Lash in the hops

Today's selection is from the haze merchants at Whiplash and is end-to-end haze, of a variety of sorts. Can't have too much haze, right?

The brewery has form on doing good low-strength hop-forward beer, but Never Drinking Again is the first non-alcoholic one, claiming the title with an ABV of 0.5%. It's densely murky in the glass, an uneven yellow-ish orange with no proper head, looking just like a glass of fruit juice. I'm guessing they compensated for the lack of alcohol by absolutely saturating it in hops, and it's almost distracting enough. You barely notice the thinness through the absolute slap of concentrated tropical fruit which makes up the foretaste. That's followed quickly by a powerful warming resinous side, oily and dank with a significant peppery spice. The two aspects of the hops play well with each other, and last for a pleasingly long time. Reality kicks in at the eventual finish, however, which is rather watery and gives away the fact that it's not a proper beer. There's a growing mineral grittiness, which is something else that tends to mark out non-alcoholic pale ales, and not in a good way. My goal is, some day, to find one of these that's an acceptable substitute for the real thing. This probably comes closer than any pale ale so far, and props to the brewery for not skimping on the hops: that decision served them well. It takes more than sackfuls of hops to solve non-alcoholic beer's flavour and texture problems, however.

Onwards and upwards, and it's a pale ale next, called Melted Head. It's a collaboration with Verdant so I thought that haze might just feature, but was not prepared for the extreme egginess of the appearance: very pale and densely opaque, with an almost green tint to it. The aroma goes two ways, giving concentrated hop freshness -- both tropical and piney -- but also a serving of gritty dregs, the standard downfall of this kind of beer, though one Whiplash tends to be less susceptible to than others. I'm happy to say it's not a major feature of the flavour, which opens with a big, invigorating, bitter pine bite. That effect is sustained, even as it unfolds into oily resin and then some refreshing juicy mango or similar, which flashes briefly and indistinctly. Since it's only 4.8% ABV, this all wraps up quite quickly, leaving us with only the murky grit, which is a bit of a sad finish to what's otherwise rather a jolly little fellow. Those who are fond of their big and strong hazy IPAs will find this a welcome change of pace, delivering the main flavour components but at a more approachable strength.

And speaking of big and strong hazy IPAs, that's what the final two are. First, we're Fond of a Jar: a light one for Whiplash, at only 7.8% ABV. It's a dark shade of orange and completely opaque, smelling of fruit-flavoured candy, which is no surprise given the El Dorado and Strata hops listed on the front of the can. There's Citra too, and it's harder to find that influence. Bitterness is very limited, the flavour coming across mostly as a sticky fruit cordial, aided by significant warmth and thickness, thanks to the ABV and, I'm guessing, some exceptionally lazy yeast. This is basic stuff: the generic hazy double IPA that every brewery comes out with sooner or later. While it's predictable and inoffensive, I know Whiplash is capable of better. Maybe they've saved that for the next one.

Our hindmost offering is Raising Tables, brewed with frequent Whiplash collaborator Garage. This one goes the other side of the straight eight, at 8.2% ABV. It's very soupy looking, with almost a greyish tint to the eggy yellow. The aroma is quite savoury, with a combined fruit and spice combination, reminding me of brown sauce, which is a first for a hazy double IPA. It's very dense, and you know you're pulling on a strong beer when you drink it. I feared for what might happen in the flavour, but unduly so, it turned out. This is a really smooth charmer, showing the usual sharp garlic and sticky vanilla taste that many of these do, but somehow it gets away with it, avoiding being hot, harsh, dreggy, cloying, or any of those unpleasantnesses. Maybe the fruit side could be brighter, and I feel I deserve a modicum more alcohol warmth, but for the most part I was charmed by its grown up gentility. It's a welcome change from the bam-pow hyperactive toddler double IPAs that cool breweries usually create, especially when they're working in tandem.

We live in strange times when it's the non-alcoholic beer in the set which has the bam-pow hops. Whiplash is part of the scenery in Irish brewing these days, and I don't know if its complacency or my jaded palate which made these seem less vibrant than the beers it used to make.