New, but improved?

Another Radical Drinks promotional event for one of their American breweries took place in Urban Brewing last month. This time it was New Belgium's turn, with Export Manager Casey Kjolhede in attendance. Of course all is sweetness and light regarding the Colorado brewing icon's move from being ultra-ethical employee-owned to another brand in Kirin's "Lion Little World" portfolio, where it sits next to Little Creatures, Magic Rock and FourPure.

There were two new beers to try, beginning with Fat Tire White. I'm not a fan of the famous amber ale so approached this brand extension with scepticism. That seems justified at first: this is pale and sickly-looking even by witbier standards. The haze is half-hearted and the texture thin: surprisingly so at a generous 5.2% ABV. It therefore took me a while to get what this beer is about, but there's goodness within. The flavour is subtly complex, with lots of spice and a refreshing citrus spritz: they've used orange peel but the effect is more lemony. There's a base of crisp wheat and then some aftereffects of sweet wildflowers and a very Belgian estery funk. That sounds busy, but it's mellow, integrated and easy-going. I'd still opt for Hoegaarden, on texture grounds alone, but I deem this a valid alternative.

The muscle for the evening was provided by New Belgium Honey Orange Tripel. No half measures here: we're looking at a full-fat 10% ABV, and a serious, brooding, dark gold colour. Of course it has honey and orange flavours but they taste just like the ones found in regular tripel, not tacked-on as novelty for its own sake. Further cementing its credentials, it's warm without being hot; smooth, soft and very satisfying to drink: just like any good tripel, Belgian or otherwise. The Belgian esters just about perceptible in the wit are absent for this, and purists may miss them. I was happy with the overall cleanness I got in exchange.

It's only two beers, but so far it doesn't look like multinational ownership has ruined New Belgium.

Naturally I took the opportunity to explore some new Urban Brewing beers, beginning with a Yarrow Gruit. This wasn't as interesting as I'd hoped, the sweet meadowy herbal effect relegated to a very faint trace in the finish. From my limited experience of making hopless gruit beers, you really need to pile in the replacement ingredients and, as with hops, you get a better effect from using them in combination. The dominant feature here was a soft and sweet banana flavour, the result of La Chouffe yeast but making it taste like a weissbier. Rampant Belgian esters will drown out a lot of things, and the poor yarrow wouldn't have stood a chance. This was an inoffensive offering, but still disappointing.

The one that really impressed me on the night was Urban's Hoppy Red. This 4%-er looked awful -- a murky, muddy orange shade -- but the Mosaic and Amarillo absolutely sang. The aroma is a mix of fresh citrus zing and heavier oily dank, then the flavour follows that with classic grapefruit and mandarin characteristics. The malt keeps a respectful distance from these firecrackers, offering the merest of a suggestion of toffee, but you have to look for it. There's a simple elegance to this and if I hadn't been sampling my way through I could have consumed a lot of it. It's odd how rare this bright American hop thing is in Irish beers; it ought to be permanently in fashion.

A big thanks to the folks at Urban and Radical for the invite, and I'm glad to see the trickle of New Belgium into Ireland is bringing us new stuff. There must be something from the foeders due any day now.