May as well

I had a bit over an hour to kill before a later engagement, and where any sane person would sit it out with a pint and a book, I went to the nearest brewery taproom to work through half pints of their latest releases. Not that this is easily done: brewery taprooms are thin on the ground in Dublin, but Guinness's wasn't too far out of my way and it had been several months since my last visit.

As always, a welcome taster is proffered on arrival, and this time it was the Cardamom Red Ale. No standard Irish red, this is a big fellow, 6.6% ABV and a murky amber colour. There's a beautifully exciting and exotic aroma, full of peppercorns and sandalwood. It's light bodied for the strength, with lots of fizz. While there's little foretaste, there's a nice kick of the pepper on the end; almost a szechuan chilli level of piquancy. That's set on a rounded and wholesome malt base. It's a little gimmicky, but not too much, and shows that there's a solid beer at its heart. A bigger measure of this would have been no hardship.

I'm always up for an Open Gate pilsner: it's the style they do best. Next out was Mein Stein, brewed with modern German hop Mandarina Bavaria. It's a perfect limpid gold with an equally perfect thick fine froth on top. Here's another solid base beer: an unmistakable crisp pilsner, though the aroma is dank and weedy, more like an American IPA. That was the first sign that the hop has been loaded in, delivering a strong bitterness and an almost plastic-tasting flavour. Isn't Mandarina meant to be gentle and fruity, in line with modern effete beer preferences? This tastes sternly Prussian and it's a bit of a shock at first. It took a few sips to get used to it, and by the finish I was really enjoying it. Not what I was expecting, but I'll take it.

The 5.2% ABV Mango Chilli Ale came with a lactose warning and arrived hazy and orange, though this too had a decent and lasting head. It smells broadly tropical and is thickly textured, in a New England IPA sort of way. That's not how it tastes, however. Sticky tinned fruit starts us off; sweet but still subtle and unobtrusive. I thought I was in for a dud but then the chilli kicked in: dry and hot and raw, more like the skin than the flesh of a pepper. The combination is weird, and I'm struggling to figure out why they thought of it. I don't think it quite works, although I liked the belly warmth and palate afterburn: not things I'm looking for when I order a beer, however. On to round two.

That starts with an Oyster Stout, one with actual oysters. My benchmark here is the Porterhouse one, a velvety smooth lad with loads of milk chocolate and a mild briny tang. This isn't that. It's rather dull, and very much in the mould of regular Draught Guinness. At a substantial 5.5% ABV, the extra strength should give it more poke but it doesn't: this could pass for 4% or below. There's no oyster character, just the faint roast found in the brewery flagship. Meh, the definition of.

Cask & Keg is intriguing: an IPA aged in barrels which formerly held Roe & Co. whiskey, Diageo's Irish brand, and is a whopping 9.1% ABV. It looks innocent, a hazy amber colour. The aroma is sweet and fruity which does nothing to prepare the drinker for a whiskey cocktail of a flavour. I'm not a cocktail person, but I immediately thought of both the Old Fashioned and the Sidecar on tasting: that mix of oaked spirit, sugar syrup and a twist of orange peel. There's a touch of Sorachi-esque coconut too. All of that is very well mixed together and tastes smooth and integrated with no sharp edges. Dangerously easy drinking, as beer reviewers used to say.

Finally, a beer that looked very similar, the Amarillo Rye Pale Ale. This one's a bit of a lightweight at 4.9% ABV. And sadly I get neither Amarillo nor rye from the taste. Open Gate's poor record on hop-forward ales strikes again, and while this has the smooth texture of a modern hazy pale ale, it delivers only the faintest quantity of Amarillo's signature fruit. I also had to search for any dry grass and pepper from the rye, and I found it there to an extent, but not noticeably so. Like the stout, this is a basic and inoffensive beer, not really showing off the headline ingredients.

Still it's an interesting bunch, and I fully appreciate the way I can walk in off James's Street of a random Thursday evening and have such interesting fare on offer. There is only a handful of places in this town where that's possible.