This must be the place

When I ran the numbers for last year, it turned out I had drank more beers from DOT than any other producer. It's possibly not surprising as they're a busy lot, utilising multiple breweries for production (mostly Hope and Third Barrel these days) and having a cosy arrangement with Teeling Whiskey for the supply of interesting barrels. Company headquarters is not far from my house and I paid a visit last month in the company of some other Beoir members. Shane gave us a look inside the maturation and blending operations, as well as a few generous samples and previews of coming attractions to complement the year-to-date DOT stock already in my fridge.

That included their new Non-Alcoholic Fruit Ale, 0.3% ABV and a polished-copper pink colour. It really lays on the fruit, and I was picking up notes of Fanta orange, raspberry jam and tart juicy redcurrants at different points on the way through. It has a softly effervescent texture and an edge of soda-water dryness to balance the fruit. My usual point of assessment for beers of this strength are whether they taste convincingly like beer. This one sort-of does, though the heavy fruit presence makes it taste like a beer which doesn't taste much like beer. A win on a technicality. Anyway, this is an interesting addition to the range of non-alcoholic beers now available, and one that is genuinely enjoyable to drink.

It has a sibling too: Non-Alcoholic IPA. This is a hazy one, looking a little wan and watery in the glass. "Fruity aromatics" are promised, and it does indeed have more than a hint of the tropics about the nose. It goes a bit more northern on tasting, with pear the main flavour, accompanied by some gentle apple and honey. There's a sharp resinous burn on the finish which helps the whole thing be convincingly beer-like; likewise a rough grittiness that tastes very New-England to me. Indeed, this is a very rare example of a non-alcoholic beer that could pass for the real thing. It's certainly flavoursome, and while predominantly sweet, not unpleasantly worty. As long as you don't mind the slightly intrusive murk, this is well worth a go.

From virtually no alcohol to just a bit: Bad Behaviour is a micro IPA of 3.2% ABV. No compromise is apparent. Ordinarily I would be expecting a thin body and a harshness in the hopping but here it's full and rounded and proper, while the flavour is a multilayered mix of tropical pineapple and mango on a sweet vanilla base, spiced with clove and nutmeg A sprinkling of earthy, murky grit finishes it. I like what it does. Except for that slightly rough closing move, it's a clean and bright-tasting modern IPA. That the ABV is in its boots is to the good.

That arrived at the same time as Sour Smash, a mixed fermentation beer with raspberry and cherry. This is 4.4% ABV and properly red, like the Belgian summer-fruit beer of your choice. The base is very, well, basic: a dry and crisp wheat-cracker effort with minimal sourness, more like what passes for Berliner weisse in the craft world. On top of that is a thick and rich fruit-gum flavour, presenting the two advertised berries in abundance. It's simple summery fun, not at all a complex multi-strain Brussels-style job. It just misses the mark on being palate-cleansing because of the plentiful residual sugar. Perhaps something more voracious in the fermentation mix would improve it. 

Simply Simcoe proclaims the brewer, in an experiment with Cryopop hops: a lightly hazy IPA of 6% ABV. It smells very dank and weedy, but fresh with it, promising lots of tropical juice into the bargain. Orange-fleshed varieties come to mind on tasting: cantaloupe, guava and papaya. Although, quickly after the initial sweetness it turns very dry, with a chalky minerality in the finish. The soft texture that's typical of hazy IPA is absent, and in fact it's a bit thin. As a showcase for the hop, I'm sure it's doing its job; as an IPA for drinking, however, I found it quite severe. It needs bulking up with something to balance those hops.

The next IPA is a step down in strength to 5% ABV. It's called Thiol Toll so presumably uses that fancy new hop-boosting yeast. The hops in question are Nelson Sauvin and Idaho 7, so well worth boosting. It's an eggy yellow in the glass and smells quite hoppy but not very hoppy, of mango and red apple. The flavour is similarly understated, but clean, and the overall impression is of something refreshing and sessionable. There's a hint of Nelson's white grape and diesel on the finish, while the middle is a dry tannic effect, more like you'd find in English bitter than hazy IPA. Were it not for the specs I would be pleased with this, but I think I expected more of a hop boom from it. Where's the boost?

