Keep on keeping up

It's an epic rundown of the beers from the Third Barrel brewery in Dublin today. As ever, they've been busy with beer under their own brands and those they brew for others.

Before we hit the hoppy stuff, Third Circle has a lime and mint gose for us, called Empire State of Lime. It's a clear golden colour and smells herbal, the traditional coriander still putting the hours in. There's not much sourness to the flavour; it tastes crisp and clean, almost like a lager, with a light body to match. The added ingredients are subtle: no more than a gentle zesting with lime and I wasn't able to pick out the mint. I'm not sure whether to be glad it's not a messy riot of flavours, or disappointed the complexity isn't more, er, complex. It's fine, though. Simple refreshment at 4.8% ABV is what it delivers and there's nothing wrong with that.

Why did Third Circle call a 4.6% ABV pale ale Big Love? How big or lovely could it be? It's a pale yellow colour and hazy. There's not much going on in the aroma: a little lime spritz maybe, but that's strictly a maybe. The good news is it's not thin, but there's not a whole lot going on in the flavour. Zesty sherbet starts it, and there's a floral echo in the finish, but that's about all you get. A grainy, savoury side emerges as it warms, which I guess makes it more interesting, but not better. This is passable but fails to deliver on the promise of hazy pale ale, either good or bad.

Two beers from TwoSides to follow, beginning with the pale ale Lazy Daze. This is a light 4.5% ABV though again the haze gives it plenty of body. There's still a refreshing amount of fizz propelling zesty orange with a sweeter vanilla following behind. Citra and Azacca are the hops, and I'm beginning to think the tropical candy that the latter brings when it's on its own is very easily drowned out by more intense varieties. That certainly seems to be the case here. Overall, it's an easy-going and approachable job, better suited to pub pints than home cans, I think.

Something stronger to follow: Talus in Wonderland, a hazy IPA designed to show off the titular hop. I think it manages it too, starting with the powerful pithy aroma, a blend of oranges, lemons and grapefruit, one sniff warding off any possibility of scurvy. There's no backing down in the flavour and a pleasingly hard bitterness sits front and centre, unusual for a hazy IPA but quite welcome. In the flavour it's still lots of the aforementioned citrus fruit but joined by even stronger lime plus a sweeter red apple side. It's fun right up until the finish when a common haze flaw creeps in: a dry and acrid gritty, chalky element. That puts a bit of a damper on things, but only briefly. Before this point it's all good fun, and very much one for the pith-loving Sorachi and Sabro fans, though minus the more extreme side of those varieties. What's not to like?

Nothing says "brewer with young children" like a DDH IPA called Go Getters Go Get! Stone Barrel pays tribute to the future classic kids' TV series with this one, 6% ABV and brewed with Sabro and Enigma. It's a pale orange colour and has quite decent head retention where most of this sort don't bother. Sabro equals coconut, of course, and that's present right from the start of the aroma. There's an oily, resinous side too, suggestive of bitterness to come. Sure enough a dry and tight bitter flavour sits next to the coconut taste giving this softly textured IPA a fun west-coast twist. "Tropical" is mentioned on the label, but I don't really get that. I don't miss it either. This is a very good thirst-quencher for a medium strong beer, its various flavours clean and distinct with a dry finish making it pleasingly moreish. Aced it!

The next one on the same label was another DDH IPA of 6% ABV, this one called Keep On Keepin On, using Mosaic and Idaho 7 and, surprise, it's clear! Well, almost. There's a faint misting to the bright golden colour but it still looks beautiful. Tropical fruit aromas are promised on the can and very much delivered: Mosaic's sweetly fleshy passionfruit effect is front and centre. That turns a little more citric on tasting, but not especially bitter with it. Instead it's a Lilt-like combination of sweetened grapefruit, lime jelly and pineapple. The impression of sticky, gummy fruit is helped by a thick, almost chewy, texture. Above all, this beer is tremendous fun. It's clean, bright, and very fresh-tasting. One advantage of buying and drinking local, I guess, but I'm sure the brewer's skill in recipe formulation has something to do with it.

Third Barrel, meanwhile, is Addicted to the Shindig. This is a hazy IPA of 7.2% ABV and brewed with Strata, Citra and Simcoe. It's quite a dark orange shade, something I've come to regard, for no good reason, as less desirable than bright yellow in these beers. There's lots of lovely fresh juice in the aroma, equally balanced between the sharp citric and soft tropical. Tropical wins in the flavour, and there's a resulting lack of bitterness which is a little disappointing. Big mango only gets you so far. The alcohol is very apparent, and there's a weight and a burn that says more than 7.2% to me. The fruit tails off quite quickly too, with a wisp of fried onion on the end. On balance, this is decent, if a bit simple. Hazy IPA for beginners, maybe?

Quit Keeping Me Down is not hazy but is a double IPA, 8.2% ABV and brewed with HBC 630 and my old friend Mosaic. It was a bit flat in the glass, a flaw not helped by its thick texture. Mosaic is not on its best behaviour here, beginning with a fried onion aroma before leading into concentrated caraway in the flavour. There's a brief splash of honeydew melon in the finish but it's nowhere near as fruity as I'd like, and certainly not tropical. The poor carbonation is probably the least of its problems. This one didn't land right at all. It's just as well Third Barrel doesn't bank entirely on IPAs...

Their fanciest release yet is a 75cl silver-foiled bottle containing Red Wine Barrel-Aged Mixed Fermentation... beer, I guess. It's a mildly murky amber/garnet and smells of both sweet and fruity red wine -- Italian, were I to guess -- and funky farmyard Brettanomyces. The Brett gives the mouthfeel a rich slickness while the first flavour element to land is a dry tartness leading to a slightly harsh acidic burn. This is quickly softened by red fruit elements, cherry and raspberry in particular, which then align with the sourness and funk to create a resinous balsamic effect. It certainly can't be faulted on the complexity front. What lets it down a little is a thinness. The initial richness doesn't last and it turns somewhat harsh on the end. I blame the fact that it's only 7% ABV: a bit of a gravity boost might have helped round it out, though equally might simply have provided more fodder for the Brett. Still, it's a classy number and demonstrates that Third Barrel can do barrels and Brett with the best of them. I'll be very interested to see what comes out of their Wild programme next.

It goes without saying that a whole new raft of wares from the brewery is already in circulation. They'll just have to wait their turn. I hope there's a hazy IPA in there.