Down and up

It's been a while since I've had any Mourne Mountains beer on here. I don't get to do much beer shopping up north and they have only just returned to the shelves down here, so I'm well behind on what the Co. Down brewer is doing these days. Here's two of them.

Happy Trails is an IPA, and even without any further indications on the can I assumed this would be hazy: one just does now. Sure enough it's completely opaque, and quite a dark colour, a kind of sunset orange. The density of appearance leads on to quite an assertive aroma, bringing thick and sweet tropical notes, all ripe guava and mango. The flavour is surprisingly different, having a green and leafy bitterness, primarily offering celery, spinach and damp grass in quite a Germanic way. Despite the thick texture, the hops don't hang around long and it finishes quickly and without fuss. I hoped for better from this. Sure, there are no flaws, which is far from a given with this sort of thing, but possibly its lack of character could be considered a flaw by itself. The recipe needs a lot more hops, I reckon. That ought to be possible in a can costing €4.49.

The same outlay got me a 7% ABV oatmeal stout called Bear Grease. This was much more to my taste, being properly dense and black, with a strong aroma of espresso, dark chocolate and a certain nougat nuttiness. The mouthfeel is appropriately full and serves the principal purpose of delivering the flavour. Said flavour is absolutely bang on for the style, being coffee and chocolate again, with a caramel sweetness and lighter autumnal fruit notes of blackberry and blackcurrant. The aroma's nut side develops into a smooth marzipan paste in the finish. Despite all the complexity in evidence, the flavours are very well balanced and integrated, making this a beer which can be enjoyed on any number of levels: a straightforward wholesome warmer; a properly flavoursome stout; or something a nerd can pick apart in a stultifyingly forensic way. It's all good and I liked it a lot.

In fact, thinking back, perhaps I should have known at the start it would play out like this. Stouts like Wee Honey and Whiskey & Vanilla have been highlights of previous forays into the Mourne Mountains lineup. I'll be looking for more of the same next time.