Three witches

Not many Irish breweries have given me three new beers to review in January but White Hag managed it. I don't even mind that at least two are altered versions of existing core beers.

I was thoroughly fascinated by Little Olcan when it dropped, it being a barrel-aged and wild refermented version of their Mosaic masterpiece Little Fawn. It looks similar: a pale yellow. The flavour is very different, however, offering a strong, thick and spicy mix, all lavender, bergamot and jaffa. While the funky special effects are loud and prominent, there's a down-home solidity here: enough smooth malt base; enough melon and lychee fun. It all works. This is a great introduction to serious funk; it's sharp, it's hard, it's doing all sorts of interesting things at 4 for €10. Jump on board.

Another hacked variant, the brewery's chocolate oatmeal stout got a bit of a makeover with the advent of The White Sow - Mint Chocolate Chip. It's still 5.2% ABV and deeply black, but it smells strongly and clearly of mint fondant, like the inside of an After Eight. And... yep, it tastes quite a lot like After Eights too, though with more of a milk chocolate sensation than dark. There's a slightly harsh buzz of hot concentrated menthol, but luckily the sweet and fluffy base stout has enough of a presence to soften it. The mint's best feature is the long vapour finish -- a beer that freshens your breath! This is a slightly silly experience, but it's enjoyable. The flavours are properly complimentary and set out front and centre with nothing lost along the way. I'm not sure it deserves a permanent place in the line-up but I would welcome it back as a winter seasonal later in the year.

A second flavoured stout to round these off: The Dark Druid, described as a salted caramel pastry stout. It may have some White Sow in its ancestry as it too is 5.2% ABV. I was prepared for a jolt of sweetness but not quite as extremely sweet as this is. Think Milk Tray, think selection boxes, think Easter eggs. It's a tough one to unpack past all the milk chocolate. There is some chewy caramel, though not so much salt, and a waft of rosewater. Maybe that's enough. If you like a sweet stout this is definitely one of the better ones. I'm agnostic, but I appreciated the way it goes all-out with the flavour; no half measures. That said it doesn't get hot, sticky or any way unpleasant, thanks to the relatively low strength. I can see this being a divisive beer, but I liked it.

Nothing boring or dull here. If the flavoured syrups aren't what you want in your beer, have some hoppy Brett instead.