A view on the new BRÚ

It's just over a year since Carrig subsumed BRÚ Brewery and began revamping the brand. This included a revision of the core range and they kindly sent me a set of each to try out, something I had been shamefully remiss about.

BRÚ Lager, then is very much pitched at the mainstream, and was something I had only ever seen people drink in the BRÚ pub chain. It's 4.2% ABV, gluten free, and a perfect bright yellow, if a little lacking in head retention. The flavour is medium-sweet, in broadly the Helles fashion with only a very faint dusting of noble hops in the finish. The middle is malt-driven, with a mix of grain husk and light golden syrup. I made sure to drink it outside in the sun to give a sporting chance, and it worked perfectly. After running two small cans through the pint glass in quick succession I was refreshed and nicely buzzed for what comes next.

Rua was quite the sensation on its release, which is not at all usual for a core-range Irish red. I was certainly a fan. Its successor, BRÚ Red Ale, has some big hoppy shoes to fill. The words "aromatic" and "pine" on the label indicate that the brewery does know how it's supposed to taste. It's a pleasing clear copper in the glass, and the head is much more stable than on the lager. There's a fun mix of toffee and spices in the aroma, though the flavour is all-malt to begin with: burnt caramel and dark treacle. A tannic dryness comes next, and then finally the hops, adding a floral rosewater complexity to the finish. There's a certain bitterness too, but "pine" is overstating the case. This is decent, and very much the sort of thing Irish red ale brewers should be aiming for. I miss the near-American-amber vibes of the old Rua, however.

Last of the set is BRÚ IPA, bearing the royal blue livery of Rí of old. I never really got on with Rí. There was a rubbery burnt note that didn't agree with me. Let's see how the new crew have tackled that. We get a slight reduction in ABV, to 5% from 5.2. It's a slightly hazy pale yellow in the glass and smells of hard grapefruit juice. So far, so west coast. The flavour is gloriously clean with not a bum note to be found of any kind. The citrus pinch comes right through in the foretaste, grapefruit mixing with fresh lemon and bergamot. The malt side adds texture but brings no sweetness, leaving the stage free for the hops -- Strata, Centennial and Cascade -- to perform. I loved the old-fashioned charm here. It's a reminder of when IPAs were clearer, cleaner, bitterer and, y'know, better. Anyone chasing the current west coast revival would do well to get a few of these in.

Marking the first anniversary of new BRÚ they released a tripel in their Urban Jungle range. Memory Lane is 8.8% ABV and quite dark for the style, amber rather than golden. It smells like a weissbier, big on banana with very little spice. So it goes in the flavour. Brown banana or banana candy, and then a hard waxy bitterness. The alcohol is hot and harsh and promises headaches to come. Of such things is good tripel not made. This doesn't really work. There are about three or four styles I could class this as an example of before I'd pick tripel. Clean it up, dry it out, and then we'd be in proper tripel territory. 

Finally, Double Panda is an amped-up version of Panda Nero tiramisu stout, still managing to be vegan friendly due to the use of the mysterious "tiramisu extract" and no lactose. It's pretty similar to the original: thick, sweet and big on coffee. There's slightly harder, harsher side, and a dollop of extra jammy fruit esters, but I think it wears it well. In fact, I'd venture that this 10% ABV beast is the beer that Panda Nero should have been all along. The balance of serious and silly is well done here, and there's a background bitterness which is all imperial stout and completely novelty-free. That's the way to do it.

In summary, the new core range are rock-solid and deserve to do well. They will be a welcome sight on draught when the pubs re-open and are ideally suited to that setting. Thanks to the brewery for sending them my way.