One and a half fish

Lervig has retained its series of retro-branded beers even as it succumbed to the weird names and abstract art that nordic brewing has now gifted to the world. Lucky Jack is the one I'd regard as the flagship. I don't know if today's first pair are newer but I hadn't seen them in these parts until this year.

We begin with a Berliner weisse called Sour Suzy. It's the pure clear golden colour of a Riesling, and a smidge strong for a straightforward one of these at 4% ABV. Suzy isn't very sour. There's a briney bite, followed by a green-apple acidity. That's really as tart as it gets. Behind this there's crisp wheaty grain and a wisp of lemon-candy hops. It's all very simple, refreshing and tasty, though the lack of carbonation lets it down: towards the end I began to find it a little syrupy and I think that could be offset with a bit more fizz. I enjoyed its unfussy and ungimmicky stylings nonetheless.

Accompanying Suzy out of my fridge is Hoppy Joe, a 4.7% ABV American-style red ale. I'm assuming it's what normal beer nerds would describe as an American amber: it's certainly amber coloured, with a little bit of a haze through it. The aroma should be a strong point but I got very little of that. Has Joe skimped on the hoppiness? Kind of. There's not much hop flavour but the bitterness is pleasantly assertive, placing a grassy bite next to the toffee and marzipan malt. The relatively low strength means that the malt fades quickly, leaving that tangy bitterness on the palate a little longer. This fine but quite basic, even for a red ale.

Fine but basic describes both of these, actually. They're worthy additions to the off licence's 4-for-€10, adding variety to all the pale ales on offer. If current beer fashion isn't your thing, here are some decent alternatives.

Of course it was only a matter of time before the design approaches leaked into each other, and the result is Lucky Jack Extra Hard, an amber-coloured IPA of 6% ABV. I found the original 4.7% ABV Jack a little vapid when I first tried it in 2015. This isn't that. It's thick, and dank and bitter in a very '90s west-coast sort of way, complete with a buzz of pine on the end. Unfortunately it lacks the high notes to back all of this up: none of the zesty freshness that tends to work well in parallel. The texture is probably its best feature, which is not a good look for an IPA. It's OK, but I really expected more, and I can't find any parallels with the other Jack.

We move on to a session IPA of 4% ABV called House Party. The aroma certainly brings the party vibe: a loud explosion of mango, mandarin and pineapple, with even a little warmth -- unexpected given the strength. The body is nicely full, though entirely believable; the only other sign of the low ABV is a quick finish of the flavour. What's there is good while it lasts, however: freshly fruity, unsurprisingly, with thirst-quenching orange juice, some spiced and floral bergamot and a waft of resinous dankness. All solid IPA complexities with very little sign of compromise. There is a slight dry and chalky effect near the end which I didn't care for, reminding me of the aspirin note that often comes with modern alcohol-free beers. Overall, though, it's very decent: interesting while also refreshing and sessionable.

From there the ABV jumps to 7.5% ABV for Bad Haircut, another early refugee from the Boxtravaganza collection. It's a DDH hazy job with a powerful aroma of ripe apricot and eye-watering satsuma zest. Though the ABV is low for a double IPA it has the body of something several points up the scale. I note as an aside that oats do not feature among the ingredients. It feels thick and custardy, with a mild vanilla buzz  adding to that effect; otherwise the double act of stonefruit and citrus rules supreme. This beer gives an initial impression of being quite extreme but quickly settles down into something that passes for balance in a hazy hop-saturated DIPA. While not exciting, it's not off-kilter either, and frankly I'm glad of that. Trust Lervig to bring some nordic precision to the chaotic style.

Somehow I don't have a review of the Lervig staple imperial stout Konrad's here yet. I'm certain I've drank it in UnderDog where it's a regular but for some reason have never stopped to make notes on it. When I realised this I picked up a can to give it the proper once-over. 10.2% is the ABV and it's the dark brown of a black coffee. It tastes quite coffeeish too, thick and bitter, like the tarry sludge at the bottom of the machine. There's a little bit of fruit for balance -- I get cherry in particular -- and a sizeable chunk of high-cocoa dark chocolate. Mint humbugs and liquorice also feature, to an extent. This is very much a no-nonsense sort of imperial stout, going big on roast and bitterness while avoiding all gimmicks.

Gimmicks you say? We finish on another imperial stout, the whopper 14% ABV Cheap Lunch, brewed with peanut butter and the assistance of Manchester's Track Brewing. Cheap it ain't, at €7.75 per can. The aroma is pure pastry; not peanut butter specifically, but chocolate cake with masses of cream and a cup of strong coffee steaming on the side. There's a crunch of peanut in the flavour, though sweet enough to be mistakable for pecan. The coffee remains, bringing a bitter balancing roast, while the heat quotient is much lower than might be expected. It is hella sticky, though, and I'm glad I split the can, for reasons other than the cost. Still, it's fun and not overdone, as pastry stout should be.

It took me a smidge over four months to put that lot together. Whatever impression of Lervig it leaves you with, the brewery can't be faulted for adding variety to the beer drinkers' diet. If their last beer wasn't to your taste, wait five minutes for the next one.