Herd impunity

Tap takeovers? Remember them? BrewDog Dublin held them pretty regularly on Thursday evenings, back in the Before Times. I made a special effort to schlep out to Capital Dock when Western Herd was on the roster. It's one of those quality Irish brewers whose beers are seldom seen in these parts.

I started with a proper pint of Turlough, a straight porter of 4% ABV. It wasn't until I took the first mouthful that I realised how rare these are on the ever-unfolding beer landscape. No nitro, no outré additions, just porter. I can't remember the last time I drank something like it. It's dry and quite fizzy, leaning to the roast side but not severely. The finish, unsurprisingly, is exceedingly crisp, putting me more in mind of a schwarzbier than anything else. There's a complexity in the middle too; a floral flash of rosewater and a buzz of bitter liquorice. It's possibly just a bit too gassy to be properly sessionable, unless you work a pint or so in advance. It's good, though: old fashioned, wholesome and different in a familiar way.

The main event, as far as I was concerned, was a black IPA rejoicing in the name Citra Tuxedo. Even through the hefty layer of foam, the aroma promised an extreme experience, with lime, grapefruit and hot hot tar all lining up. Lummee. Sure enough the bitterness hits home, hard, early on. It's more pine than fruit -- sharp and resinous. The texture is heavier than I expected for just 5.4% ABV, and that spreads the hop napalm thickly over the palate, becoming a waxy bitterness in the long finish. The dark elements are less obvious, just a mild espresso note. I don't think I would mistake it for a pale beer, tasting blind, but that's more because it lacks IPA's fruit or dankness, not because of any perceptible chocolate or the like. This is a little one-dimensional and goes very extreme on the bitterness. I liked the jolt, though worried about my ability to taste the beer beside it.

Said beer is a whiskey barrel version of Blue Jumper, an IPA that last came my way in 2016 and impressed me, as above, with its uncompromising bitterness. Could four months in a JJ Corry barrel mellow it? It looks mellow: a deep and hazy orange. There's a booze whack in the aroma; an oaky resin, but with some bourbonish lime too. It's not severe on tasting though, retaining its essential US-style IPA characteristics -- the crystal malt in particular -- and while the hops are present, they're very nicely softened with vanilla and a gently herbal dry vermouth effect. Is it odd that the barrel has added this complexity to the flavour without in any way boosting the ABV? Yes. Yes it is. Almost suspiciously so. Anyway, this is a tasty and smooth sipper, and one of the few barrel aged IPAs I've liked. Four months is plenty, it seems.

What and where we'll be drinking in four months from now is the question.