Assorted naughtiness

Rascals did a brand refresh recently, and with it came a new core-range IPA, called Sidekick. It's 5.3% ABV and promises "retro" citrus and resin. In the glass it's a clear golden-amber colour, quite reminiscent of Sierra Nevada pale ale. Is that the aim? The aroma has a modicum of modernity about it, smelling bright and juicy rather than zestily sharp. The flavour opens on a certain floral note -- a reminder that American beers of this kind are cousins of English bitter -- before the harder grapefruit and pine arrives to make the middle and finish. Happily, the lighter, more tropical, fruit side is tasteable too, bringing a more sophisticated balancing sweetness than you'd get from crystal malt's toffee alone. Overall it's rather enjoyable, and does tick the retro box quite nicely. It slightly calls into question Rascals's positioning as a trend-loving yoof-orientated brewery, but maybe we all have to grow up eventually. Learning to enjoy Cascade is part of that.

The last beer to bear the old logo was Haywire, a saison produced in collaboration with Kinnegar. It's a gentle affair, only 3.8% ABV and sunny yellow colour, looking like a witbier. There's plenty of flavour, however: zesty lemon for days, with a dry grain crunch and just a hint of earthy farmhouse goings-on. A smear of tropical fruit becomes apparent when it warms. It could stand to be even drier, and the only thing I can ding it on is a somewhat sugary lemon squash effect, particularly in the aroma. The label tells us it's made with Motueka hops and cardamom, one of which must be responsible for the lemon zest/squash character but I couldn't tell you which: the beer doesn't really taste of either ingredient. It's good, though, and well suited to outdoor drinking on a warm day. Don't expect a masterpiece of dry farmyard complexity and you'll be fine on it.

A tap takeover at UnderDog in early April presented the opportunity to try a couple of beers from the pilot range, and what appears to be a regular, but draught only, stout. That's called Bullseye and seems to be pitched right at the mainstream, being 4% ABV and nitrogenated. Well, a bit nitrogenated. The pint wasn't exactly a ball of cream. Although the head was thick, it faded quickly, like it didn't have the necessary amount of the foam-preserving gas. That left it feeling quite flat. Still, the flavour was very decent, avoiding any possible accusation of blandness and showing a healthy quantity of milk chocolate and sweet wafer biscuit. A little more roast or hop bittering would have balanced it nicely, and I got an unwelcome twang of buttery diacetyl. So, it's not stout perfection, but it will serve, and it's good to see another Irish microbrewery recognise that stout like this still has a place among the IPAs and whatnot.

The pilots at the same event started with a New Zealand Pilsner, a light 4.3% ABV while dark and moody in appearance; rose gold, almost red, though perfectly clear. As an expression of Kiwi hops it's magnificent, providing a gorgeous mix of ripe stonefruit and a hard herbal bitterness. I wasn't expecting the bonus oily sweetness of marzipan, but welcomed it when it arrived near the end. The texture is full and rounded, something I'm guessing might have something to do with all the oily hops, more than the gravity. At the same time it has a refreshing crisp bite in keeping with the strictures of the style. I loved how such a kaleidoscope of hop flavour could fit into what remains an accessible drinking lager. My only real criticism is that it may not go any further than the one-off pilot kit series. It deserves a wider audience, I say selfishly.

It couldn't be a Rascals rundown without something a bit silly, and today it was Smoothie Sour, one of those fingerpaint purple-to-grey jobs, this one including blackberry, gooseberry and strawberry. It's not usually my thing but I gave it a fair shake and, no, it's not really for me. There is a certain amount of sourness, but no more than you'd get in a yoghurt, and with the thick fruit mulch added in, that's what it tasted like more than a beer. I can't say I could identify any gooseberry in the flavour, and the other two give it merely a generic berry effect: I would have guessed raspberry. While I'm getting the digs in, 6% ABV is too strong for something so candified. I think I would have preferred this to be either a fully-attenuated, properly sour, mixed fermentation beer, or one loaded up with lactose and vanilla for a full-on and unapologetic tooth-rotting milkshake. This doesn't fit either genre and left me shrugging. Won't somebody please think of the beer reviewers.

That's all the Rascalling for now. The brewery doesn't make a whole lot of lager, and while it has a perfectly serviceable core-range one in Jailbreak, there's definitely room for getting creative in the cool-fermented space. It is nearly summer, after all.