This must be the place

When I ran the numbers for last year, it turned out I had drank more beers from DOT than any other producer. It's possibly not surprising as they're a busy lot, utilising multiple breweries for production (mostly Hope and Third Barrel these days) and having a cosy arrangement with Teeling Whiskey for the supply of interesting barrels. Company headquarters is not far from my house and I paid a visit last month in the company of some other Beoir members. Shane gave us a look inside the maturation and blending operations, as well as a few generous samples and previews of coming attractions to complement the year-to-date DOT stock already in my fridge.

That included their new Non-Alcoholic Fruit Ale, 0.3% ABV and a polished-copper pink colour. It really lays on the fruit, and I was picking up notes of Fanta orange, raspberry jam and tart juicy redcurrants at different points on the way through. It has a softly effervescent texture and an edge of soda-water dryness to balance the fruit. My usual point of assessment for beers of this strength are whether they taste convincingly like beer. This one sort-of does, though the heavy fruit presence makes it taste like a beer which doesn't taste much like beer. A win on a technicality. Anyway, this is an interesting addition to the range of non-alcoholic beers now available, and one that is genuinely enjoyable to drink.

It has a sibling too: Non-Alcoholic IPA. This is a hazy one, looking a little wan and watery in the glass. "Fruity aromatics" are promised, and it does indeed have more than a hint of the tropics about the nose. It goes a bit more northern on tasting, with pear the main flavour, accompanied by some gentle apple and honey. There's a sharp resinous burn on the finish which helps the whole thing be convincingly beer-like; likewise a rough grittiness that tastes very New-England to me. Indeed, this is a very rare example of a non-alcoholic beer that could pass for the real thing. It's certainly flavoursome, and while predominantly sweet, not unpleasantly worty. As long as you don't mind the slightly intrusive murk, this is well worth a go.

From virtually no alcohol to just a bit: Bad Behaviour is a micro IPA of 3.2% ABV. No compromise is apparent. Ordinarily I would be expecting a thin body and a harshness in the hopping but here it's full and rounded and proper, while the flavour is a multilayered mix of tropical pineapple and mango on a sweet vanilla base, spiced with clove and nutmeg A sprinkling of earthy, murky grit finishes it. I like what it does. Except for that slightly rough closing move, it's a clean and bright-tasting modern IPA. That the ABV is in its boots is to the good.

That arrived at the same time as Sour Smash, a mixed fermentation beer with raspberry and cherry. This is 4.4% ABV and properly red, like the Belgian summer-fruit beer of your choice. The base is very, well, basic: a dry and crisp wheat-cracker effort with minimal sourness, more like what passes for Berliner weisse in the craft world. On top of that is a thick and rich fruit-gum flavour, presenting the two advertised berries in abundance. It's simple summery fun, not at all a complex multi-strain Brussels-style job. It just misses the mark on being palate-cleansing because of the plentiful residual sugar. Perhaps something more voracious in the fermentation mix would improve it. 

Simply Simcoe proclaims the brewer, in an experiment with Cryopop hops: a lightly hazy IPA of 6% ABV. It smells very dank and weedy, but fresh with it, promising lots of tropical juice into the bargain. Orange-fleshed varieties come to mind on tasting: cantaloupe, guava and papaya. Although, quickly after the initial sweetness it turns very dry, with a chalky minerality in the finish. The soft texture that's typical of hazy IPA is absent, and in fact it's a bit thin. As a showcase for the hop, I'm sure it's doing its job; as an IPA for drinking, however, I found it quite severe. It needs bulking up with something to balance those hops.

The next IPA is a step down in strength to 5% ABV. It's called Thiol Toll so presumably uses that fancy new hop-boosting yeast. The hops in question are Nelson Sauvin and Idaho 7, so well worth boosting. It's an eggy yellow in the glass and smells quite hoppy but not very hoppy, of mango and red apple. The flavour is similarly understated, but clean, and the overall impression is of something refreshing and sessionable. There's a hint of Nelson's white grape and diesel on the finish, while the middle is a dry tannic effect, more like you'd find in English bitter than hazy IPA. Were it not for the specs I would be pleased with this, but I think I expected more of a hop boom from it. Where's the boost?

