bringing a taste of concentrated peach syrup. While the strength is obvious, and an integral part of the overall thing, it's not heavy or hot and doesn't threaten a headache the way pale beers of this strength often do. The style is another one I'm not really a fan of in general: pumping up the booze and hops level doesn't seem to add any extra dimensions to IPA flavour complexity, and there are no fireworks or moments of revelation to be found in this. It's fine though: they've avoided all manner of things that could have gone wrong.

Maybe I'm out of step with modern IPA trends but none of these really impressed me, or gave me something I'd never had before. I guess when a brewery turns out as many different beers as O Brother and White Hag do, some are going to be by-the-numbers.