IPArade

And so we reach the end of this sequence of posts in honour of Indie Beer Week 2021. I'm concluding with a cross-section of pale ales, IPAs and hoppy whatnot from across the independent brewing industry in these parts.

To begin, "just in time for summer", a new version of Black's The Session, this one with Pink Grapefruit. I was never much of a fan of the original 3.5%-er, and dilution with grapefruit to 3.4% ABV didn't immediately attract me. It's an improvement though. The aroma is its best feature: an assertive bitter lemon fizz effect. The base beer is very dry, but the acrdity is offset nicely by whatever sugary concentrate has been dumped in. Even with a minor hop twang, it's a bit cheeky of them to go calling it an IPA. But as something in the broad radler genre it works well: refreshing and very easy to quaff. Best enjoyed without too much analysis, I think.

Its sunny companion is a "Simcoe & Cascade Summer IPA" called St Tropez. Despite that, it has an aroma for all seasons: a sturdy whack of grapefruit and green veg. Perhaps it's the modest 4.8% ABV that qualifies it particularly for summer. It's no compromised lightweight, however, with plenty of body carrying a big and tongue-coating resinous bitterness: waxy at the front with a sage and rosemary oily complexity arriving late. There are some lighter, zesty, citrus notes beyond this -- west coast, old school, grown up: whatever terminology you want to put on it. The branding had me expecting some kind of tropical juicebomb but it is most definitely not that. It's very good though: bracing and refreshing, built for an Irish summer, not a Mediterranean one.

Wide Street brushes away the Brett for Time-Lapse session IPA, first in a new series of seasonals. It's pale and translucent in the glass and smells of mouthwatering tangerine and spicy bergamot. Amarillo and Galaxy are bringing that orangey effect while the random factor comes from Nelson Sauvin. The juicy mandarin and tangerine is the long and short of the flavour, buoyed up on plenty of malt substance. A dry and slightly funky complexity in the background could be the Nelson, or maybe something microbially interesting from somewhere else in the brewery. Regardless, the end result is gloriously refreshing and sinkable, with plenty of complex character. Here's hoping Time-Lapse 2 doesn't stray too far from this fine paradigm.

My previous IPA round-up featured Big Feelings from Galway Bay. It now has a baby brother: Little Feelings, a pale ale of 5% ABV, brewed with Strata and Mosaic. It's yellow and murky, which isn't ideal, but the aroma is strikingly beautiful: a heady mix of fizzy fruit chews and juicy sweet citrus, both in large quantity. These two sides polarise further on tasting, with creamy vanilla at one end and pithy lemon on the other. The latter's sharpness does a great job offsetting the fluffy texture, and thankfully there's no gritty interference from the suspended bits either. The whole thing is bold-flavoured yet easy drinking, and surprisingly clean and refreshing for a dense and hazy job. There's very little to object to here.

It's a series-within-a-series at Kinnegar: Brewers At Play No. 14 is the third one to be a Hazy Session IPA. An endless choice of hop varieties is the excuse on the can, though it doesn't say which ones were used here. It's one of those trubby beige numbers, though has a decent head and a fresh citrus aroma. The dreggyness is polite enough to wait for the flavour. It's dregs in spades, though: an almost smoky savoury quality, biting harshly at the front and sanding down the gullet on its way out. In between, the hop saturation brings garlic oil and the hard pine of a raw hop pellet. Amazingly, they've included lactose in the ingredients, and if it's really there it's not doing anything to soften the roughness. Anyone who can manage an actual session on this is made of sterner stuff than me. I appreciate that the brewery is learning about its recipes and processes with this series, and I'd like the lesson here to be "let's not do this again".

Also continuing a series, Lineman takes us back to Electric Avenue, #2 featuring Talus and Hallertau Blanc with the ABV coming down to 5.3% ABV. I guess this is why it's labelled as an "extra pale ale" rather than "IPA". Pfft, whatever. It's quite dense-looking in the glass, an opaque sunset-yellow shade topped with lots of foam. A fun mix of spice and citrus greets the nose, suggesting a beer that's bitter first and fruity later. And so it goes on tasting: there's quite an intense hit of citrus pith and rind from the outset of the taste. I've only had a handful of Talus beers so I can't go assigning flavours too freely, but the pith comes with a Sorachi-like coconut, and that's definitely not something I associate with Hallertau Blanc. The soft lusciousness in the late flavour, though: that is Hallertau Blanc for sure. The contrast is fun. I'm not sure if it counts as balance, since the pith is mostly in control, but it's a lovely combination anyway -- bright and summery, sweet yet clean, charming but assertive. I'd be quite happy if they stopped the experimenting here.

