Exploring the Outback

The Way Outback brewery of Dorset came recommended, and gifted, by my niece who lives down that way. Everyday beers in cans; fancy stuff in bottles: seems eminently sensible.

At the lower of the scale is Working Like a Dog, described as a session pale ale and very session indeed at 3.6% ABV. They've loaded it up with hops, which was perhaps risky in something this strength, but they've got away with it. The secret is in the choice: I can't imagine any beer being overpowered by Mosaic or Hallertau Blanc, providing as they do a lusciously soft tropical vibe, here dialled up to Lilt levels. For balance it's Kiwi variety Taiheke providing a nicely sharp citric bitterness. The body holds up very well given the low gravity and I would never have guessed it's as weak as it is.

Take Me To Valhalla should have been a step up, being 4% ABV and a deeper golden colour. It's single-hopped with Mosaic too, and the brewery seems to know what they're doing with that. So I'm at a loss to explain why this one was altogether thinner and duller than the previous, and the Mosaic has that grainy caraway seed effect which I don't care for. The thinness and small-can format do at least mean it didn't hang around long and I was straight along to beer three.

That was Hey You Guys and it's a New England-style pale ale at 4.6% ABV. Haze check: yes, it is -- a murky orange rather than murky yellow. It has the texture correct, all marshmallow soft, but the flavour is a little off, being sharply lime citrus rather than juicy or sweet. It's a bit of a jarring contrast, and there's a dry rasp on the end which doesn't improve matters. This is a mixed bag, then. Not bad, but not fully on par either. If you'd never had a hazy IPA before you might be impressed. Jaded old hacks like me expect better these days, however.

The cans top out on another hazy one, this time at 4.8% ABV and more of an on-the-money paleness. This is Feel The Rhythm, hopped with Idaho 7, Motueka and Nelson Sauvin. It's another sharp one but there's a juicy side too, or possibly cordial: sweet and orangey anyway, with a side of mild vanilla. Then there's sharp grass and burning diesel, jaffa pith and a pinch of grapefruit. It's quite busy and the bitterness is again a little unorthodox, but here it all works, and you get good value out of the Nelson.

Along we go to the fancier stuff, beginning with The Deep South, a 7.5% ABV doppelbock which takes its name from the 10 months of ageing in bourbon barrels. It's a dark brown colour and enthusiastically fizzy, running the risk of gushing after the cap came off. Presumably a very clean lager at the outset, the bourbon element is huge, packing vanilla into the aroma, becoming a richer and sweeter crème brûlée on tasting. That leaves a lasting tang of buttery vanilla as the aftertaste. On a cold winter's night I quite enjoyed the warmth of it, but it's a beer where you really need to appreciate the oaked-up American whisky effect. I was already finding it cloying and difficult before I reached the half way point of 33cl. Maybe doppelbock wasn't the best choice of style for the intensive bourbon treatment.

Finally we have the delightfully named Bimbling Along, a saison with added honey and aged in gin barrels. It's an unlikely combination and one I'm sure the brewery didn't choose arbitrarily. The result is 8.6% ABV and again the carbonation is rather higher than one might hope for. The colour is honey and so is the aroma: strong and concentrated; smelling intensely sweet in a way that saison never does. Saison's dryness and peppery spice is present in the flavour, which is a mercy, although it's somewhat obscured by the honey. While the beer isn't exactly sweet, there's a lot of floral honey flavour, giving a powerful impression of honey without any of the accompanying stickiness. I don't really get the gin barrel's contribution, and wonder if it might be subsumed into the floral side. Overall, it's a very odd beer, and one built for sipping and contemplating. I think it does work, however, and is actually enjoyable, showing both its saison and honey sides clearly without making them fight each other. That can't be easy.

I think Way Outback may actually be bimbling along as a brewery. There are signs of excellence here, but a few missteps too.