ICYMI

Bless you, DOT Brew. I missed the raft of new beers that were available at White Hag's Samhain festival, but a mere month later they landed in in small-pack form. Not that I'm susceptible to FOMO, you understand. This is more the joy of discovering you haven't missed out completely.

I started with the dark stuff, perversely perhaps. Back to Black looks dead handsome in the 440ml can. It's a black IPA with rye, and despite the style going out of fashion, we are extremely well served for this subset in Ireland with Kinnegar's Black Bucket. I'll try not to make this a direct comparison, though they are near identical strengths, with Kinnegar's at 6.5% ABV and this one 6.4. It's not quite black though, more a dark brown and distinctly red around the margins when held to the light. From the first sip there's that beautiful burnt tarry bitterness I enjoy in these, matched with a perfect unctuous texture. Yet before it burns through the palate, the flavour immediately softens, exploding in a floral burst of rosewater and lavender. This doesn't fade out completely but is gradually replaced by a sharp grapefruit bitterness which forms the main part of the aftertaste. That mouthfeel means the whole flavour progression happens slowly and each element gets to fully unfold before the next one moves in. This is absolutely beautiful, with its extremely intense flavours and smooth drinkability. All the complex alchemy of great black IPA.

Also canned, 12 Dots is a collaboration with DOT's regular host brewery 12 Acres in Laois. It's a rye IPA of 6.7% ABV, pouring a bright and hazy orange colour. The flavour is fresh and sweet Seville orange, aided by a rich and full texture. There's a grassy bitterness with a pinch of pepper typical of rye, but the sweet fruit reasserts itself as soon as that arises. Despite the density this is a zingy and refreshing number, clean and balanced, exactly what a rye pale ale is supposed to be.

Next it's the fourth in DOT's tequila barrel series, the intriguingly named Barrel Aged Tequila Black. According to the blurb this started life as an "imperial Belgian ale" (not a style I'm familiar with) and had a full year in the casks. It came out at 10.8% ABV and, between this and the Belgian roots, I was shocked at how thin it was. That means the flavours don't get the platform that I think they need to perform. My first impression was of white wine, but turning quickly oxidised and more like medium-dry sherry after a moment or two. When the beer was still cold, that was pretty much the extent of its complexity; later it does offer some extra chocolate and black pepper, but no more substance. I can't believe I'm complaining that a beer of this strength needs beefing up, but it really does. While it's far from bad -- very far -- every sip made me think it could be better. Probably not constructive criticism but we'll all have to live with that. Next!

Rum Red Dark is basically an Irish red, aged in ex-rum whiskey casks. It's 8.9% ABV and a dark ruby colour, flat-looking on pouring with no real head. The flavour is sweet toffee and caramel with an underlying twang of old oak. I don't pick up whiskey but there's a certain vinous quality, like tawny port, perhaps. It never really escapes being a bit of a dull Irish red ale, despite the extra alcohol and barrel ageing. It's cruel to say, but there's a touch of Innis & Gunn about this. Not DOT's best work.

I had much higher hopes for Mad Imp imperial stout, created exclusively for Redmond's off licence in Ranelagh. No head worries here: it pours with a thick pillow of foam on top. It's 10.8% ABV and there's a lot of resin about it, bitter balsamic, like retsina. Floral lavender provides a lighter note, and then the concentrated herbal bittersweet taste comes back, accompanied by a wisp of smoke. There's only a little milk chocolate from the underlying stout and I think I'd have liked more of that. While it's undoubtedly a quality beer, there are too many bells and whistles and not enough attention to the fundamentals of imperial stout. At least there's no pastry.

The odd outlier here was the aptly named Why Not, a barrel aged lager. Going in I was sceptical that pale lager, of all styles, might be improved with a bit of whiskey barrel. I took the first sip before reading the label and got a definite kick of white grape, so was pleased to read that the barrel had contained Muscat wine before the distillery got its hands on it. There's a peppery spice too, and a green-cabbage noble hop bitterness, the clean profile lining these flavours up and delivering them one by one. Corky oak finishes it, but there's no spirit heat. I'm going to say this is interesting rather than good, and I don't think it's a real improvement on an ordinary decent lager. But I can see what's going on: it's not some Innis & Gunn-style oaky butterbomb, there really is a character that's all its own. I think your mileage will vary from mine on this, so probably best to ignore my review.

We round out this post with two more I discovered last week on the taps at Alfie Byrne's. Another tequila one came first: Barrel Aged Double Tequila which, despite the name, is actually lighter than the black one above, at 8.8% ABV. It's a dark red-brown and absolutely loaded with woody flavours: oak and pine in particular. Just when I thought that was going to be it, in drops some luscious ripe fruit: sweet strawberry and juicy grapes. I found myself wishing this side were more prominent. As-is, the splintery wood gets in the way of the subtleties without really bringing any charm of its own to the picture.