But of course they didn't. Electric Avenue #3 returns us to the classic 6% ABV IPA and utilises Simcoe, Citra and Mandarina Bavaria. Medium hazy in the glass, it smells quite harsh, a mix of cheap fruit-flavoured candy and melted plastic. The flavour is along the same lines but not as unpleasant. There's a major savoury component: fried onion, black pepper and crusty rye bread. This is all set on a cheery, fluffy New England texture, and it's quite dissonant how the juicy feel doesn't match with a juicy taste. The Germanic noble-hop origins of Mandarina are apparent here and totally wreckin me buzz. #3 is definitely no #2.

Beyond the Avenue, Lineman has also given us kiloHopz: 6.9% ABV, hazy again and hopped with Citra, Centennial, Ekuanot and Azacca which should bring an interesting mix of soft fruit and hard bitterness. The aroma is all the latter: pithy and a little rough seeming. It's quite heavy, though not fluffy in a New England style, and the alcohol brings a substantial heat. All that provides plenty of elbow room for the hops, and the bitterness again dominates the foretaste: waxy, with lime and pine. You have to wait for the tropical fruit, and wait a bit more, but right on the end there's a little burst of mango, passionfruit and Skittles. Nevertheless, this is mostly a very serious IPA: don't let the haze fool you.

There's more haze from Whiplash next. Binary is a dense-looking pale yellow one with Citra and BRU-1 hops. It smells nicely juicy, all mango and mandarin, with the flavour adding a soft scoop of vanilla to that. A slight hint of garlic arrives in the finish, but it comes as a pleasant contrast rather than an imposition. At 6.8% ABV it's a bruiser, but it's very light and easy drinking, completely free of the gritty fuzz that too often plagues hazy IPAs. I wasn't bowled over, but had a jolly nice time with this one. Proper fan service from Team Whiplash.

Two more 'lashes followed swiftly. The first is called Prisoner of Love and it's strange to see something this fiercely modern opaque yellow colour designated in an old-fashioned way as a "Cascade pale ale". Could they not find any cool hops? The aroma is quite rough, suggesting the grittiness of bad murk allied with Cascade's signature earthy quality. And then it's surprisingly sweet and clean on tasting. What's that about? Vanilla, lemon drops and satsuma pop on the tongue then fade quickly. It's quite a fun experience, easy going with just enough complexity. It had never occured to me that Cascade could work in a beer that isn't primarily bitter, but here it is, done well.

Something a little more involved rounds off the Whiplash trilogy. Station To Station is an IPA of 7.1% ABV, hopped with Simcoe and Galaxy. It's another very pale and murky one, but this smells of pungently ripe tropical fruit. Roll up roll up for the mowldy pineapple. The flavour is a fresher version, thankfully, but still based around pineapple, guava and even a little of that fun pink prickly pear taste. The finish is again quick, which is less acceptable in something of this strength, and there's a chalky twang on the fade-out which I didn't care for. Whiplash does this sort of thing better, normally. This is only OK and just has too many of the typical flaws of haze for my taste. Still, the alcohol is well hidden so down the hatch it went in short order.

I was extremely trepidatious approaching this final one from Western Herd. Although Flora and Fauna is a lovely innocent name, it's a "10 hop double IPA" of 9.45% ABV from the country's most hop-happy brewery, boasting the biggest hop load they've ever put into a single beer. Ooo-er. It's a pleasing west-coast gold in the glass, and perfectly clear. Despite double dry hopping, the aroma is mild and only slightly piney. The flavour is remarkably easy-going too. There's a sizeable dankness, followed by a floral spice, more of that pine and then a zesty lime and grapefruit finish. They've used all the hops and it actually tastes of all the hops, or at least the American varieties -- crisp, clean and undisturbed. The strength is entirely justified, providing a soft malt base as a jumping off point, and removing the risk of harshness. Though the style is out of fashion these days, this is a world-class effort and worthy of comparison with the west coast USA's finest. No fancy tricks or gimmicks, just lovely satisfying drinking. The batch sold out in short order but this is deserving of a rebrew, if not a permanent place in the line-up.

And that's it for Indie Beer Week. If you're doing one of the online events tonight or tomorrow, have fun. And if you're not, just remember to buy independent Irish beer whenever you see it. It's not all IPA, although an awful lot of it is IPA. Bye!