On the straight and narrow

Festival time at JD Wetherspoon rolled around again in late March. As usual, I had a few preliminaries before it got under way.

That started in Keavan's Port with Lancaster Brewery's Lancaster Red. At 4.8% ABV it's a bit on the strong side for this sort of thing, though it looks well: a clear deep garnet shade. As one might expect, malt is how it rolls, at least at first. Caramel and chocolate arrive early, set on a dense body. There are some brief cherry and strawberry notes but then a sudden serious turn where a hard and sharp acidic bitterness dominates from the middle right to the end. I enjoyed the beginning, and I guess I should appreciate that it's no vapid and bland red, but the bitterness is too much for me. There are nicer ways to do red ale.

Next time I was in they had a new one (to me) from Oakham: Bishop's Farewell, a golden bitter at 4.6% ABV. I figured Oakham wouldn't let me down and they didn't. This is quite full-bodied with a floral mix of perfume and honey; predominantly sweet but with the bitterness turned up just the right amount to add a drying crispness. The subtleties go on for miles, too: black pepper and Earl Grey tea on the lucky sips; a wash of soap on the less lucky ones. I'm guessing the brewery's complicated yeast cocktail is the secret to getting all this out of basic beer ingredients. It's a great example of why English cask ale is worth chasing, yea even unto the bowels of Wetherspoon on a Thursday night.

A new brewery for me next: Goddards of the Isle of Wight. The beer delights in the name of Fuggle-Dee-Dum and is a resolutely brown bitter. I was not expecting innovation here. Still, it's rather good. The front flavour is a brambly blackberry autumnal fruitiness, but not too sweet, departing the palate quickly, leaving only a faint echo of itself in the aftertaste. It's not a flavour profile I would associate with Fuggles, which I'm chalking up as a major plus point as I'm not usually a fan of the hop. At 4.8% ABV there's a bit of heft to this but it's still entirely sessionable, doing all the balance and complexity I was looking for. A very pleasant surprise, then, on several fronts.

The next one was also 4.8% ABV: Green Jack's Lurcher stout. It looked great from the outset, being properly black with the stereotypical creamy off-white head. The aroma is less on the mark, giving me worrying and sickly buttery esters like a wonky brown bitter. Thankfully they don't materialise in the flavour, blending in with the toasty roasty elements to create a rounded and balanced affair, leaning towards the sweeter biscuits and caramel side, though edging it with a bite of charcoal and breadcrust. This doesn't compare well to Brehon's Black Hills, often to be found on cask in my local Wetherspoons, but it's a valiant effort.

For St Patrick's Day, the chain teamed Blacks of Kinsale up with Adnams to brew Blacks Irish Red, a red ale at 4.4% ABV. When I ordered it, something golden and lager-like was served, which was confusing. The mystery was solved, I hope, when I later asked for Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted and was given the pictured pint. This looks like a red so I'll review it as one. The signature Adnams tannic dryness is apparent, making it taste not dissimilar to their bitter. There's a slightly sulphurous spice too and a chalky mineral finish. You have to work to taste the red, which is represented by small portions of ripe raspberry and soft caramel. Ronan and Fergus may have been supervising the brew but the Adnams house yeast took firm charge when they left the room.

And so to the festival proper. My first festival special was in the unlikely surrounds of The South Strand, a branch I'm not normally in and which tends to do poorest of all the Dublin ones as regards beer range. Here, not only had they a festival special but one of the international collaborations: Freddy Export, from a recipe by Belgium's Brombeercompagnie and brewed in Banks's. It's 4.6% ABV and badged as an IPA but I didn't get much of a hop punch from it. Instead it's much gentler, showing notes of light peach and honey set on crisp malt biscuit. It tastes how it looks: pale golden, bright and clean. While it's no world-beater (the JDW festivals don't seem to have those any more) it's a charming and understated session beer. One which ran out when a second round was called for. Ah lads...