Before we go dark, a double IPA called Closing Time. This is hazy, 8.2% ABV and hopped with Centennial and Idaho 7 -- nothing there we haven't seen before. The aroma is nicely juicy, mandarins specifically, with only a faint brush of white onion to disturb it. My first impression on tasting was surprise at the light and drinkable texture and lack of heat. Even letting it warm up a little it doesn't get hot or any way boozy. I approve. The taste is still juice-driven and very low on bitterness: orange sherbet and mandarin pith. The alium hasn't gone away, however, and there's still a garlicky buzz in the finish. The cleanness saves it, however. Some may complain that it's a little bland for a powerhouse IPA; this snowflake appreciated its soft touch.

Brown not black and almost completely flat: the early signs weren't good for the Banyuls Barrel Aged Imp Stout that DOT produced for Redmond's of Ranelagh. Neither is a problem, however. The beer, a full 11.6% ABV, is still thickly textured and strongly flavoured, just as it should be. I have limited experience of Banyuls wine, preferring my dessert wine to be pale -- though I was still surprised how savoury and herbal this beer is, showing notes of rosemary, basil and wild garlic. That's not dessert at all, but I'm not really a dessert person. It's more like a vermouth-based aperitif, and the special effects are much more pronounced than the underlying beer: don't expect any coffee or toffee. It's quite delicious, though, and is a very grown-up sort of barrel-aged stout, avoiding all the clichés and heading in a direction of its own. DOT's Redmond's series have mostly been stellar and here's another which is.

Similarly flat was the eighth iteration of Joël's Barrel Aged Vietnamese Coffee Stout, produced each winter for Blackrock Cellar. This is 10.2% ABV but doesn't provide the richness which should come with that, being a little on the thin side. The coffee is front and centre, mixing sweet fondant with notes of cherry and hazelnut to begin, turning savoury and herbal late: cola and chicory. It's a bit strange how the low density also means little alcohol heat or sticky sweetness, but both of those are in the beer's favour, letting the ingredients do the talking. It's best to leave your expectations behind when opening this, and simply enjoy where it takes you.

Coming to the end of its in-can maturation time was Rum Red Dark Batch XV. As usual it's a strong red ale, and although the ABV varies, this one's 8.6% is shared by several previous iterations. Rum barrels feature in the blending, as do Teeling barrels of the regular and peated whiskey sorts. It does look a little young, quite opaque, a bit like a sample from the tank. The aroma is mildly sweet, offering glimpses of caramel and herbs, but nothing very loud. Despite the tall head it's quite smooth, full-bodied as befits the strength but not hot or heavy. The flavour is surprisingly subtle. Rolling it around I get the dark malt base of soft caramel and milk chocolate, studded with some fun summer fruits, strawberry in particular. And then gently seasoned with spices of oak, nutmeg and white pepper. I was expecting a crazy powerhouse of crystal malt and whiskey but it's much more genteel than that, one for slow sipping and patient exploration.

We finish back at the barrel store, and a sneaky taster of a beer destined primarily for export: Oak Conditioned Extra Milk Stout. Many a brewery would call this "imperial" rather than just "extra" as it's 9.2% ABV. For all that, it's not the most complex of creatures, opening with a straightforward coffee aroma and tasting sweet and smooth, as one might expect, though without any heat from the alcohol. The wood does add a little character of its own, by turns a fresh and sappy wood tang, but also an old-leather buzz in the aftertaste. On the one hand I'm not sure these are positive additions; on the other they do prevent you from drinking it too quickly. For the most part, this is a decent and unfussy beer, doing what it says in the name without going overboard.

A huge thanks to Shane for accommodating the visit, and on this showing I wouldn't be surprised if DOT is my most-drank brewer for 2023 as well. I will certainly keep buying the beers.

Casks from the Cellar

2021's doubtless plentiful sequence of DOT beers begins with this bunch, all launched in the dying days of last year. No IPAs this time -- we're going all-in with barrelly darkness.

