CANarchist party

"CANarchy" would be a ridiculous name for a start-up microbrewery with delusions of youth appeal, but as the collective brand of several fully mainstream American producers it's downright cringeworthy, and even moreso now that it's a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Monster Beverage Corporation, and therefore partly within Coca-Cola's portfolio. That's some soundly financed can-anarchy.

Anyway, I picked up three beers from two of the brands recently and am starting at Cigar City. Frost Proof seems like a pretty straight-up witbier, or "Belgian-style white" as the Americans would have it. Coriander and orange peel are present and correct, though the ABV is somewhat on the high side at 6%. Despite this, and the rather dark colouring, it's light and refreshing. The aroma is crisp and wheaty but there's a delightful juicy sweetness in the flavour: tinned pears and lychees. This leads on to a slight fusel-esque burn, a wisp of nail varnish, which puts a more serious note on it. While maybe not as quaffable as it first appeared, and quite two-dimensional flavourwise, it's a jolly affair. I have no complaints.

From Florida to Colorado, and Oskar Blues. Western Mutant IPA is an intriguing offer: purportedly west coast style though quite hazy with it, and brewed with a combination of American, German and New Zealandish hops. The aroma is mostly quite fruity and tropical, with a hint of Nelson Sauvin's hard diesel headiness. That turns to a pithy bitterness on tasting, but there's a sizeable juice quotient as well: mandarin segments and lime jelly. Though 7% ABV it's very accessible -- complex but not busy, with resins, fruit and mineral all playing nicely together. It doesn't deliver the palate-scouring punch that "west coast" ought to, but I'll give it a pass. Stylistic concerns aside it's a very enjoyable modern American IPA.

The Oskar Blues flagship is Dale's Pale Ale: famous as the originator of canned craft beer. I was a bit disconcerted to see it getting souped up and tricked out to become Double Dale's Imperial IPA. What have those Monsters done to you? This looks more west-coast, being clear and golden. The aroma is lightly citric, but nothing extreme. The flavour isn't very extreme either, even though it's a beast at 9% ABV. You get a very clean heat with strong coconut foretaste. Behind this there's a an old-school citric bitterness set on chewy malt. Compared to the others it's a bit plain, and not an improvement on friendly little Dale's. That's a brand that didn't need extending.

Though not CANarchic, there's some genuine creativity on display here. Western Mutant in particular is a reminder that messing about with hop varieties can bring fun results. Let's have more of that.