The Brewers At Play series from Kinnegar reached 33 with a Hazy IPA. There's nothing especially creative or exciting about this one, at least from this drinker's perspective. The brewer tells us they're playing with a new yeast, so essentially is charging us for their in-house their research and development. I think you'd need a brewer's fine-tuned palate to tell this from dozens of other beers in the same style made by Irish breweries. There's a bigger than expected body for only 5.5% ABV, and more pithy bitterness than is the norm. I consider both of these to be positive aspects. The flavour offers a mélange of jaffa orange, raw garlic, meringue and vanilla, all of which together is a little hot, harsh and tough to drink. Smoothness is one usual NEIPA attribute that you don't get here, and likewise juice. It has a great deal to offer, certainly, but it's not really to my taste, this time.
Brewers At Play 34 couldn't be more Christmassy: a barrel aged chocolate imperial stout. I waited for the mercury to drop below 5° before opening. It's 9.5% ABV but feels more, being thick and unctuous, like hot fudge sauce. Which is how it tastes: lashings of gooey chocolate and only a faint honey heat and oak sap to indicate the barrel's presence. The barrel side is well done: balanced, unobtrusive, and allowing the cake of a base beer to shine through. This is an absolute treat; hefty and filling, but accessible and harmonious too. Some breweries need a fully involved barrel ageing system to get the hang of it this well; I guess it comes naturally to others.
They played it pale again for Brewers At Play 35, a Belgian-style blonde ale. It's darker than one would expect such to be: almost the amber end of deep orange. 6% ABV is just on the cusp of normal too. Still, the fruit esters in the aroma are absolutely where they should be, offering dried sultanas, crisp red apple and soft nectarine or apricot. There's even a fun spark of peppery spice. The flavour continues in that vein, adding a cakey malt sweetness that begins to suggest something stronger, like tripel. Alongside the fruit, there's also a buzz of clove and aniseed. Belgian Belgian blondes are essentially lager substitutes and tend to show a crisp finish. I liked the different direction this one takes: rounder, thicker and altogether more flavoursome. It's a sipping beer, and it's nice to have one which isn't at double-digit strength.
Just under the wire for this set is Brewers At Play 36, a properly wintery barley wine, and a recipe which apparently featured previously as 21 and 28 in the sequence, though after a slight dip in ABV it's back up to (hooray!) double digits. It's still a handsome mahogany red and very much malt-forward, with no more than a pinch of liquorice by way of bitterness. I guess the maraschino cherry and plum on display are also hop-related, but they're not bitter or tart, rather smooth and sweet. A wood-like rasp dries out the finish. As with the previous editions, it's a novelty-free, classically-styled barley wine, perfect for considered sipping and strong cheese.There's lots of the usual Kinnegar talent on display here. It's just a shame that the market keeps demanding hazy IPAs from them.
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