The Twelve Brewers of Christmas 3: Rye River

The three beers for day 3 come from Rye River, continuing their canned series of limited editions, plus a fancy seasonal bottle.

Jandal Joose is possibly the most unappetising name imaginable for a beer. It was Rye River's early autumn seasonal, an IPA with New Zealand hops Nelson Sauvin and Motueka, neither of which are exactly uncommon in Irish beers these days. It's 7% ABV and fully hazy. The aroma doesn't really express the hops, smelling sweet and orangey in a very unKiwi way. That continues to a large extent in the flavour. It's a fruit salad of tropicals and citrus with lots of fizz. You have to look to find the grassy minerality of Nelson and Motueka, which is there, but understated. Still, it works well, being smooth and calm, if a little prickly. I can't fault it on quality grounds generally, but would have liked it to taste a bit more New Zealand overall. 

You like drinking experiments? The brewery has you covered with the last of the 2023 canned specials, Smashed Clogs. This double IPA was a collaboration with Jopen and brewed with the unnamed YCH303 cryo hop product, Kiwi newcomer Superdelic, plus a dash of that weird grape-derived hop enhancer Phantasm. I was expecting something special, or at least different. It looks an orthodox hazy orange, on the pale side, just past trendy yellow. There's lots of jaffa and mandarin juice in the aroma, as well as a cheeky spice, suggesting both cinnamon and match heads. The mouthfeel is possibly its best feature, a custard-like smoothness without any booze heat, despite a full 8% ABV. The flavour is plainer: that spice becomes standard savoury murk dregs and the fruit side struggles to make itself heard over it, suggesting nothing more exciting than orange peel bitterness with softer peach edges and a growing smear of garlic oil in the finish. It's fine, but indistinguishable from plenty of other equally-fine double IPAs. Experiments aren't always successful, so maybe this is for the best. 

Finally, Scotach. I had to look up the word: a Irish person of Scottish descent, so appropriate for a Kildare-brewed Scotch ale. Maybe. It's 10% ABV and has been aged in barrels previously used for rye whiskey and cherry bitters. It's a dark and murky brown, and the liqueurish cherry factor is very apparent from the aroma, smelling a bit like an exotic fruit brandy. The flavour blends the dark malt and chocolate beautifully, creating an effect not unlike my favourite confection, Ferrero Mon Chéri. I had been expecting caramel, toffee and whatnot, but while there's a smooth body and lots of sweetness, it's sharp as well, the cherry adding a certain tartness to the edges. The alcohol is present and warming, though not overdone. This is more of a silly novelty than I thought it would be, but I fully succumbed to its charms. They got proper value out of that cherry bitters barrel, and I reckon it's good for another use or two. Not so much the whiskey, but I don't miss it: I'm sure it's making its contribution in the background. Overall a very good effort, and delightfully different from all the other big barrel-aged beers knocking around at the moment.

IPA sells so it shouldn't be a surprise when that's mostly what the brewery has to offer. I would love to see more from their barrel programme, however.