Play to your strengths

Wicklow Wolf has got right into gear for 2022 with a bunch of new releases: permanent, seasonal and one-offs. The full-spectrum craft beer experience is what we come to them for.

First up is a new core range beer, hazy and hoppy, called Tundra. It's badged as a "tropical" IPA, though the label doesn't tell us what hops they've used, only that they're "tropical". Since it's joining the core range I guess they want to be able to swap those tropicals as and when they need to. I got a significant kick of alcohol heat from the aroma, more than I would have thought for 5.6% ABV. The flavour is much more accessible, however, with a light orangeade sweet side beefed up by dank and resinous hopping. Tropical not so much. There's an altogether more serious savoury element, some fun peppery spice and a pinch of proper citric bittering. In combination that's quite enjoyable, but I think "tropical" is overstating it a little, given some of the roaring juice-bombs currently on the market.

This is, I guess, what qualifies as mainstream these days: built to be repeatable and cost effective, unlike some of the uneconomical art-piece special editions you get. As such, and what with the blue can, it puts itself squarely in the same category as Trouble Ambush, and I don't think it quite measures up, needing more softness and sweet fruit. But if you like Ambush and aren't fervently loyal to it, here's something else to try.

Latest in the Endangered Species series is an IPA hopped with New Zealand varieties Nelson Sauvin and Moteuka. This sort of thing has been around for yonks but that's no reason to stop brewing them. Far Far Away is 6% ABV and a standard hazy orange. There must be an IPA template these guys are working from. I get nothing especially kiwi from the aroma, smelling much more American, with citrus dominant. Nelson's diesel mineral side is apparent from the foretaste in a most enjoyable way, softened by orange pith and juice. I get a little herbal grass from the Motueka but it's mostly restrained. In fact, that's true for the beer in general: although it's heavily bodied and built for sipping, the hops aren't very loud and it's up to you whether that's a point in favour or not. I would have preferred a bit more welly, especially in a one-off, but couldn't help enjoying the balance. If it really is built around an IPA template, it's one that works. 

Their new stout is a 6.6% ABV export-style job called After Midnight. Taking a sip without bothering to read the label I thought "Oh, they've done another coconut stout. Fair enough." They haven't, though. This uses an experimental variety (HBC 472), a close relative of Sabro. And boy is it Sabro-like, with an even realer dry coconut-husk rasp. It takes moment before any further complexities emerge. That takes the form of a plum and raisin fruit side and an old-fashioned green-cabbage hop bite. That last bit is a reminder that beyond the cutting-edge experimentation, this is really a very traditional stout, of the kind mainstream brewers have long since stopped making. It's dense and smooth, pure black and topped with a beige head. The texture is silky enough to have me seeking oats in the ingredients, but there aren't any. Yes, I would prefer this sort of thing without the experimental element, but I don't resent it either: the stout's intrinsic quality shines through.

As the brewery's new pattern of Locavore single-estate beers settles into an annual cycle, I detect an intensification of the process. This time last year, the spring Locavore was garnet coloured and 9.8% ABV. For Locavore Spring 2022 we're looking at something jet black and all of 11.9% ABV. Approach with caution. Officially it's still a barrel aged farmhouse ale with Brettanomyces, and like last year's it pours quite flat. The aroma suggests autolysis: that sweet/savoury point where melty chocolate meets soy sauce. The flavour veers away from the savoury, with raisins, quince and sage all featuring. There's a general medieval vibe, of spiced wine and roasted meat. I like it. While it's not hot as such, you know you're drinking something strong. Approach with caution, but enjoy: there's a lot to have fun with here.

I'm sure I've said this before, but Wicklow Wolf is building a very decent reputation for itself as a stout brewer. There's enough hazy IPA coming out of the Garden County already so I wouldn't object if this became even more of a specialism for them.