The first is an exclusive to Blackrock Cellar, picked up on a sunny pre-Christmas spin to the coast. The big can is Taking Liberties, a barrel-aged red ale of 7.9% ABV. It needs a strong light source behind it to appear red, being otherwise stout-black. The aroma is sweet and slightly vinous: a touch of port and maybe some dark sherry. A lovely smooth texture and faint carbonation helps that sense, though the silky, creamy, milk chocolate foretaste brings us back to beer. The whiskey barrel elements are on the down-low, bringing a mild oak and toffee-pudding warmth to the second half, with a touch of sweet smouldering turf. While it's maybe a little plain given the heft and density, it can't be accused of being overdone. A nice bit of mellow winter fare.

I thought it would be interesting to compare this immediately with a more established DOT red. Rum Red Dark is now on edition number V. This is a blend of III and IV, neither of which I'd tasted, plus some fresh beer. The barrels are whiskey again, but ex-rum, of course. It's still pretty dark but a fair bit paler than the previous. And despite being stronger -- 8.6% ABV -- it's lighter and much more easy-going. There's a freshness to the flavour, a summery hum of strawberry, raspberry and sweet cherries. The age only really shows in the finish where there's a mature and musky oak spice, and that's what the aroma offers too. There's an almost sour briskness of a Flanders red in the smell. Neither whiskey nor rum make any obvious contribution to the picture, though I'm sure they play a part in a more subtle way. This wasn't what I was expecting, and I'm glad I wasn't hoping for a fireside sipper. I was quite content with some unseasonal summer sunshine in my glass, however.

It's back to Blackrock for the finisher, another annual reiteration. Joël's Barrel Aged Vietnamese Coffee Stout first appeared in these pages in 2018 when batch II was 6.9% ABV. Batch VI sees it grown to a strapping 8.95% ABV. The coffee is much more pronounced, though it's still smooth and sweet, with creamy vibes of Irish coffee and tiramisu. The wine thing is back: drier this time, more grape skin than flesh. Throw in a gin and tonic and you'd have all the drinks for a three-course meal. Again it's light-textured for the strength, and this time I would have preferred a bit more dessertish weight. Nevertheless, it's a fun beer and makes good use of both coffee and barrel ageing while still not going overboard on either.

This was a fun session, and showed lots of different things barrel-ageing can do, even in broadly similar strong dark beers. That my palate wasn't clogged with booze and vanilla by the end is a testament to DOT's skills.

Got DOT

Dublin's DOT Brew had a busy 2017, finishing with a rake of new releases. To show how far behind I am in writing about them, the first in today's overdue catch-up post is the Autumn: Seasons of Saison release. This one is 5.8% ABV, making it the lightest of series, and includes rye in the recipe. It's a handsome clear gold colour topped by a fine tight foam. The aroma is fruity but clean. I get white grape in particular. It tastes much more savoury than that: there's a smokiness at the front of the flavour, then sweeter apple and pear behind. I found it a bit harsh overall, and the busy fizz is distracting. The finish is a burnt plastic burr that didn't suit me at all. While its fruity side is tantalising, the rest, too much of it, is interference.

But that was merely prologue to the grand finale of Seasons of Saison: Winter. The biggest of the lot at 7.2% ABV, obsidian black and aged in both a whiskey and a port barrel. It's dry, but makes you work to find the saison characteristics after that. There's a very stout-like roast, and then a tar-and-tobacco bitterness. I think I get a touch of dark grape from the port pipe, as well as a more saison-specific peppery spice. Although there's plenty of sparkle it's still beautifully smooth, and I think that's what fits it best for winter: the fact that it's comforting and sippable; a saison for a quiet evening in. It's certainly very different from your typical saison, and manages that without doing anything silly, which is commendable. It was a fun series and I look forward to where DOT's saison adventures go next.

