St Mel is for the sesh today, with two new-release cans. They look built for the summer, with their bright beach-ready branding and 4% ABV contents.Go On So! is a "thirst quenching light lager". The pale yellow definitely says mass-market American to me; the substantial haze brings it more into rustic German kellerbier territory. Its aroma is mild but not bland, suggesting fresh lemon zest and crisp cookies, and the texture is surprisingly full, feeling much bigger and chewier than the ABV implies. Points off for thirst-quenching, perhaps, though it makes up for that by being interesting. There's a definite noble hop zing -- on the more extreme end of nettles, parsley and crunchy green cabbage. This builds to a stinging bitter bite on the finish with touches of zinc and steel. Clanging against that is an intense sweetness: the golden syrup of Czech pale lager, turned up much too high. The can says this was given six weeks of maturation. I think it could have done with six more because it tastes loud, brash and unrefined. And while it's all jolly knockabout fun, I think seekers after easy-quaffing barbecue beer or precision-crafted pilsner will be disappointed.
But lager is difficult. We all know that. Double dry-hopped juicy pale ales are dead easy, however. Step forward I Will, Yeah!, blessed by Citra, Cashmere and Mandarina Bavaria hops. It's certainly juicy looking, a deep translucent shade of orange. The aroma is a 50/50 mix of tangerine (yay!) and caraway (boo!). The flavour bounces between these two sides for a few seconds before settling on that citrus, thankfully. I wouldn't exactly call it juicy but there is a definite spritzy-zesty vibe, the mandarin segments tempered by bitterer pith. Again it's not thin -- oats in the grist help fill out the body -- but because of that zesty edge it ends up much more refreshing than the lager. Easy to make and it tastes better? I guess this is why beer variety skews so heavily to IPA.No fire-and-forget summer sessioners here. Take your time with this pair.