Before we go dark, a double IPA called Closing Time. This is hazy, 8.2% ABV and hopped with Centennial and Idaho 7 -- nothing there we haven't seen before. The aroma is nicely juicy, mandarins specifically, with only a faint brush of white onion to disturb it. My first impression on tasting was surprise at the light and drinkable texture and lack of heat. Even letting it warm up a little it doesn't get hot or any way boozy. I approve. The taste is still juice-driven and very low on bitterness: orange sherbet and mandarin pith. The alium hasn't gone away, however, and there's still a garlicky buzz in the finish. The cleanness saves it, however. Some may complain that it's a little bland for a powerhouse IPA; this snowflake appreciated its soft touch.

Brown not black and almost completely flat: the early signs weren't good for the Banyuls Barrel Aged Imp Stout that DOT produced for Redmond's of Ranelagh. Neither is a problem, however. The beer, a full 11.6% ABV, is still thickly textured and strongly flavoured, just as it should be. I have limited experience of Banyuls wine, preferring my dessert wine to be pale -- though I was still surprised how savoury and herbal this beer is, showing notes of rosemary, basil and wild garlic. That's not dessert at all, but I'm not really a dessert person. It's more like a vermouth-based aperitif, and the special effects are much more pronounced than the underlying beer: don't expect any coffee or toffee. It's quite delicious, though, and is a very grown-up sort of barrel-aged stout, avoiding all the clichés and heading in a direction of its own. DOT's Redmond's series have mostly been stellar and here's another which is.

Similarly flat was the eighth iteration of Joël's Barrel Aged Vietnamese Coffee Stout, produced each winter for Blackrock Cellar. This is 10.2% ABV but doesn't provide the richness which should come with that, being a little on the thin side. The coffee is front and centre, mixing sweet fondant with notes of cherry and hazelnut to begin, turning savoury and herbal late: cola and chicory. It's a bit strange how the low density also means little alcohol heat or sticky sweetness, but both of those are in the beer's favour, letting the ingredients do the talking. It's best to leave your expectations behind when opening this, and simply enjoy where it takes you.

Coming to the end of its in-can maturation time was Rum Red Dark Batch XV. As usual it's a strong red ale, and although the ABV varies, this one's 8.6% is shared by several previous iterations. Rum barrels feature in the blending, as do Teeling barrels of the regular and peated whiskey sorts. It does look a little young, quite opaque, a bit like a sample from the tank. The aroma is mildly sweet, offering glimpses of caramel and herbs, but nothing very loud. Despite the tall head it's quite smooth, full-bodied as befits the strength but not hot or heavy. The flavour is surprisingly subtle. Rolling it around I get the dark malt base of soft caramel and milk chocolate, studded with some fun summer fruits, strawberry in particular. And then gently seasoned with spices of oak, nutmeg and white pepper. I was expecting a crazy powerhouse of crystal malt and whiskey but it's much more genteel than that, one for slow sipping and patient exploration.

We finish back at the barrel store, and a sneaky taster of a beer destined primarily for export: Oak Conditioned Extra Milk Stout. Many a brewery would call this "imperial" rather than just "extra" as it's 9.2% ABV. For all that, it's not the most complex of creatures, opening with a straightforward coffee aroma and tasting sweet and smooth, as one might expect, though without any heat from the alcohol. The wood does add a little character of its own, by turns a fresh and sappy wood tang, but also an old-leather buzz in the aftertaste. On the one hand I'm not sure these are positive additions; on the other they do prevent you from drinking it too quickly. For the most part, this is a decent and unfussy beer, doing what it says in the name without going overboard.

A huge thanks to Shane for accommodating the visit, and on this showing I wouldn't be surprised if DOT is my most-drank brewer for 2023 as well. I will certainly keep buying the beers.