There's no IPA in team

It's fun how several Irish microbreweries have now adopted local League of Ireland football clubs. Galway Bay is the latest, pulling on the jersey of second-division strivers Galway United. The tie-in beer is a Czech-style pils, punningly called Triból. 4.5% ABV makes it a 10° lager in Czech terms, designed for easy quaffing. And it works for that -- nothing challenging or upsetting is to be found in here, and absolutely no off flavours. That's not to say it's boring. Peppery Mittelfrüh hops sit on a full malt base, one which suggests decoction to me. Textbook stuff, then. I was about to say that Galway Bay's streak of great lagers continues, but it's not a streak, it's just how they make them.

The next one isn't a football tie-in, but given Hope's Dutch connections, the orange livery had me thinking it might be. This is Amber Lager: number 26 in their series of limited editions. It's very amber indeed, a dark shade of honey, and there's a density that goes with that, reflected in the 5.5% ABV. They're up front about the decoction mashing, and it shows. The flavour starts sweet, with strawberries and red liquorice, the latter growing in influence, bringing a herbal bitterness for balance. That doesn't last long and the finish is quick and dry with no lingering traces of the fruit or herbs. This one is decent though unexciting. It doesn't push my buttons the same way as the pils does. The observation here, I guess, is that lager doesn't necessarily become more characterful when brewed darker.

1-0 to the pale stuff, then.