Where do they all come from?

The downside of being a DOT beer drinker is that you really need to keep your stash under control. This one ended up taking over most of the fridge before I set aside the time to enjoy them. I've done that daft thing of turning my leisure activity into a chore. So... what's in there?

We start very small with Good Behaviour, an IPA at a teeny tiny 2.5% ABV. Vic Secret and Citra give it quite an assertive aroma, with lime marmalade and matchhead spicing in the mix. Oats are used too, presumably to bulk out the body but I don't think it quite works: it's still very thinly textured. Luckily the flavour is bold enough to compensate, turning the wateriness to an acceptable, refreshing, quaffable character. Said flavour begins sweet and tropical, and I get mango in particular from it. I would have liked that to continue but it decides to take a sudden and sharp turn towards bitterness and ends up a little harsh. It's not one to sit about crying over, however. There's plenty of hop buzz to enjoy, and then it's gone and no harm done.

Before that landed, the record for DOT's weakest was held by Martin's Micro IPA created for Martin's Off Licence in Fairview, one of DOT's many frequent collaborators. This one is 2.6% ABV and is a happy white-gold colour. Nothing small about the aroma, however: it's bright and tropical, suggesting all the joy of pineapple and passionfruit to come. But come it does not. The flavour is plain to the point of non-existent; fizzy water with very little on top. A tiny pinch of metallic bitterness on the end? Maybe, but I had to work hard to find it. I'm all in favour of the low-strength genre -- plenty of breweries do great work in this space and I know from the above that DOT can too. But while inoffensive, this beer is not a good example of what's possible, certainly when compared to Good Behaviour.

The theme continues somewhat with High Note, claiming to be a full-size session IPA though with only 3.5% ABV. In the glass it's a sickly shade of pale yellow, misted with some half-hearted murk. Things pick up in the aroma which is fresh and peachy with a light spritz of citrus zest. While nowhere near as watery as the above, it's still slightly unpleasantly thin. Turns out that oats don't magically create body in a low-gravity ale. Vic Secret is one of the principal hops, and there's an enjoyable herbal bitterness stemming from that but not a whole lot else going on here. Once again, the aroma is a triumph but the rest just seems compromised. I have a feeling that, with occasional exceptions, this genre doesn't suit DOT particularly well. 

To Blackrock next, and the second batch of Joël's Gold Blend, the tea-infused pale ale blended with stock that's been aged in French wine barrels. I really liked last year's and am happy to report that its intrinsic character hasn't changed much this time around. There's still that beautiful mix of ripe white grapes, cool refreshing tea and a seasoning of oaky spice. Between the fruit and the vanillin, it veers towards turning too sweet, but the tea does a fantastic job of pulling it back. While not quite an easy-quaffing thirst-quencher (it is only 4.6% ABV) it offers an accessible sort of complexity that I really enjoyed. DOT seems to have cornered the market in barrel-aged pale ales, as we move on to...

The next collaborator, another of DOT's regulars, is Teeling Whiskey, and it's another barrel-aged pale ale, this one called Sunshine In The City. The misshapen can is my own fault; it was entirely normal when I bought it at the distillery and then I dropped it. That said, there's plenty of carbonation in this 5.6%-er. It literally crackled in the glass the whole way through. I get a subtle pear and lychee effect from the aroma while the flavour is white grape and gooseberry, finishing on a sweeter clove-rock stickiness. It's all done with bourbon barrels, it seems, and frankly it makes better use of them than all those vanilla-laden imperial stouts. The fizz in this is definitely overdone, however: a busy champagne sparkle that I found interfered with the fruit fun a little too much. Letting that subside, I found a happy, approachable-yet-complex pale ale, and one that does something different with barrels compared to most breweries.

DOT's collaborations with Redmond's of Ranelagh have yielded some absolute gold over the years. I'm a fan of Tokaji wine, too, so when I saw that the latest was Barrel Aged Tokaji Pale I was very keen to try it. It's only 5.6% ABV and quite a pale yellow shade. From the high-filled can it frothed out enthusiastically, making pouring a bit of a chore. On the nose: nothing special, some happy citrus and stonefruit but nothing to suggest wine-barrel action. It's no palate-pounder, instead showing gentle notes of pear and lychee on a clean and sorbet-like base. I don't get any of the sticky-sweet honey taste of Tokaji but don't mind its absence. What's there is light and deliciously refreshing while still extremely flavourful. Another top-class Redmond's/DOT two-hander, then.

Craft Central is not being left out of the Cool Offies' Club. For it, DOT has created Central Station, a pale ale but a big 'un at 7.8% ABV. Armagnac barrels became Single Malt barrels became beer barrels but their contribution is subtle in the end, and this is still very much a hop-forward beer. At the centre of the flavour is a spritzy citric sweetness, reminding me of Loop-the-Loop ice lollies more than anything. The texture is light and summery, making for a dangerous sort of cleansing refreshment, given the strength. The sharp and sappy oak effect is pretty much limited to the aroma, and it smells a lot like a whiskey sour. Actually, a hybrid of whiskey cocktail and American-style pale ale is a pretty succinct way of describing this. And that may sound busy and a bit overblown but it's straightforward, flavourful and enjoyable on whichever level you take it.

