Line up

Usually, Lineman beers arrive here in ones and twos but I have an unprecedented trio of winter releases today, kindly dropped off to me by the brewery before I got around to buying them.

In a seasonally appropriate way, dark and strong is the theme, and the lightest of the bunch is a brown ale at a mere 6% ABV. Big Calm's can makes all the promises of the style: smooth caramel, coffee and chocolate. And it's not lying. Fresh and rich espresso is present in the aroma as well as lingering long into the aftertaste. That provides a bitter roasted balance to a central toffee sweetness. While that's all rather jolly, and makes for an exceedingly drinkable, refreshing, brown ale experience, I think it could do with being a touch bolder, especially given the strength. The mouthfeel is a little thin and the flavour somewhat muted as a result. I let it warm to see if more character would emerge but it didn't make much difference. Were this presented at 4% ABV or below I would be singing its praises. At 6% I think it should be heftier, enjoyable and all that it is.

From brown ale to stout, and the new one is called Phases. "Barrel aged export stout" is the blurb and I decided to play Guess The Barrel. From the massive hit of sweet vanilla I reckoned bourbon, and I was correct. This is not a subtle affair, and tastes not so much like it was matured in whiskey barrels but rather that a couple of shots have been poured directly into the can. There's a raw oak quality to it, and a substantial alcohol burn, even at the relatively modest 7.8% ABV. An underlying seam of smooth chocolate rescues it, softening it and adding a degree of luxury. It's good, but I prefer a bit more nuance in this kind of beer. Hence I bought an additional can to put away for a while and it will be interesting to see how it develops.

The finisher is a whopper of a barley wine, Insulator, aged in port barrels and finishing at 14.8% ABV. It looked to be pouring flat at first, but a modest head formed gradually, a function of the beer's extreme viscosity. Still, it carries that well -- thickly textured but complex enough that you only need a sip at a time. The port side is very well represented, starting with the raisiny aroma which also includes a hint of chocolate but surprisingly little booze. In the flavour that turns to full-on red wine, possibly even a fortified one. There's an oaky dryness in with the sweet grape, leading on to a peppery finish. It's still definitely a beer though, with that sweet chocolate element running all through the flavour, plus rich bourbon biscuits and a very slight greenly bitter buzz of hops emerging as it warms. The Lineman signature is the balance: it's not hot or any way extremely flavoured. Instead this powerhouse is balanced and approachable; one to savour and explore.

One each of this lot makes for a very decent winter's night in. Despite appearances, they don't have much in common but complement each other nicely. A symphony in garnet.