Let's play!

Though better known for a traditionalist core range that belies the brewery's youth, Dundalk Bay does throw us the occasional special. They've gone particularly craft-oriented with this latest pair, albeit in styles which other Irish breweries release on a weekly basis.

We start light with a Brewmaster Mango & Passionfruit Sour, a 3.8% ABV job, paying tribute to brewery supplies company Ger 'Er Brewed. The visuals aren't great. After several weeks in the fridge the fruity gunk seems to have clotted on the bottom of the can and plopped out into the glass after the beer. Initially the head looks promising but disappears quickly, as usually happens with these. There's no doubting the fruits as both are very obvious in the aroma: sweet and a little juicy. The sugar stays well behaved in the flavour, thankfully, tasting clean and medium-tart. Neither mango nor passionfruit are especially loud, and kind of hide behind each other, melding into a more prosaic tangerine and plum effect. There's a residue of sweet passionfruit in the aftertaste but that's as assertive as it gets. It's OK. Unexciting, but refreshing and easy drinking too, which I'm sure was the plan.

I'll be disappointed if that happens with the second one -- Brewmaster Double IPA -- though it is only 7.5% ABV. No heading qualms here: there's an enthusiastic thick pillow of froth on top, guarding a hazy orange body, suggesting west-coast-without-enthusiasm. The aroma is a strange mix of tart and tropical, a sort of curdled grapefruit candy. That settles into something altogether more palateable on the, er, palate. I think it's an attempt at the high-sweetness, high-bitterness of old-school American IPA but it goes about it in an odd way which doesn't quite work. Instead of crystal malt toffee there's a softer, perfumey, fruit-chew sweetness; and rather than the dry piney bitterness you get a squeeze of grapefruit juice which is acidic but quite fuzzy. I fear this guy has a touch of the New England Disease. It definitely doesn't have the clean west-coast vibe down. So, yes: I didn't get a simplistic easy-drinker, but I think what I did get goes too much the other way.

By and large, Dundalk Bay's best beers so far have been lagers and stouts. I wouldn't object if they stayed more in that lane.