There's one more Blackrock Cellar special to come: Taking Liberties, a red ale aged in peated whiskey casks from Teeling's. This poured thickly, refecting the 7.9% ABV, and settled almost like it was nitrogenated, a thick off-white foam over a dark brown body. It goes very much for the straight malt character: big and rich and wintery-warming. There's a tiny tang of barrel-derived acidity and the faintest wisp of peaty iodine but it's all kept on the down-low, a subtle seasoning rather than a blast of whiskey. What's left is a comforting sipper, hiding its big alcohol well and offering lots of sumptuous chocolate, coffee and brown sugar.

We step away from the barrels for a couple of moments, to go back on the straight-up IPAs. Heading West gets us going, a classic west coaster at a modest 5.4% ABV. "Classic" here means Cascade, Centennial and Citra hops, as well as an amber-coloured body from Vienna malt. There's a palate-sharpening grapefruit aroma right from can-pop, and lots of foam too, making me glad of my oversized glass. It's very well balanced in the flavour. A big and pillowy texture carries medium-sweet caramel and fudge qualities which provides a perfect foil to the hops' citric bite. It's not sharp and punchy, as some of these can be, but smooth and gentle while retaining the classic characteristics of American pale ale. I found myself thinking of it as a softer take on Sierra Nevada's iconic flagship, something I would be very happy to see more of.

A double IPA named Calling All welcomes us to the upper reaches, at an even 8% ABV. Vermont ale yeast is billed on the can which had me lazily expecting a yellow emulsion but it's only slightly hazy and very much orange coloured. There's a sweet tropical candy aroma, thanks no doubt to all that malt, in conjunction with Mosaic, Citra and BRU-1 hops. I think I would place this closer to the old fashioned American double IPAs rather than any new-fangled juice. It's not bitter, sure, but neither were the old guard, solely: they had a big caramel sweetness supposedly balancing the daft macho hops. This is an altogether more mature and nuanced take on that. The hops bring a distinct zesty spritz, mostly sweet and tropical with just an edge of Citra's citrus. This sits on a soft bed of marmalade and candyfloss: all nicely warming and comfortable. It's a gentle sort of DIPA, no audacious claims or sensory extremes, so the hazebois might be disgruntled, but that just makes it taste better.

Our first barrel-aged big-boy is Two Rights Dont Equal A Left, described by the brewer as "a barrel aged sour, aged in PX sherry and bourbon for 12 months" and by me as a dull-looking, dun-coloured affair, smelling of sweet fruit salad with a sharper acidity behind. There is zero indication that it's 8.2% ABV but it is. It's dangerously smooth and refreshing, and I was a couple of mouthfuls in before remembering the wallop it packs. The flavour, which by rights should be roaring with whiskey, sherry and vanilla, is actually a clean blend of pear slices, lime juice, mandarin segments and champagne toast. 440ml went indecently fast. I'm not sure whether to love this or disapprove of it, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time drinking it.

The penultimate is version VI of Rum Red Dark. I reviewed VII back in June but VI was largely shipped to the Netherlands except for a small quantity which Yards & Crafts got hold of and sold on, so I have them to thank for letting me fill the gap. As with all the recent iterations they've used Teeling's peated whiskey barrels for some of the blended constituent beers and it's very apparent from both the aroma and flavour. It's a sweet sort of smoke, the peat mixed with warming toffee and caramelised sugar. Its body is surprisingly light for 8.6% ABV though the quite intense flavour means it's no easy-drinker. You need to really like that peat smoke taste to enjoy it. I think I'd prefer it if it were richer and heavier with more malt to bring the smoke into balance.

Finishing the set, and also the latest DOT beer to come my way, is Kiss of a Barrel -- not DOT's first double IPA but I can't think of another that's been barrel aged. At 9% ABV we have a bit of a bruiser on our hands. It looks hefty: a deep orange-red colour, and barely translucent with it. It smells heavy and boozy and sweaty and loud, with a concentrated clove-rock spiced sweetness, plus sticky toffee and one of those oozy antisocial cheeses. That's a lot from a mere noseful. There's a fruity side to the flavour, a sharply autumnal damson and blackberry effect, leading on to a dry splintery wood tang. That cheesey funk shows up again in the aftertaste. This is a beer to be taken seriously and taken slowly. The various characteristics just about hold together into a single entity without clashing too much with each other. It took me a while to decide if I like it or not, and in conclusion I think I respect the wallop but the tangy sweaty thing is a deal-breaker. I can't say it's flawed, but it's missing the good points of double IPA and of strong darkish barrel-aged beer. 

That's probably enough DOT produce for today. My main question at the end of the thirteen is: wot no stout?