Waiting for GoDOT

Back in June, DOT Brew announced, grandly, the launch of a new core range of beers. I reviewed the first few when I got them and figured I would catch up with the stragglers -- amber ale and double IPA -- in a few weeks when they hit the shops. The DIPA followed close on their heels but I had to wait for the amber, and drink a few DOT one-offs while I did so. Now in late November I've started regarding Easy Amber as the Godot of Irish beer and I have a huge collection of tasting notes from some of what DOT put out over the last five months. Time to catch up. We might even get a different amber ale on the way through.

The one shoe that did drop is Alto, a double IPA at the de rigueur 8% ABV. It's not totally opaque, letting some orangey light through, which I appreciate. It smells quite sweet and syrupy, like a melted ice pop, though with hints of citric bitterness and lime in particular. The flavour continues in that sharply bitter direction, hitting up against a big malt sweetness that has nothing to do with the haze. I quite like this west-coast angle, even though it's plainly not what the beer is meant to be from the description. There's nothing silly going on here and as such it's exactly the sort of double IPA that one should put into regular production.

Among the special editions, then, first there was Got Fruit?, a sour ale with raspberry, cherry and peach. Although 4.4% ABV, it's very thin, with a knock-on effect on the flavour. You get a quick flash of the raspberry, a brush of cherry juice, and then it's done. The base beer behind it is at least actually sour, though it's in the grainy way, reminding me of Berliner Kindl Weisse. I suppose that's authenticity of a sort. I'm glad it's not thick or overly sweet, but I think a properly tart bite would have made it into something more interesting. But then I always think that.

DOT joined Lough Gill on the roster of small brewers who supply Aldi, a supermarket that could do with upping its game in the beer stakes. A pair of IPAs dubbed the "Spin Off Series" landed in early July and the Session IPA sat in my fridge for a further month. That gave the sediment plenty of time to settle to the bottom of the can and I even managed to keep most of it out of the glass. It's still pretty hazy though, while also thin-looking, visually agreeing with the 3.2% ABV. The aroma is bright and freshly lemony, suggesting carefree summer drinking, and while it's light-bodied this is definitely not unpleasantly thin nor harsh. The zesty zing continues in the flavour, joined by a touch of savoury garlic but mostly staying true to the lemon with even a little extra vanilla complexity rounding it out. As a summer session beer it's perfect: fully flavoured and decent value at under €2 the can. I'm much too late to recommend this as a summer barbecue crowd pleaser, but hopefully other people found that out by themselves, and stored it upright in the ice bucket.

That shipped alongside a 5.8% ABV IPA called Side Step. It looks New Englandy and smells, too, of ripe peaches and mangoes. The texture is rich and rounded, while the flavour puts the tropical fruit first, in a concentrated and slightly syrupy way. I say all this in a certain tone of surprise as we're promised rye in the ingredients and there's really not much rye character. There's a certain savoury side that could be classified as "grassy", from a distance if you squint, but it's no sharp and squeaky rye IPA. As long as you're ready for something tropical and mostly sweet, this is lovely. There's a heft, a heat and a density that makes it quite grown-up, aside from the fruit salad. It took me a good half of the can to figure out if I liked it, but it gets the seal of approval. Good choice, Aldi.

They came back for a second round of Spin Offs last week, and I'll start with Alpha Amber. Indeed, as well as the unfulfilled promise, DOT had an amber ale in the line-up early on but it's not a style we see much of. This one is 5% ABV and more a murky brown than red or amber. The aroma is on point, however, exuding smooth caramel laced with mild orange-peel citrus. So it's no US-hopped powerhouse, then, despite the presence of Columbus, Citra and Chinook. Instead the flavour offers quite a gentle blend of glacé cherries, fruitcake and tea. There is a sizeable dollop of dreggy grit hanging around in the finish as well, unfortunately. If you've got one on hand I'd suggest leaving it somewhere cold for a week or two to clean it up, as I did with the Session IPA. It's still good though, and I doubt that anyone who has missed amber ale will object to a bit of dreg here and there.

The companion piece is, like many a stout I'm sure, called Dark Side. They've added vanilla, and at a mere 4.2% ABV for the base beer, that strikes me as a brave move. It's a little pale too, the light shining redly through it. The aroma is properly stouty, however: a lovely waft of warming roast untroubled by the vanilla. So it goes with the taste, which is properly dry and actually refreshing. It is a little thin, and I genuinely couldn't decide whether that was a flaw or a drinkability enhancement. I had finished the beer before I figured it out so I guess that answers that question. I don't know that the vanilla is necessary but it's not overdone and doesn't get in the way. I approve, and at Aldi prices it's excellent value.

