Sunshine from the Garden

A couple of weeks ago I attended the first launch event for Irish beer in 2024: a tap takeover in UnderDog by Wicklow Wolf, presenting two new additions to its core range. On a dismal winter's evening, both had a promise of summer about them.

I mean, one of them self-describes as "tropical" and is called Solstice. I'm reasonably sure it's not the winter solstice to which it refers. It also describes itself as "sour", is 4% ABV, and a surprising clear golden colour. Nothing makes me feel more like a florid gentleman in a 19th century novel than praising the clarity of a beer, but credit where it's due. The tropical side of the equation is not the subtle kind, its aroma absolutely blasting out a generic mix of sweetly exotic fruits. A similar mélange presents on tasting, starting with fruit salad and adding coconut, banana fritters, green tea and a short twist of pepper. There's a certain dry tang in the background but it's not sour, though nor is it syrupy. I appreciated the overall loud brashness of it, but it is still a bit of a mess, not committing to any real flavour, just a generous pour from the big tub labelled "tropical". The intensity does limit its power to refresh, I think, though I'm prepared to come back to it when the weather is better suited.

Its fraternal twin is a hazy IPA called Sugarloaf. A small detail, but it's a bit strange that they haven't called it a "session IPA", or even just a "pale ale" when it's only 4.3% ABV. The brewery already has 5.6% Tundra as a hazy IPA in the core line up and I don't know if this is meant to be complementary to that, or replacing it. The low strength is certainly apparent in the thin mouthfeel, where it does have some level of New England fluff, but dialled back considerably. In the flavour we find a central theme of orange juice plus an added mild pith bitterness. This gives it balance, although I'm not sure something so slight and unobtrusive needs to worry about balance. It's very sessionable, bordering on forgettable. This isn't the first Wicklow Wolf beer that I would consider a safe option if I saw it on tap in a place with nothing else worth drinking; it's no show-stopper in and of itself, however.

Neither beer represents Wicklow Wolf at its best, but then dark beer is where it excels, so that's not surprising. I suspect they're efforts at giving the drinking public what they want, and I can't quibble with that, even if neither will be a regular go-to for me.