Postmodern postscript

I thought I had finished my west-to-east Dublin taproom odyssey with Urban Brewing, as reported on Monday. But having completed the blackboard there it occurred to me that Dublin does have another drink-in brewery further east still, one which has been turning out new beers almost as rapidly as the others. We set a course, then, for BrewDog Outpost Dublin.

There were three beers from the in-house kit available and I started with Dem Beets, described as a "beetroot sour" and 5.2% ABV. It's clear and purple, with a lemonade aroma which reminded me immediately of Hopfully's excellent and much-missed beetroot saison, Beetjuice. The beetroot is present but mild, bringing a touch of damp earthiness to proceedings. While there's no real sourness to speak of, it's zingy and refreshing so gets the job done.

To follow, an American-style pale ale called Camarillo Brillo. It's on the strong side for pale ale in Ireland at 5.1% ABV but is mellow and easy drinking, quite a gear change from Urban's waves of hop napalm. This is softly textured, with medium bitterness and touches of orange sherbet sweetness. It works on the level of a reliable house beer rather than a one-off special edition, but is decently drinkable regardless.

It's back to the more unusual beer styles next with a roggenbier called Seth, Joe & Co, which almost works as a pun. For some reason I expected it to be stronger than 4.7% ABV but that's where we're at, and a turbid ochre colour to boot. The next surprise was an aroma of bitter dark chocolate, while the flavour melds rye's spicy grass with an amber ale's sweetness, including milk chocolate and orange essence. I'm sure the hops are involved in contributing both bitterness and citrus elements too, but it was hard to pick them out in the rest of the blend. It's fun and characterful and not at all as serious and difficult as I feared it would be. Roggenbier doesn't have to be harsh; a new lesson for me there.

I couldn't resist adding one beer from headquarters to the list, namely Farmhouse Cartel, a bière de garde that's 10% ABV and aged in tequila barrels, just like the French farmers don't make them. It's bright orange in the glass and smells powerfully strong and sweet, giving it liqueur vibes more than beer. And that's how it tastes too: Cointreau, Malibu and other sticky bottles from the back of the cupboard. It's a tragic irony that in trying to make a classy tequila beer they've ended up with a lot in common with Desperados. The dry and spiced side of farmhouse character is completely missing in this hot mess of a thing. I'm not keen on the name trading on cheap Mexican stereotypes either. BrewDog gonna BrewDog, I guess. At least I can't blame the brewers in Dublin for it.

And that is indeed the end of the tour and a cross-section of what Dublin's taprooms had on offer over a couple of weeks during the summer of 2022.