September pairs 5: Kinnegar

It's not all big IPAs and blousy sour ales in Irish beer these days. Kinnegar, for example, is being fierce responsible with Short Stack, a "mid-strength" IPA of 2.7% ABV. It's a pale golden colour and doesn't look watery. The aroma is brightly zesty, suggesting mandarin and Seville orange, with perhaps an extra herbal complexity lurking behind. The flavour unfortunately doesn't follow through there, and I found it unpleasantly dry, with a caraway or sesame savoury husky quality. The fruit element is no more than a pinch of zest in the finish, although the herbal side does emerge as it warms: a grassy, rye-like spice. I blame the flavour problem on the gravity. There's a thinness which probably shouldn't be surprising, but it's unhelpful regardless, and seems to be quashing the hop character. No magic tricks here: it's a compromised beer and, unfortunately, it tastes it. I get that there's a market for lower-strength products, but I also think one would be better off drinking fewer full-strength ones.

We may be some months past elderflower season, but Kinnegar has an Elderflower Saison as Brewers At Play 51. The strength is still modest, at only 4.8% ABV, and it's the pale yellow shade of lemon barley water. I'm not sure if the appearance is a factor in how it smells like a witbier, but it does, mixing light citrus, grainy cereal and a background Belgian yeast spice. So the flavour was something of a surprise: it's very banana-forward, bringing us from witbier to weissbier without passing through saison on the way. It took a glance at the can to remind me that elderflower should be a feature too, and that does, in fairness, arrive late, adding a second kind of fruity sweetness to the whole picture. I'm a little disappointed by the lack of saison crispness, finding it just a bit too fat and sugary to be properly "farmhouse", if you know what I mean. Neither spice nor funk feature. It's not a bad beer; just a bit basic. Take a very light and simple saison, add elderflower-flavoured syrup, and you're done. Not very playful. I'm willing to accept that the concept is sound, but I'd like some extra heft. Raise the ABV to 6% or so, and I reckon it would be an altogether more cheering experience.

And that's this series done. Doors open at 4pm today at the RDS. Let's see what Ireland's breweries have for us next.