Two big lads from Galway

This pair of whoppers from Galway Bay Brewery arrived simultaneously in late March. When I noticed they were on draught side-by-side in Against the Grain, I went in to try them out.

The lighter of the two is Richer Sounds, a double IPA of 9.5% ABV. To my palate, this has a lot in common with the brewery's flagship DIPA, Of Foam & Fury, though I can't be more specific on which version of that recipe. I mean it as a compliment, however. It's very much classically constructed in a 2013 sort of way, starting on a heavy yet clean malt base, one which leaves a lovely warming glow in its wake. Onto this is piled heaps of citrus bitterness, and I picked out sharp lime in particular. There's nothing else fancy that this does, and certainly no flaws or off-flavours. It's simple but very impressive. If it's a retro powerhouse you're after, here's the beer.

Stronger still is Resin & Rye at 10.7% ABV. They've called it a barley wine rather than a rye wine, so there must have been enough rye to make the name but not change the style. In the glass it's a clear copper colour. The foretaste is pleasingly fruity, offering dry cherry skin and raisin to begin. The malt comes next, toasted and biscuit-like, and then a huge rasp of bitter metal and resin, scraping across the tongue. The brewery had this badged as "American barleywine" so I was fully expecting Bigfoot-like grapefruit notes, but it doesn't have that. It's rounder, mellower and more mature-tasting, suggesting an influence that's English rather than American, to my mind. Regardless, it works, and the result is a very satisfying night-finisher.

In a beer world of relentless hazy IPA, pastry stout and soured fruit beer, Galway Bay has once again shown that the old ways (2013) are the best. I really hope there's a market for products like this because the quality and enjoyment levels are unimpeachable.