When I got to The Silver Penny I began with Blind Jack by Rooster's, described as an amber rye ale but very definitely golden. It's 3.7% ABV and smells of long childhood summers, all icepops and bubblegum. The flavour expands on that further, reminding me of lemon ice lollies or sherbet, with a subtle spritz of floral perfume. Seeking something from the rye, I note merely a faint spicy hint in the finish, though at the possibly-imagined level of intensity. Regardless, there is a balancing bitterness which further enhances the drinkability of an already clean and quaffable golden ale. Job done.

To darker things next, and an unfamiliar brewery: Cumbria's Kirkby Lonsdale. 1822 is a brown bitter of 4.3% ABV. Is it my imagination or is bitter getting stronger? Ones above 4% used to be rare. There's not much going on in the aroma, only some lightly roasted notes. The flavour leans into chocolate in a big, and possibly inappropriate, way. I'm not sure whether it's progress to have bitter which tastes of mild but, you know what? I'll take it. This is simple, smooth, unchallenging stuff. I'll always be on Team Pale 'n' Hoppy but don't mind when Brown 'n' Malty isn't laid on too thick. In the right circumstances I might even consider a second of these.

And on to the second of the international guests: Reeds, a British-style red ale created by Sudwerk in Switzerland and brewed for the festival at Adnams. Though clear, it's a dark brown shade and smells a little hot, of marker pens and pear drops. Thankfully the flavour doesn't go the infected route and it tastes more like something Belgian, maybe a dubbel or bruin. It's only 4.4% ABV so there's a thinness not usually found in dark Belgian beer. Would it be uncharitable to describe it as reminiscent of Leffe Bruin? In the manner of industrial beer it is clean and easy drinking, lacking complexity in a way that's tantalising -- suggesting they could have brewed something bigger and bolder but chose not to. A touch of apple on the finish suggests those Belgian esters without saying it out loud. This is OK. At its home brewery it's brewed a little stronger and I can see how it might need that boost to bring the flavour out more.

A special shout-out to the staff at the 'Penny who couldn't find the third-pint glasses so poured me three halves for €2.40. And they say this place doesn't do service.

I've been a fan of Theakston's since my early days exploring English beer so was pleased to see one of theirs on the roster the next time I came back, and an IPA no less: Double Cross. The alarm bells should have started when I noticed it was only 4.2% ABV but rang clear when it arrived brown. Or auburn, if you want to be nice. I like the colour, but not so much for an IPA of any stripe. Sure enough, the flavour proved to be very close to how I remember Theakston Best Bitter tasting. That is, dry and tea-like with a faint echo of summer fruit -- strawberry and raspberry in particular. What might have been intended as a floral flourish in the finish comes across as a little soapy, but doesn't ruin it. This is OK-ish, but not what I was after in an IPA. Double Cross. The clue's in the name.

Cask California common is a rarity, and next was Steam from London's Redemption. It works too: the format really suits a malt-forward style like this and you get lots of crisp toast character. The carbonation level is surprisingly high, but I think that works in its favour too. In addition to the toast, there's a fresh hop bite behind it, predominantly just bitter but with a certain pithy American grapefruit flavour as well. The style can be a little drab but this example has a very decent level of complexity. Something to keep both Real Ale drinkers and, err, 19th century gold prospectors happy.

I followed that with Totemic by Moorhouse, an American style amber ale at 4.8% ABV. If it's hopped to American levels, the cask has swallowed most of that, leaving just some weedy resinous traces behind. In front, there's a rounded and smooth sweet cookie effect which is much more typical of the style. And although it's sweet, and a little on the heavy side, there's enough of a dry element to keep it drinkable and avoid any risk of it turning cloying. So while I think this compares poorly with most American-style amber ales, it's a cut above what tends to get pushed out as "red ale" in both this country and the one next door.

And then, instantly, all the festival beers disappeared from the Dublin branches a day before the event was due to end. Maybe they bought exactly the right amount of beer, though I would be surprised. Overall there was enough decent stuff in the above to keep me happy, and no outright disasters. I still miss the token 7-8%er that used to lurk at the bottom of every programme. Bring that back.