IP eh?

The "IPA" designation gets stretched past breaking point with this pair from Larkin's.

First up is Elements double IPA, less than a year since fellow Kilcoole brewery O Brother used the name; is there a statute of limitations? This is a modest one at 7.5% ABV but there's no compromise in the flavour: big sweet and juicy mango, clean and clear. Simple, perhaps, but I'll take that any day of the week over onions and vanilla and everything else that goes wrong in modern double IPA. Speaking of which, this is custardy-looking, and there's a tiny burn of yeast dregs hovering to the rear, though nothing to interfere with the fun tropicals. Weird as it is to say it, but it seems that bringing the ABV down from 8% really helps the drinkability. Maybe hop-forward beer is just nicer if it's not boozed up for the sake of appearances. More hazy double IPAs at this strength, please.

That came side-by-side with a Hopfully collaboration called Cherry Bomb, described as a cherry sour IPA, which is a combination I hadn't seen before. Let's unpack that. Well, it's pink, verging on purple, looking rich and dense. Cherry colour leads on to a strong and very real cherry flavour: the flesh, the skin; the sourness is of a level that you would find in an actual cherry, with just a tiny note of sweeter sherbet bringing the only artificial aspect. As regards IPA, it in no way tastes like an IPA and I don't know why they decided to pretend it does. It's a decent kriek, though. The medium-sweet sort of the Belgian variety is what it has most in common with, and that's a good thing. Fruity, tangy, and just sour enough. What's not to like?

Two very different, and pleasant drinking experiences here. Is it time to start ignoring those three letters when brewers use them?