Beach ready

Sunny summer beers, all pale and sessionable, are today's subject. Who better than a brewery named after a beach to provide them?

We start at Low Tide. This, or a version of it, began life as Kinnegar's Brewers At Play 3 back in early 2020 before making its way into the regular line up under a new name. It's a pale ale at 1% ABV and one thing they haven't changed is the watery body: it's still unpleasantly thin on that first sip; a reminder that it's not really a proper beer. All is good after that, however. I noted a soapy twang in BAP3 but there's none of that here, only fresh and zingy citrus, growing in intensity to a proper west-coast bitter finish and backed with a slightly chalky mineral dryness. While not fully convincing as a beer, it is pleasant to drink, whether that's as a beach-bound driver or the barbecue attendee look for a non-intoxicating break. There are plenty of use cases and it's a good thing they've kept it in their line-up.

It's joined by a brand new core ranger, a 4% ABV session IPA called Wee Bunny, referencing the Big Bunny full hazy IPA. It's only a wee bit hazy, and mostly a bright white-gold colour. There's a decently tropical aroma, not heavily sweet but with distinct peach and pineapple. The flavour throws a spritz of coconut husk into that, drying it out more than I expected. It really doesn't fit into the hazy IPA spectrum, being much lighter of body too. I'm sure there are drinkers who will appreciate that, and if Big Bunny wasn't your thing, there's no reason to reject this on the grounds it'll be similar. Overall it's an OK take on session IPA, though doesn't do anything especially noteworthy, beyond quenching my thirst quickly, while also leaving room for another beer. That's probably enough.

We go up to 4.6% ABV for Brewers At Play 30: Unfiltered Hoppy Lager. I don't disbelieve the first part, but it doesn't look unfiltered, being a fairly unfuzzy golden shade, if not quite sterile sparkling. For "Hoppy" we don't get told any varieties but it smells like lemon sherbet and tastes very floral, a cottagecore blend of lilac and honeysuckle, given a mere hint of citrus zest in the finish. And would I have identified it as a lager unprompted? I'm not sure. The body has a certain greasy or estery side, lacking crispness, leaning more towards light pale ale rather than anything cold-fermented. It's more solid and unfussy fare; a characterful sessioner. I don't know that it's exactly to my taste, though. The way the flowers build on the palate, by half way I felt I was drinking a bath bomb. 

Strongest of today's lot is Brewers At Play 31: Apricot Rosemary Sour. I'm sure the 5% ABV recipe is quite different from the 5% ABV apricot rosemary sour which was Brewers At Play 5 in 2020. This one looks a bit paler than the original, though that could be down to my poor photography skills. Anyway, it's still opaque and orange, and smells very herbal, deliciously so because I really like rosemary. That gets crushed rather on tasting, and here it's the apricot's time to shine, tasting a little concentrated and jammy, though still like an approximation of actual apricot. Where we get gypped, as usual, is the sourness: there's only the faintest of mineral tangs. While I'm nit-picking, I don't think the gravity really suits it, and a lighter body would make it cooler and more refreshing. What I did like was the way the elements are arranged: rosemary in the aroma and apricot in the flavour, contributing not competing. For the second half of the can I popped a couple of ice cubes in, to improve the summer effect. Recommended.

At 5.2% ABV, Brewers At Play 32 just falls outside the remit of this post but I'll get to it soon. Kinnegar is working me hard this summer. I need a light refreshing beer...