Good boys

Today's beers are the tail end of what was a very busy 2025 for Wicklow Wolf. The styles are nicely varied, as is the brewery's wont.

A suspiciously short time after Ireland's football team won some important matches in November, a commemorative lager arrived. They've given Heimirken a stunt ABV of 4.42%, which is well within the range of their flagship Arcadia. I've not had Arcadia in a while, so I'm not too bothered if this is a sneaky rebadge. I don't remember Arcadia being so hoppy, however. There's a sweetly fruity flavour at the centre, which is very new-world, suggesting peach and melon to me. That's emphasised by a soft texture and gentle carbonation, so it's definitely not lowest-common-denominator fizz. A crisp grain bite finishes it off and reminds me it's a lager, not a pale ale. I was quite impressed by this, and if that means I should go revisit Arcadia, I will. 

Much as I complain about all the hazy IPAs, I'm never too upset when they're centred on New Zealand hops. Still Far Away (New Zealand is; I checked) is one such, advertising all the joys of Riwaka, Motueka and Nelson Sauvin. I don't have much to say about the haze, only that it's there. Head retention is excellent, the fine foam resembling that of a mixed-gas draught beer. The aroma isn't very punchy, but there's good stuff here: the mix of tropical fruit and diesel bite that are what makes Kiwi hops special and distinctive. Happily, there's more of the same in the taste. The fruit is dominant, and quite concentrated, with tinned peach coming to mind first. There's a complementary pithy orange quality in the finish, but the centre is that mineral oil kick. I'm not sure how others perceive this very typical Nelson Sauvin aspect, but to me it's the oily, volatile smell of aeroplane fuel when in the vicinity of a jet engine. It's odd, but it's lovely, and complements the tropical aspects beautifully. Set that on a soft base at 6% ABV, with no hot or gritty off flavours, and you have a winner. I could have stood for a bit more hop intensity, balance be damned, but there's pretty much nothing for me to complain about with this one. Top work.

It's Double Trouble, to finish: a coffee and vanilla imperial stout. This poured slowly and gloopily, beige bubbles rising to form a head the colour of coffee cake icing; foam fine enough to form a dome over the rim. Fully as expected, it smells of the advertised ingredients, the coffee dry and nutty, while the vanilla adds a custard note to the chocolate malt base. At 10% ABV, it doesn't smell hot, but boy is it thick: an almost-unpleasant gelpack of a beer, the carbonation suppressed by its sugary density and barely detectable. It coats the palate and tongue, leaving a longlasting slick, a sensation I didn't especially enjoy, so thought I would share with you. For all that, there's no explosion of flavours, and that's disappointing. Chocolate, coffee, vanilla and hazelnut all feature, with a slightly floral rosewater note on the front, turning to a more viscous raspberry syrup towards the end. But it all spins through very quickly, and fades long before the residual gloop. The aftertaste is clean and little roasty; the afterfeel lingers, however. I guess it's not meant to be anything other than a bit of fun, and it is that. I give thanks that it's not an overly sweet hot jammy mess, but I think the collaborating coffee roaster could have been somewhat more generous with their side of the bargain.

The lager and hazy IPA trumping the imperial stout is a bit of a turn-up for the books. I guess if they had left the dessert ingredients out of the latter, it might have had a better chance.