Slow starter

Things seem to have been a bit quiet as regards DOT output, at least in the places where I buy my beer. Of the cans, Note pale ale is among the most recent, and that came out in November. 4% ABV with Citra and Galaxy hops seems like a pretty safe bet. It's a dark gold in the glass, with a little haze but isn't hazy hazy. The aromatics are restrained, just a little fruity candy, and the flavour goes that way too: Starburst and Skittles, without being excessively sweet or any way chemically artificial. It's nice, and fans of Citra looking for its grown-up moves may be disappointed. I liked in particular how full bodied it is, with a rounded mouthfeel and enough substance to carry the hops right through from foretaste to a clean finish. I could say it's inoffensive, but who wants to be offended by a light pale ale? This is good, clean, sessionable fun. It didn't take me long going through it, but I very much enjoyed doing so.

Disgruntled by how much DOT beer gets sold in the Netherlands without passing my way, when I live only a few miles from the blendery, I picked up a bottle of Compa when I saw it on sale in Haarlem last winter. I was further miffed a week or two later to find it on sale in Dublin. "Imperial pale ale" is what they've decided to call it, against all international norms and conventions. It's 9.5% ABV and was aged in Irish whiskey casks which graduated from holding Marsala wine. Murky and orange in colour, it smells of whiskey cocktails, like a sticky fruit liqueur has been allowed to disrupt an innocent spirit. The flavour continues that theme of oaked distillate plus a twist of citrus peel. There's a slight dry sweatiness and a deeply infused green herbal bitterness. This is a serious beer, and while the brewery's chosen style designation makes no sense, the beer doesn't fit into any established style either. You could deem it a 19th-century vatted pale mild if you wanted. While not easy drinking, it is fun, and although it doesn't quite bring the rich, luxurious fine-whiskey effect, there's an enjoyable warmth. A stout given the same treatment would have been better, but it's not my place to second guess DOT's creative impulses.

Lush is another one that first landed on the continent, late in 2024, and only arrived in my line of sight in Dublin last month. This is a double IPA of the New England persuasion, 8% ABV and hopped with Mosaic and Simcoe, so very much a classic take on the style. It's darker than is entirely fashionable, being an amberish shade, and also with a proper head: amateur hour! There's no shortage of juice in the aroma; not ersatz and sweet but sharp and pithy, like actual orange juice. I hoped that would translate to the flavour, but here the alcohol takes over and the first impression is a burn: slightly chemical, with a hint of marker pen solvent. There's a certain amount of fruit going on as well, but also some savoury onion relish and a plasticky twang. Maybe it needed to be fresher but it can't have been that old. Is the colour and lack of zing an oxidation thing? It's not cardboardy but I don't think it's quite right either.

None of this is DOT's best work. But maybe they have something special in store for the next round of releases. Chances are you'll find out about it here if they do.