Spring forward

2022's Irish beers have arrived! Wicklow Wolf is first out of the traps for me with today's pair. They're different styles, though both 5.5% ABV.

Red rye IPA is an unusual formulation, and that's what Canis Rufus is. They seem to have put a light touch on the redness as it's more orange, and not dissimilar to other, non-red, rye IPAs. Making the drinker immediately think of Kinnegar Rustbucket is a good place for any beer to start. The aroma is properly sharp, suggesting both rye and hops, though there's a jammy sweetness lurking behind as well. Still, the flavour is predominantly dry, with the appropriate grassy bitterness. This is complemented by a green vegetal hop kick, though a subtle one. And then the jam translates to a soft summer fruit sweetness on the finish. So the rye is in charge, and that's OK, but I would have liked a bit more wallop from this one. It's rye IPA for beginners, but still a rye IPA: red IPA's oversweet flaws are pleasingly absent.

The second beer is Apex Cherry. I make this the eighth version of Apex to have landed since the original was introduced in 2019. Despite the added fruit, this does retain all the hallmarks of a very good oatmeal stout: a tan-coloured head doming above the rim of the glass; beneath it a dark brown body with a silky creaminess. While there's more than a hint of cherry cola in the aroma, there's a grown-up roast as well. The flavour made me double check the ingredients. Cherry and chocolate blend together to create a Black Forest gateau effect, as one might expect, but I get a distinct layer of coconut as well, bringing a Bounty bar into the picture. Yet there is no coconut, so I've no idea what alchemy has produced this. It's no hardship. While this is definitely a novelty beer, one which gets right in your face with the added ingredient, there's no loss of quality as a result. Cherry suits it, a sensation I don't normally get from cherry stouts. For possibly the first time I'm feeling quite charitable towards the Apex hacking programme.

A good start to the year's releases from Wicklow Wolf, then.