Switching it up

Friday's post was about DOT Brew's recent collaborations with Larkin's. Today we find out some of what they've been up to on their own time.

Barrel-aged pilsner is something that will always raise my eyebrow, but DOT did one, in collaboration with Teeling's, so it would be remiss of me to pass it by when it's on my doorstep. It was a St Patrick's Day/Festival special so you'll have to put up with the name Paint The Town Green. I blame the Americans. It looks innocent enough, a properly clear golden. The aroma is all crisp cream crackers with no sign of whiskey. So far, so pilsner. It does arrive in the flavour, though. Hitting the hops, the honeyed whiskey creates a kind of light bourbon effect: sour mash and oaky vanilla. It's far from unpleasant but not an improvement on unadorned pils. Bonus notes of coconut and fennel creep in late. It does manage to keep a lid on too much novelty, and although it's a full 5.4% ABV it's nicely gulpable and even refreshing. However it's not a patch on DOT's usual barrel-aged pale ales. Pilsner just isn't the best format for this kind of thing.

From tweaked pils to plain gose. When The Going Gets Gose is refreshingly unaugmented and 4% ABV. On the downside, it's almost totally flat, and that doesn't suit a beer that's designed to be light and refreshing. It looked completely dead as it poured, but a tiny and shortlived head did form and there was a faint sparkle in the texture. Not enough, though. It's a shame because it's on the money otherwise: a crunchy Golden Delicious fruit side, lightly sprinkled with sea salt, finishing quickly and cleanly. Just what you'd want from a beer like this, but not this one: the lack of condition is a fatal flaw.

The sour theme continues with Tart Boysenberry, a beer where expectations are set by the name even though I don't know what a boysenberry tastes like and have no intentions of looking it up. It pours clear and golden and smells very jammy, of blueberry and blackberry; all autumnal and harvest-y. That had me thinking it would be pure fruit on tasting, but the first sip brings a gose-like clean sour bite before the fruit -- blueberries again -- swings in behind. It's very nicely done, combining berries and tartness in a melodious way. The two sides aren't integrated but they play their respective parts without clashing or interfering with each other, and neither seeking to dominate. The end result is a harmonious balance of sharp Brussels-style tartness with soft and juicy berries. It's the sort of thing that Mort Subite and Lindemans wish they could produce but haven't quite managed.

It's an IPA to finish, called Let It Run. This is 6% ABV and has a lovely amber colour, and crystal clear with it. "Bags of tropical fruit" says the label and it's not joking: the aroma is intense, and leaps into action as soon as the tab is pulled. The mangoes and pineapples in the bag are a bit beyond ripe, with almost a transgressive funk to them, which I really enjoyed. Idaho-7 and Vic Secret are the culprits, and there's a touch of the latter's signature aniseed. That bitterness is at the centre of the flavour: an early bite in the foretaste and an almost-harsh tang in the finish. Between these two elements there's mango, peach and apricot, though only briefly. This isn't as much of a palate thumper as the aroma suggested but it works. Cleanly bitter IPA is always welcome, and that it came in a can marked "DDH" was an extra surprise.

A nice reminder here that not everything DOT produces is some kind of dark and barrel-aged blend. I'm all in favour of more from the light and sour side of the house.