Canned witch spread

They've been busy at The White Hag. Every time I thought I had a handle on their new releases, another popped into view. Here's the most recent four to come my way.

Róc Helles shares a name with the brewery's pilsner but I hoped it would be softer and fluffier, as befits the style. It's a bigger serve too, going for the 440ml can. The strength is a little underdone at 4.5% ABV which I'm not sure would get the Bavarian seal of approval. The appearance is spot-on though: pale and clear, with a jolly cumulus of pure white froth on top. The aroma has the wholesome sweet biscuit appropriate to Helles, but there's a sharper green-pepper vegetal note there as well. Sure enough that's also present in the flavour. It doesn't taste sharp and grassy as I expected, but quite soapy: a tang of lemon washing-up liquid and a sharp astringency. This is not the smooth and easy experience that Helles ought to be. The body is there, but I think it's the sweet malt fighting with an overload of hops that creates the twangy clash. Helles is one of those styles that doesn't suit microbrewing. Leave it to the Bavarian giants.

This year's Púca next, Ginger & Lime being the latest attempt at improving the quite wonderful base beer, seeking to do what hibiscus, mint, matcha, and apricot have all so far failed to do. It's 3.5% ABV, like all the other Púcaí, and a white-gold colour, hazy like a glassful of lemon juice. Sour lemon on the aroma, with just a dusting of candied ginger. The balance tilts dramatically towards sour on tasting, with an almost vinegar-sharp tang right at the front. Lemon is there to add a little balancing sweetness (!) and the thicker lime citrus brings up the rear. The ginger is hard to detect, left as a residue in the aftertaste, and very much the flavour of ginger, without the spice. I'd like some spice. Don't let the low strength or craft ingredients fool you: this is a serious mixed-fermentation mouth-tingler for grown-up palates. It's just a little too busy and loud for me though. "What if it was stronger?" I found myself thinking, "What if they barrel aged it?" while never quite appreciating the beer for what it actually is. Straight lemon Púca, which I'm delighted to see is back in the shops now, is still the better beer.

Two lacklustre offerings in a row is very atypical for The White Hag. Maybe the third one will bring things back on track. Oh. It's a red ale. Warrior Queen was previously brewed for export only and, if only for the sake of completeness, I'm glad they've begun selling it in Ireland. Designed more for session pints than small cans it's 4.5% ABV. The colour is a dark garnet-red and there's a very trad topping of healthy foam. The aroma is intriguingly smoky, with a floral rosewater complexity. So not a Smithwick's clone then. The flavour switches things up again, showing a firm old-world hop bitterness to the fore: earthy, a little tinny, but assertive and not bland. The body helps there, being very decently full, avoiding the pitfall of wateriness that besets mainstream Irish reds. That smoky caramelised sugar wafts through next, while the finish brings my favourite feature of the style: a basket of summer fruit; raspberries in particular. There is a slight soapy twang, a function of the bitterness, which spoils the party a little, but overall I enjoyed the depth of flavour here. Maybe the flaw is less obvious when it's gulped down by the pint.

A double IPA to finish: Malafemmena, created for Johnny's Off Licence in Rome who, I assume, sell a lot of White Hag beer. It's 8.5% ABV but is no one-dimensional booze-bomb. The aroma is a stimulating blend of tropical fruit: pineapple first, then ripe juicy peach and a spritz of citrus. The last element is missing from the flavour, which is a little unfortunate as it would have provided a useful bitter balance. What's there is still good: apricots, red apple, mandarin -- quite a fruit salad. There's an over-riding alcohol heat, intensifying the fruit flavour rather than fighting with it. The whole thing is a sweet bruiser that makes for some enjoyable sipping. I'm just not enough of a double IPA fan to be head over heels about it, but there's little to complain about here.

Four very different beers but I think the red is the one I'm most likely to drink again. Strange times indeed.