I had a better time with the beer beside it: Down Down, presumably a relative of the Double Down served at Big Grill, as the badge artwork is the same. As is the ABV, more or less, at 9.6% here, and it looks similar and tastes similar too. That's a wonderful mix of herbs and coconut, plus a spicy cedar complexity, some oaky white wine grape and a pinch of vanilla. It's smooth and big-bodied, much better suited to a grim winter's evening than a summer festival in the park.

DOT ends another year with a thought-provoking selection. I look forward to what's in store for 2019.

Breakfast for bastards

Maybe it's just me, but 8.3% ABV seems a bit strong for a breakfast beer. So it is with Founders Breakfast Stout, however, a viscous affair of the deepest densest black hue. It gloops out of the bottle, gradually forming a chocolate coloured head which fades away leaving just a thin loose layer of bubbles. The coffee used in the brewing process makes its presence felt in the aroma, with a distinct element of brown sugar in among the bitterness and roast. I was surprised by the texture: not as thick as it appears on pouring; surprisingly light and drinkable, in fact; smooth and clean, creamy without being palate-coating. More coffee and dark chocolate in the taste, as well as a mildly metallic hop twang as well. Almost as enjoyable is the lack of any putty flavour which often ruins oatmeal stouts for me. This is an elegant and balanced beer, but I think better suited to after-dinner drinking than pre-lunch.

Keeping the viscosity theme going, Founders also makes Dirty Bastard: an 8.5% ABV Scotch ale utilising smoked malts. Sounds just the sort of thing I like, but the execution is poor: the amount of residual sugar is off the scale, making it cloyingly sweet and sticky. The lovely phenols from the smoke come through as a sort of burnt plastic flavour. Bleurgh.

It's not clear whether Backwoods Bastard is simply a barrel aged version of it, only that I bought it for some reason. 10.2% ABV and a lurid limpid red it emits a powerful waft of boozy wood. The sweet-sour bourbon really dominates the flavour, being resinous and a little bit spicy. My perceptive other half says it tastes of coconut -- dark chocolate Bounty bars in particular -- and it would be remiss and neglectful of me not to pass that on. Either way, there's very little sign of the beer underneath, and merciful as that may be, overall I don't think it really works. I'd place it in the same bracket as the likes of Innis & Gunn and Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale: beers where the concept was given priority over the taste and the finished product suffers as a result. That said, it's far from undrinkable the way some of these beers can be, and there's a pleasant vinous, perhaps even port-like smoothness to the texture. Pair it with a sufficiently powerful cigar and this bastard might just prove enjoyable.

A curate's egg

I don't remember why I thought to buy a bottle of Innis & Gunn Triple Matured last October. As I recall it was relatively expensive at £3 for 33cl, and I didn't particularly like the original Innis & Gunn. Plus I'm always a bit stand-offish about contract-brewed beers which don't state clearly where they're made. Anyway, I came home from Newry with it and it's been sitting about the house ever since. Time to bite the oaken bullet.

The colour is a rather attractive dark red gold, and the nose is enticing, packed as it is with sweet, rich woody notes. The fun doesn't last long, however. Even from the first sip the sweet-sour oakiness is just too much -- filling the palate with nasty cloying flavours, with none of the subtle fruit or toffee promised on the box. There's some pleasant warmth from the high alcohol, but also a bit of a nasty stale cardboard buzz as well. And then it just stops: after swallowing there is no virtually no aftertaste. I'm amazed that such a whoppingly overflavoured ale, possessed of 7.2% ABV, is completely legless.

It's certainly a complex beer, but only a small proportion of its many elements are any way positive. Perhaps I would have been better off with some of what Lars had.

Flowers of Scotland

From Edinburgh comes Innis & Gunn, an exclusive-looking amber ale in a 33cl bottle. The unique selling point here is that it's aged for 77 days in whisky barrels which gives it a distinct oaky flavour as well as a scotch malt bitterness. This makes for a heady mix of strong flavours which I found a little overpowering, though there is a refreshing lightness at the back of the taste to stop it from taking over the palate entirely. Nevertheless, 33cl is enough of this one.

Of course, the Scots like their lager too, and the Harviestoun brewery make a fantastic one called Schiehallion. This beer has been very precisely crafted to just the right level of dryness and bitterness. There's a grainy complexity in the flavour too, making for a perfectly balanced lager. The same brewery make Bitter & Twisted which has a sharply bitter hops taste up front but again this is fine-tuned to keep it on the good side of tasty. The flavour is also tempered with a gentle lemony fruitness. Both of these Harviestoun beers are finely honed and plainly the work of people who know exactly what they're doing.

No run-down of Scottish beer would be complete without a return to an old favourite - Fraoch heather beer. There's really nothing else out there like this ale made from real heather. It's as easy to drink as any light ale or lager, but has an immesely complicated taste that defies description. Just try it.