Mixing it

There's been a nice selection of styles from Third Barrel lately. Did they miss the memo that everything has to be a hazy IPA now? I mean, who's going to buy this lot?

A good old pilsner to start with, called Stop the Clocks. A hefty dose of Saaz is promised, which is music to my ears. That doesn't manifest as I expected it to, lacking grassy sharpness, which is all part of Saaz's usual charm for me. Instead, it's soft and quite sweet, emphasising the malt in a very authentically Czech-tasting way. It almost veers into being sickly but is saved by the underlying lager cleanness. Overall, it works incredibly well, and while I miss the peppery hop pinch, the luxurious malt smoothness makes up for it.

Mango and pineapple is the tart of the day, at least according to Third Barrel's new sour beer, Tarte Diem. They've added some ginger too, to keep things interesting. It's a standard hazy orange colour and very light-bodied, feeling like even less than its modest 4.5% ABV. A hard mineral tang in the aroma suggests sourness to come, but it never quite materialises. You get lots of sweet juice instead; clean, not sticky, which is good. The ginger doesn't appear until the very finish, adding a bonus classy-lemonade feature. This is jolly decent summer fun and could be worth doing as a seasonal repeat feature, if only there was weather to match.

Fleetwood Black is a standard, pub-grade session stout from client brand Two Sides. 4.5% ABV and served on nitro: pure standard. They've certainly put an individual spin on the genre with quite an intense flavour. It's not quite Wrasslers level but it's not far off, combining dark chocolate, unlit cigar, boiled spinach and well-done toast. As such, it's bloody lovely: sessionable but full of interesting bits and pieces. You may need to like your stout on the bitter side to enjoy it, but if so, here's a welcome alternative to the big W.

The inevitable IPA to bring us out is Ár gCairde Cold IPA, the latest in a collaboration series with various breweries run by Dundalk bar Mo Chara. It's 5.1% ABV, hazy and golden, and smells decidedly sour: a bright and tart lemon-zest whiff. The flavour almost teeters into that sour IPA territory, so refreshing is it, but it's still properly sweet and full-bodied, the hops mixing oily manadarin-peel bitterness with sweeter mandarin flesh. While the citrus buzzes on the palate in the finish, there's a soothing toffee-like malt character which suggests this hasn't been cold-fermented, but whether it has been or not, it does carry well the attributes of proper proper IPA. I bought two cans by mistake. I regret nothing.

Pretty high standard stuff, all-in-all. I'm left without any catty remarks to finish on. Here's hoping for worse beer next time out.