The kennel club

Another BrewDog post so soon? Once again, I'm pleading circumstances. In March the Scottish brewery's Dublin megapub generously hosted the National Homebrew Club's first national competition since 2019. I went along to lend my palate to proceedings and, when done, hung about to drink beer, catch up with friends and await the results. It was an opportunity to try out some newish beers from both headquarters and the onsite brewkit.

The first beer to catch my attention was Black Heart. BrewDog has been marketing this heavily as a Guinness substitute, and just like with Ansbach & Hobday's London Black last year, I wanted to put that to the test. Unlike London Black, however, this one does actually meet the brief. They've matched the strength of Draught Guinness in Britain where it's 4.1% ABV. They've got the texture spot on, while the flavour is very dry and rather boring, presenting an equivalent amount of toast and roast but lacking the tangy sourness which is Draught Guinness's only real nod to having character. Mission accomplished, I guess, though BrewDog normally makes much more interesting beers than this. I would like to try them side by side if I ever get the chance.

I have Steve to thank for a taster of Pie in the Sky, an imperial stout with cherry and vanilla, produced by the wild-fermentation sub-brand, OverWorks. This is stout on a technicality only; mostly it's a sour beer in a broadly Belgian fashion, the added cherries lending it a certain air of Rodenbach or similar. I'm not sure what the vanilla is meant to be doing -- hidden balance, perhaps -- but it doesn't get in the way, while the cherry is quite realistic. Best of all, the sourness isn't tokenistic or apologetic but full-on and puckering in a most invigorating way. Excellent stuff.

The other pair today came from BrewDog Dublin's own brewery. They do a good line in puns which would have me here more often if they hadn't built the place half way out to sea. First up, I can't resist a sour IPA, and this one promises extra refreshment with the addition of fennel. They've called it Fennelope Cruz. It's 4.6% ABV and a pale and hazy yellow. The sourness is on the subtle side here, but I think that suits it, making it taste zesty rather than puckering. The fennel gets a good run, adding an unusual savoury quality to it. This is the sort of high quality creativity that one hopes for from a small brewery producing nothing but once-off experiments.

The final one is not. I headed for the door after the Italian-style pilsner called Canem & Circenses. Cool name but disastrous flavour. If they did the bit of the lagering process which is supposed to remove the diacetyl, it didn't work. This was intensely, horrifically, buttery -- concentrated to the point where Steve described it as cheese-like and he wasn't wrong. Urgh. In the background there are hints of what it should have been, with notes of mango, peach and fruit chews. This doesn't say pilsner of any kind to me, but at least it would have been drinkable. As is, it wasn't.

At least I got a couple of good beers out of the excursion, and plenty of very tasty homebrew as well. Thanks to the Club for inviting me along, and to Outpost Dublin for hosting. Sort your lager out, though, eh?