This calls for a session

Forcing us all to buy three beers instead of one, DOT came out with a matching set of session IPAs recently. All three are 4.5% ABV and brewed with oats and rye, plus a varying combination of hops.

Hop lets us know from the outset what to expect, the hops in question being Hüll Melon and Vic Secret. It's a fuzzy orange colour and has a subtle aroma, with only a faint echo of Vic's anise-infused-kerosene bitterness. Sure enough it's sharp, and doesn't really have the body to carry its generous bittering quotient. Hüll Melon should be bringing some luscious white grape, in this drinker's opinion, but I don't get it. The initial bitterness is followed only by a different sort: resinous and spicy into the finish. It's not a bad beer but was a bit of a workout, and not something I'd consider entirely suited to session drinking. Let's hope for something mellower to follow.

The second one is called Drop, and uses what I thought was quite an orthodox combination of Centennial, Mosaic and Simcoe. I wasn't prepared for how intensely tropical it is. The aroma is like a sorbet: cold, a little sharp, but with an underlying succulent sweetness. This unfolds in the flavour into a very real passionfruit effect, flooding the palate before fading quickly, just like an actual piece of fruit would. A slightly harsh resinous bitterness forms the finish which here makes for an interesting contrast. Although the taste is a bit all over the place, it amounts to a pleasant experience, and certainly packs in a lot of complexity for the modest ABV.

Finally, of course, we Roll: this one with sweetie El Dorado, and The Bruce, a hop blend from New Zealand I've seen around but don't really know. It's a deeper amber than the previous, while the rye is quite apparent in the aroma -- that familiar grassy spice. There's a fair bit of fruit candy as well, though. Its mouthfeel is nicely light, fitting for a very juicy flavour: mostly fresh-squeezed orange, but with a touch of more exotic mango and mandarin. There's white pepper too, which I'm guessing is rye-derived, and dries things out considerably, becoming almost chalky by the end. That mix of juice and dryness makes for something very refreshing, exactly what's required of a beer like this.

I can't accuse DOT of turning out samey beers here, despite the labels. These each have their own character and demonstrate well how a beer's whole nature can be changed by tweaking the hops. As well as buying a session, you're buying an education.

The DOT train rolls faster than most in these parts, and no sooner had I dispatched these than seven new releases arrived more or less simultaneously. The range of styles and strengths is prodigious so I'll take them in something resembling order. That makes Early Bird the starting point, a 2.8% ABV micro IPA. This is hazy but not wan-looking as low-strength IPAs can be, being a full and rich orange colour. What is typical of the style is the mineral dryness, here given a fun twist of peppery spice. Both are seasonings on the main juicy satsuma character, and there's a little dankness in the aroma. Citra, Centennial and Vic Secret are working away in the background though I couldn't really pick out their individual features. Overall, it's a pleasantly complex and full-flavoured job, while still light and refreshing as befits the strength.

That's enough IPAs for the moment. The ABV scale takes a jump up to 6% next, and the style a jump sideways to saison. It's still dry-hopped, though, so we're not out of those particular woods yet. The varieties are from New Zealand, hence the name: Maui. It's a beautiful clear golden colour with a fine white head. The aroma goes heavy on white pepper and dry straw, so very much a classical saison nose, free of hop gimmickry. The hops are present on tasting though not in a gimmicky way. The ripe white grape of Nelson Sauvin is entirely complementary to the dry saison spice, rounded fruit offsetting the almost acrid dryness. The base beer is saison the way I like it, and the hops are a well-chosen subtle twist. I recommend it to saison purists and the farmhouse-curious alike.

As a St. Patrick's Day special, the latest barrel aged pale ale created exclusively for the Teeling Distillery is Green With Envy. White port and Calvados filled the barrels before the whiskey before the beer. Intriguing! It's 6.2% ABV and quite thick with it, sluggishly forming a head as it poured; a bright and opaque amber colour underneath. The foretaste is heavy and sweet, all orange cordial and Jolly Ranchers. There's a little hint of spirit behind this; that mild oaky tang you get from highly involved whiskey cocktails. That's about it as far as the complexity goes. It's fine, but nothing special. My preference lies with lighter and more barrel-y takes on this sort of thing.

And so up we go to the higher reaches of beer strength, our next stop being an 8.2% ABV double IPA called Rip. Juice is promised, though it's a surprisingly clear rose-gold colour in the glass. There's a heavy dankness in the aroma, which doesn't say juice to me, and I can't say there's much in the flavour either. It is sweet though, but it's a malt sweetness, of the toffee and golden syrup sort. This is tempered by a hard citric bitterness -- lots of pithy grapefruit and beeswax. The alcohol makes its presence known too: very warming, though thankfully never tipping over into hot or difficult. This is a pretty solid west-coaster, all told. Forget the juice and enjoy the zest.

The herald of darkness is The Barrel Aged Adventures of Extra Stout, which I'm guessing is a barrel-aged extra stout (it's actually several, blended). It's hefty for that, at 8.6% ABV, and is another thick pourer. There's a light roast in the aroma though not much else. The flavour is subtle too, no big booze or concentrated chocolate. There's a gentle caramel and coffee, with a little whiskey-ish honey and a bite of burnt dryness in the finish. Really, this beer is more about the texture than the taste: it's beautifully smooth, making for dangerously easy drinking. Not DOT's best work in this genre but an enjoyable start to this black set.

Earlier this year, DOT recalled a beer due to excessive carbonation. I began to wonder if they've over-compensated in the opposite direction when I poured 2021 Contains Nuts. This was very nearly totally flat, and while it's a style you wouldn't expect to be fizzy, it could have done with a little more condition. I don't recall how much the recipe has changed from the previous annual iterations, but what we have is a blend of imperial stout and red ale, both barrel aged, coming out at 9% ABV. I'm not sure I would have identified the praline extract unprompted. There's a general nutty, chocolatey, caramellish candy bar effect: boozy Snickers, in short. A dry finish helps balance the sweeter excesses. Like the previous one it's smooth and easy going, but I was hoping for a bit more distinctive novelty. Don't go all classy on me, Contains Nuts.

At the end of the road, a beer from which I was hoping for something properly crazy: BA Imperial Sherry Milk Stout. Where to start? Well, it's black, and fairly flat again. I thought it would be sweet but instead it's delightfully herbal, with a bitter aniseed and pine kick from the get go. The alcohol warmth is the next most prominent feature, quite subtle given the stonking 11% ABV. A floral element of lavender and rose petal builds as it goes, though it never quite conquers that bitterness. A residual waxiness is the beer's calling card. It's interesting how little sign there is of milk, sherry or whiskey here. It's its own thing, though: a hard sort of imperial stout for the grown-up palate. As such, I rather enjoyed it.

A further new one arrived a few weeks after I'd finished this lot. Barrel Aged Imperial Pale are the beery words DOT has appended to this one, exclusive to Redmond's of Ranelagh. Behind the label is a rather dense and murky pale ale of 6.9% ABV, utilising ex-Madeira casks in its formulation. It smells strongly of raisins: a concentrated grape effect, err, because that's what raisins are. The flavour is softer and fruitier, with white grape, lychee and apricot, plus a gentle oak spicing. It does get a little sweet after a while, adding a slightly sickly cordial vibe, so maybe a 330ml can would have been more appropriate than 440. It's like the flavour profile is designed to be fun and easy but the high gravity has put the brakes on that. Overall though, it's very good, and an excellent melding of fresh hops with barrel-aged complexity. The sort of thing DOT does best.

How does one even begin to sum up? DOT has something for everyone, I guess.