My adventures, meanwhile, brought me to Idlewild. The Fade Street cocktail bar had worked with DOT to create a beer that tasted like a cocktail, specifically, an Old Fashioned. Real Friends was the name: 10.7% ABV with rye, a convoluted combination of botanicals, some orange, and aged a whopping 15 months in bourbon barrels. I can't tell you how closely it resembles an Old Fashioned as I've never had one; I can tell you that it tastes nothing like a beer. It arrived flat and headless, a grim murky brown colour, with a thin texture to match. My impression on first tasting was of a Negroni: that dry rasp, accompanied by an explosion of vermouth-like bitters. Oily aniseed is most prominent, evaporating up into the nostrils for a very wintery sort of refreshment. The fruit and the oak vanilla follow afterwards, though the finish is quick. Once you get past the strangeness, it's a very enjoyable beer, and I had a second straight after my first. I'd normally criticise this sort of thing for being unbeerlike, except this is so unbeerlike as to be superb on its own terms. Daring doesn't begin to cover what DOT has assembled here.

Before turning to the bottled line-up, a beer I thought I was going to miss out on as it was created as a bottled special for Blackrock Cellar, an off licence that's just too far out of my way for hunting a single beer. Then lo and behold it arrived on draught at 57 The Headline where I could enjoy a dirty great pint of it. Joel's Barrel Aged Vietnamese Coffee Stout Batch II (I did miss the first batch in 2016) is a blend of a dark ale with an imperial stout. Both components were barrel aged separately, the stout with additional coffee beans and espresso, and the results came out at 6.9% ABV. I was expecting it to go big on coffee but it's actually quite restrained, light bodied and with a pleasingly low carbonation. Milk chocolate and rosewater are the primary flavours, like a Turkish delight from the Milk Tray box. There's a slight whiskey burn in the finish but it's mild, more like the whisky component in Drambuie or Irish Mist than anything neat. It's very sweet, and yet not cloying, presumably because of that lightness of body. I really enjoyed my pint, and came away happily reminded that massively intricate dark beers can be created without resorting to syrupy booze bombs.

Another spirit barrel comes out to play in DOT 013: Belgian Blonde Aged In An Irish Single Malt Ex White Rum Barrel, with its stellar label designed by Aran Brazil. The title preempts anything I have to say before tasting, other than it's 7% ABV and turns out a hazy orange colour with a rather plain oak aroma. The flavour is pithy, with a spritz of orange zest, fading quickly without much behind it. As it warms, more of the oak comes out, as well as savoury yeast and an alcohol burn, and the whole thing is a bit too heavy and serious for my liking. Perhaps this is where a wine barrel would work better than a rum barrel. I'm thinking of recent beers like Eight Degrees's The Oak King, YellowBelly's Kind Of A Big Deal or DOT's own Champagne Beer, where the barrel gave the base Belgian-style beer a fresh and fruity lift. This lacks that, and seems bogged down on the sugar cane plantation. A near miss, then.

A big beast follows next: Barrel Aged Cab Sauv Grain Rye. "But you already had this!" I hear you exclaim, referring back to DOT's first birthday last year. Foolish child, that was the Barrel Aged Cab Sauv Malt Rye. Grain is completely different, and 0.1% ABV stronger, at 9.6%. It's the same dark red-brown, mind, with a nose of toasted malt loaf. It has the same flavour of booze-soaked cherries as the malt one, though seems tarter, almost veering towards vinegar notes. The rye adds a distinct acidic bitterness that I don't care for and the whole thing would benefit from some maturation, or possibly just being served colder. There's a lot going on in it, but no one element takes the reins. Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised that it's more of an abstract painting than a portrait.

The finale is the one that nabbed DOT the prestigious Irish Whiskey Society award for best barrel-aged beer in 2017, and it's only 4.6% ABV! Single Grain Cab. Sauv. Session Ale is the name, or 012 if you're keeping count that way. It's a whiskey-ish honey amber colour, topped with a generous pure white head. Wood in the aroma again, this time with grape must and piercing spicy incense. That wine element is a major feature of the flavour, and it surprises me slightly that the whiskey heads would be into it: there's no spirit in the flavour that I can detect. I get smoky malt coupled with juicy white grape and a bitter herbal backing track featuring thyme and desiccated coconut. For all the panoply of flavours it is actually sessionable: nothing tries to dominate the palate or hangs around too long, though the carbonation is a smidge high. Possibly not the amazing finisher I was expecting, but a very good beer to go out on.

I'd hazard a wild guess that there will be more barrelly shenanigans from DOT later in 2018. Stay tuned.