Four for ten

Metalman Brewing is ten! They've celebrated in the appropriate way with a rake of new beers including the official commemorative one and three with swanky new rebranding.

The latter set, grandly dubbed the Galactic Voyager Series, began with New England IPA Giant Molecular Clouds, and a big thanks to the brewery for shipping me some freebie tinnies of this. I think it's their first venture into the World of Haze that acquired beer in a hostile takeover a few years ago. Despite the unorthodox 33cl can, this does look like a proper NEIPA: pale yellow and opaque, with a rocky topping of white froth. The aroma leans in to the veg side of things: garlic oil and dry asparagus. I thought some vanilla fluff would help balance that in the flavour but it turned out very dry, with a gritty, chalky taste and feel that dominates the whole experience. The hops play second fiddle to this, and it's mainly garlic and asparagus again. Amarillo, Azacca and Hüll Melon are among the fruitiest hops out there, so I'm astounded that in combination they're not bringing juice to this beer. It's not unpleasant, and I can't fault it technically, it's just one of those New England-style jobs that doesn't offer what I like about them.

Several weeks later, the second one appeared: Cosmic Horseshoe. The description is a sparse six letters -- "DDH IPA" -- and the hops are Cascade, Citra, Comet and Mandarina Bavaria. Opaque again, though this time a deep shade of orange. There's a pleasant hop spice in the aroma, as well as the promise of citrus to come. The texture is thick, entirely in keeping with the sizeable 6.6% ABV. Layered onto that are quite a few classic C-hop traits. I get lots of tongue-coating oily resins, the lime peel suggested by the aroma, a softer orange-cordial side (presumably the Mandarina), and a zesty, spritzy finish. All is cleanly presented and, surprisingly, doesn't linger long on the palate. It's a satisfying sipper, a little old-fashioned perhaps, but entirely in line with the ongoing west coast revival.

Completing the first wave of Galactic Voyagers is Gravitational Wave. This one is actually badged as a west coast IPA, but in keeping with modern fashion, it's hazy; downright opaque, in fact. The aroma too is sweet and juicy, and the texture soft, making me wonder if it's a straight mislabelling. There's a little bit of pull back in the flavour, but only a little. There's a dry side to it, partly citrus peel but partly New England chalkiness too. Chinook, Citra and Simcoe give it lots of classical grapefruit and lime with a scattering of black peppercorns, though any sharp edges are rounded and softened by the fuzz. It's a perfectly good beer, though I'm bemused that the "DDH" one before it did a better job of channelling the west coast vibes.

Finally we come to the official anniversary beer: Decade. They've badged it as a "tart cherry coffee porter" which sounds like one of those descriptions brewers come up with after the beer is finished and in need of labelling. It's dark brown and smells like a porter first and foremost, with the roasty aroma taking a moment to add in the deeper oily richness of real coffee beans. And so to the taste. It's still a porter, light-bodied for 5.2% ABV and with a dry kind of roast, grain rather than coffee-driven I would say. I'm not sure I would have identified the cherries had I not been told about them, but there's definitely something else there. A mild sourness in the finish helps clean it off the palate leaving no aftertaste though I couldn't really pick out the fruit. This is a bit of an odd fish, overall, but enjoyable. The recipe was a gamble but I think it's paid off. Much as I like a straight-up porter I can't criticise anyone for mucking about with one if it turns out this interesting.

Thanks again to Metalman for the freebies and here's to ten more years.