The Twelve Brewers of Christmas 7: Third Barrel

The rationale behind this twelve-day project was shorter posts, but that's not an option with Third Barrel / Stone Barrel / Third Circle. Today I'm looking at a raft of recent releases from across the three labels.

As a beer writer I'm usually annoyed by stupidly long beer names but I have a serious soft spot for Bock, Stock & 2 Whiskey Barrels. It's not convoluted for the sake of it; it's informative. So, this is a doppelbock, and a fairly light example at 7% ABV. It's the appropriate mahogany red colour and has a clean and gentle lager consistency, showing a mild spinach hoppiness too. But all of that is a sideshow next to the whiskey. Interestingly the barrels don't bring any extra heat, but lots and lots of flavour: vanilla, or course, but also a genuine crisp malted grain and honey effect of the sort you only get from refined whiskey. Yes it's a novelty beer and has doubtless already horrified a number of Germans, but it's very tasty and an excellent twist on an established style.

It was quite a contrast to move then on to Into the F***ing Stratasphere (long name less necessary), a triple IPA using Strata hops. I don't know that TIPA is a worthwhile style to test a new hop with, because almost all of the ones I've encountered have tasted the same. This is 11% ABV and has quite a hard alcohol burn, which is understandable. There's a jaffa-skin tang and lots of oily hop dank. But the hops here could be any combination of high-alpha citric Americans. It's fine; they didn't mess it up, and Irish triple IPAs are thin on the ground so I don't resent them introducing another one. But the style hasn't evolved since Trouble's Hop Priority in 2015. Maybe it should do something else.

The next two I had missed out in the real world and was very happy when a request to the brewery resulted not in directions for where to find them but fresh and freebie cans. No free rides review-wise, though, obviously.

Stone Barrel Awesome Sauce is one of those DDH IPAs at 6% ABV. Lie back and think of New England. It's a dense and murky yellow. There's a hint of hot garlic in the aroma but it mostly smells genuinely juicy, of tangerine and satsuma. In a surprise switcheroo the flavour is floral: a fresh buzz of lavender and rose petal, rising to flood the palate and lasting long into the finish. You think you know what hazy IPA is and does, then one pulls a totally unexpected move like this. There's a mild chalky grittiness on the fade-out, but nothing unpleasant, and nothing distracting from the Citra-Mosaic party. Citra's signature lime buzz makes an appearance too, but not too extravagantly. The garlic does grow as it warms, so best enjoyed cold.

The other donation to this Christmas fun run was Bear Hug, also released on the Stone Barrel label, a 9% ABV barley wine, dry-hopped with Simcoe and Amarillo. It's a dun orange colour with a generous white foam on top. The aroma is quite citric: lemony citronella and a meringue pie sweetness. The flavour is... odd. With barley wine one expects a rounded, possibly boozy, warmth which is heavy on the caramel and naughty sherry. This leans right into those hops instead, eschewing the bitterness of highly-hopped examples like Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot, going for a sticky lime-like punch: part cordial, part air freshener. It's a bit jarring, but not unpleasant. The comforting warmth of the style is missing and in its place you get something along the lines of a west coast IPA. Enjoyable drinking, but not the cosy nightcap I'd had cued it up to be.

The normally po-faced Third Circle brand offers us the playful Needs More Cowbell, a milk stout with added tonka beans. Tonka doesn't mess around, and it's front and centre here with its sweet mix of almond, coconut, rose and cinnamon. The body is smooth but not too heavy so the flavour flits across the palate instead of sticking to it. Nor does it completely suffocate the stout beneath: the coffee, cocoa and tang of green veg suggest that this would have been a very decent stout even without the enhancement. It's a bit silly but I liked it. 6.5% ABV means it's not overboard on the alcohol but it still provides a soft, warm, smooth quality.

Dubbel in a can? How very unBelgian. This is another 6.5%-er from Third Circle and is called Love in Traffic. It's weak for the style and wan in colour: a washed out murky amber-brown. The flavour lacks the rounded maturity of a dubbel, showing honey and fresh fruit first, then a more serious burnt caramel and breadcrust note. I liked it, but it's not very dubbel-like and has only faint Belgian characteristics. A daring Irish take on a staid continental style, or a recipe that didn't work out as planned? And does it even matter?

Finally, one that sneaked up on me at the Rascals taproom: Third Circle's Raspberry & Blackberry Brett IPA. Quite a mouthful. The only element of the title which isn't delivered is the last part: I got nothing I could nail as a hop character from it. The rest is spot on, though. There's a tartness which seems like it's all fresh berry but I suspect some fermentation-related souring may be going on too. The flavour from the fruit is well represented, creating what to me tasted a little like redcurrant jelly: certainly not the dominant raspberry that less sophisticated raspberry beers tend to show. And then there's a sharp Brett funk; assertive but not jarring or difficult, adding just the right amount of balancing complexity. This is some of Third Circle's best work so far and I'd love to see more like it.

It's been a busy old year down in Bluebell, between the three house labels and several new start-up clients. I hope the guys will be getting some well deserved downtime over the coming weeks.