Black & danker

Kinnegar has added a black lager to its core range. The man in the shop told me this is replacing Yannaroddy coconut porter and, although there was nothing wrong with that beer, I'm delighted with the switch, having whined extensively about the dearth of regular-production black lagers in this country. Black Rabbit is presumably an allusion to Black Sabbath -- one of the band-member bunnies on the label is eyeing up a bat on stage. It's an approachable 4.5% ABV and more of a cola brown than properly black.

The aroma is nicely assertive, offering concentrated aniseed and freshly-laid tar. It turns sweeter on tasting, meaning the appropriate lager crispness is somewhat missing. Instead you get caramel and dark chocolate up front, with dry burnt toast arriving at the end for a clean finish. It's scattered liberally with the grass and herb effect of German hops, which helps a lot with its lagerishness. Yes, this will absolutely do. It may not be quite as dry as I would have liked but it has plenty of character while still being as easy drinking as any session-strength lager. I hope it sells well and sticks around.

On a more ephemeral note, Kinnegar's Brewers At Play series enters its fifth decade with some hop experimentation. Krush (formerly HBC 586) has been used in the next two in the sequence. Brewers At Play 40 is a west coast IPA at 6% ABV. It's quite pale in the glass: a matte yellow shade with a dusting of haze. The head is loose and fades quickly, and the carbonation is accordingly low.

I don't know if the brewery got the hops for free in exchange for putting the supplier on the label, but they've certainly used a lot of them. The aroma is startlingly punchy, pushing out a dense fug of spiky citrus and tropical notes. Its flavour isn't quite so intense, and I blame the lacklustre condition for that. The hop is aptly named, though, producing Lilt-like mango, pineapple and lime, for something that does have a soft fizzy drink vibe. Only the very grown-up resinous dank underlines that it's most definitely a beer. I deem this a successful experiment with the hop, and they've very wisely dialled back the malt part of the flavour. Its flatness is the only niggle I have.

Given the intense tropicality, I thought that Krush would do well in a hop-forward sour beer. So it's just as well that that's exactly what Brewers At Play 41 is: a sour IPA of 5.5% ABV. There's no qualms about carbonation here, it showing a generous head and plenty of sparkle. Otherwise, it looks broadly similar, being pale and slightly hazy.

Oddly, there's less of Krush's tropical side on display here, only a broad lemonade sweetness, contrasting with the base beer's significant tartness. Instead, it's the dank that dominates: foetid fruit funk and acidic pine resin. It finishes cleanly and does a great job as a zesty, sunny, thirst-quencher. Despite having a lone hop in common, and other similar specs, these two are quite different products. Single-hopped beers often lack complexity, but here Krush appears to be supplying enough for two. Mission accomplished, and I hope we'll be hearing a lot more from this new hop.