Dropping pilots

I paid a fleeting visit to Rascals HQ in October, something I really must make more of a habit of. They had two new beers from their pilot series.

#118 Scarlet's Ale is in everyone's favourite/least-favourite beer style, Irish red. She's a big girl for that, at 5.4% ABV. The brewery describes it as "simple", and I was expecting to disagree, and I do -- Rascals is not the sort of brewery that makes Smithwick's clones. The aroma is quite roasty, and there was something else going on, which I couldn't quite identify. Maybe it would become clearer in the flavour. That did all the things typical of microbrewed red, with bright and meadowy floral notes from presumably English hops; a light caramel sweetness, turning chewier and more toffee-like on warming. The darker roast from the aroma returns in the finish, as does the other thing. It's phenols: subtle, but I think I have a strong sensitivity. I'm rarely able to tell whether it's from the glass, the lines or an infection in the beer itself, just it wasn't quite right. That's extremely unusual for Rascals. There is a very decent beer here, one than transcends boring old Irish red and heads towards Scotch ale territory. Those without the unfortunate predisposition to picking up bleach notes will find much to enjoy.

Next in the sequence was something much more orthodox and without any unpleasant surprises: Pilot #119 Weisse was, I guess, created as part of their Oktoberfest line-up. I know this is merely cosmetic, but the lack of a proper weissbier glass let it down a bit -- I wasn't immediately in weissbier mode when it arrived at the table. Beyond this, it was a straight up example. 5.2% ABV gives it the right amount of heft, and there's a satisfying density with a pillowy softness. The colour is on the darker, more wholesome, side: orange rather than yellow, and completely hazy, although Rascals rarely shies away from that. A huge waft of clove opens the flavour, followed by sweet brown banana and a layer of smooth, gooey caramel. This isn't one of your crisp and summery weizens, being much more involved and sippable. It's well made, though, and I wouldn't be able to distinguish it from a genuine Bavarian example.

This arbitrarily chosen pair go to show that, even at Rascals, small-batch experimental beer isn't all candied silliness and high ABV lunacy. They're quite capable of keeping to established parameters, though taking them in interesting directions.