In March DOT did a barrel aged pilsner for Teeling and now it seems there's one for everybody in the audience as two more exclusives arrived in quick sequence in August. The first was another Redmonds collaboration, and it was Jimmy Redmond himself, apparently, who recommended the use of a Marsala barrel. So it goes. The result -- Barrel Aged Pilsner -- is 5% ABV. Immediate pilsner points get deducted for it being almost completely flat. That doesn't ruin it, but it would be better with a little sparkle to lift the flavour. Said flavour is delicious and really emphasises the fortified wine, tasting more of a mature pale sherry to me, but what would I know? There's ripe and juicy raisins and well as dry splintery oak, plus plenty of bone dry white wine. What with the flatness, it loses sight of the pilsner side completely, but honestly I forgot it was supposed to be there: a clean lager base is nothing other than a canvas on which all the fun wine barrel patterns and swirls are projected.

Literally the next day, Craft Central announced the arrival of their DOT Oak Conditioned Pilsner, at 5.5% ABV. It looks like an unfiltered kellerbier type job, orange and hazy. The aroma is proper unadorned pils, with lemon zest and dry grass on a dry cracker base. There's just a teeny hint of oaky vanilla and a touch of squashy grape, but otherwise it's crisp, clean and refreshing pilsner. It works! Squinting at the small print I see that this isn't barrel aged at all; they've merely left oak cubes bobbing in it for a while. That makes a big difference, letting the lager be a lager, and a very good one in the wholesome rustic style. I would even go so far as to say that the oak added something worthwhile. 

These two are two very different and opposite sides of the oak-and-pils equation. I would never have thought such creativity was possible in such a niche space, but there I go underestimating DOT again. When they came back to Teeling it was with yet another barrel aged pilsner.

This is called Joining the Dots, 5.2% ABV and hazy orange again. The barrels are of white wine origin, having been subsequently used for malt and grain whiskey. There's a lot of fruit in the aroma, mixing soft white grape with more piquant citrus peel, plus a sweet layer of oak. All of that comes through in the flavour, which is quite intense. I think the barrel side gets a bit cloying, adding a honey stickiness that's totally out of place in pils. This beer is complex, no doubt, but it comes at the expense of subtlety. Again it's interesting to see yet another direction in which barrel-aged pils can go, though I'd prefer less influence from the particular barrels DOT has chosen here.

More double IPA? Go on then. Ah-Ah-Oh is full-on New England: totally opaque and almost glowing with opalescence. No juice in the aroma, though, and it smells quite dry and grainy. Still the body is properly big and fluffy as befits 8.2% ABV. But just like the aroma is understated, the flavour is seriously understated, with only a vague orange peel and red cabbage character. Citra, Strata and Centennial are not normally this reticent. On the plus side, while searching the flavour for hops I found a nice spicy side: nutmeg and black pepper, if you look hard enough. Overall, though, this isn't great. I wanted big flavour from a strong IPA and for whatever reason that's not on offer here. I'm sure the name wasn't meant to express an anticlimax but that's what I got.

As everyone who matters knows, Dublin's top beer bar UnderDog has re-opened at The Legal Eagle. You will once again be seeing lots of its TeKu glasses on these pages in the future. On opening night they were pouring DOT's Coffee Milk Stout, an 8.2% ABV job that's absolutely loaded with essence of coffee, to the point where it tastes more like a Tia Maria than a stout. The milk side isn't shy either, adding a sweet softness that brilliantly offsets the coffee's jangling bitterness. It doesn't happen often, but big silly stouts can be classy and balanced as well, and this is one of those.

We go big to finish, with a 12% ABV stout. I was particularly interested in Imperial Stout Potstill as I'm a fan of pot still whiskey, although I haven't tried Teeling's, which presumably supplied the barrels here. It's a uniform black colour with a skim of cappuccino froth on top. As with the pils above, there's an unsubtle early contribution from the wood: a strongly oaky aroma, though laced with chocolate. The flavour is very nicely integrated, however, seamlessly blending dark chocolate and espresso stout characteristics with sweeter honeycomb and fine vanilla cream. It's marvellously smooth with very little alcohol heat and very easy drinking as a result. The barrel does a great job of adding a certain enhancement without going overboard. Much as I like pot still whiskey, I'm glad this beer didn't wind up tasting directly of it. Instead it's an easy-going sipper with all the great things about imperial stout, and more.

That's... probably enough DOT for now. If the core-range amber ever does show up, I'll be sure to let you know.