The K club

Today's beers have nothing in common, other than names beginning with K.

Krush is a Korean "ice blast lager", from Kloud. I don't know what that means, but it's 4.5% ABV and a medium gold colour, looking like a typical continental-European macrobeer. According to the ingredients listing it's an all-malt recipe, and yet it still manages to taste like some cheap adjunct has been used: sweetcorn or rice. There's a grain-husk rasp and then an overly sweet syrupiness, before a finish that's dry but not clean enough to call crisp. That's "balanced" in a way by a metallic chemical tang that is presumably meant to taste like hops but is a long way from them. On the plus side, it has a decently full body, though that just carries the wonky flavours further than is enjoyable. This is a bust. I wouldn't like to try and place it on a league table of Korean beers, but globally, it's well towards the bottom.

The diversity of beer is what keeps me interested, and also filed under K is something quite different: Kaapse Leen Calvados Barrel Aged Barley Wine, from Kaapse of Rotterdam. This looks to have been a leftover from this year's Dublin Beer Festival, which I missed, and showed up on tap at UnderDog (RIP) in October. It's dark chestnut in colour, and quite dreggy looking, though that doesn't seem to have adversely affected the taste. I would have guessed a wine barrel rather than apple spirit because the aroma is full of grape juice and light summery red wine. That gets heavier and more oaky on tasting, calling to mind Tokaji or Sauternes, though with a significant bite of tartness alongside the sweet. Tart berries and Granny Smith apples continue the sour theme, and although there's an undeniable heat from its 11.2% ABV, it never really rounds out into the soft and smooth winter warmer that I think it ought to be. I'm generally a big fan of Calvados barrels for beer, but whatever way they've done this one, it hasn't quite worked out. Even as a small-measure sipper, it's quite a tough beer to drink.

Pick any two beers randomly and, chances are, neither will be much good. There's probably a lesson there, but I've no interest in learning it.