Too far down with the kids

Creative and unexpected moves has always been the stock-in-trade at Rascals Brewery -- the clue is in the name -- but I really wasn't expecting their latest gambit. I'm taking it as an indicator of the ongoing decline of "craft beer" as it was once known. For one thing, the brewery logo is as small as they can make it on the packaging, suggesting not quite disavowal, but certainly a different angle from usual. And secondly, Chido is purportedly a Mexican-style pale lager with added lime zest, sold by the six-pack of 33cl clear glass bottles. For those unfamiliar with how beer is sold in Ireland, the bottled multipack format belongs exclusively to imports, at least since Eight Degrees tried and abandoned it almost two decades ago. But I'm quite prepared to believe that it's something that might work now, as beer transitions away from involved and fancy towards simple and familiar.

I began by testing it within its intended context. It was a sunny day and I was thirsty. I drank it cold from the bottle and it was fine: no more or less offensive than any of the beers it's designed to emulate. I was afraid it might have Desperados-levels of fruit-syrup sweetness, but it doesn't. Maize is listed on the ingredients, and that helps keep it crisp and bland. 4% ABV is lighter than the competition, and overall it was perfectly refreshing. Poured out, head retention is naturally not part of the spec, and it doesn't look anything like as attractive, taking on a greenish hue. The lime makes it smell rather sticky, but again, it isn't meant to be smelled. Slow and considered tasting led to increasing annoyance at the maize's corn-husk twang. The beer still isn't sticky, but it has the wrong kind of dryness, tasting cheap and overly processed, then watery in the finish. The lime is unobtrusive, but doesn't add fresh zing, more a sort of dull sourness. Cold from the bottle is very much the way to go here, take it or leave it.

One final point to add is that it isn't cheap. I paid €15 for the six-pack, which places it at a premium compared to the imports it's copying. We're not doing craft beer here, so why are customers still expected to pay the craft tax? I'm no expert on Gen Z, but if they do want this kind of thing, might they prefer it in standard cans for less money? While market analysis is really not my area, I can't see this being a success.

On more familiar ground, in late March I was summonsed to Rascals to assist with the finals of the National Homebrew Club's annual competition. Over lunch, I tried out two new offerings at the brewery bar. Pilot #148 is described as a Tropical Pale Ale, and I took it that this was a reference to the hops it used. That seemed to be the case with the big and sweet pineapple foretaste, and there was an oily element too, which I took to be coconut -- they're tropical -- but seems to have actually been lime. I often mix those two up, and assume they're chemically similar. A glance at the menu told me that this is brewed with real pineapple, and lime, and apricot too, though I couldn't taste any of the latter. It's a loud and simplistic beer, and a little heavy for only 4.9% ABV, but the citrus gives it a refreshing bite. If you don't mind a little syrup in your pale ale, it's an acceptable one. I wouldn't be surprised to see it graduate past pilot and into full production for the summer.

That the Rascals pilot scheme is actually in the business of trying out recipes, and not simply making small runs for the taproom, was indicated by the next beer. Pilot #149 is a Non-Alcoholic Pale Ale, and I doubt anyone tried making one of these just for fun. I'm guessing Rascals is gearing up to put one in regular production. Well, this is a candidate. It's not perfect, and is as watery as it looks: the wan hazy yellow colour matching a thin body and a flavour which tails off quickly. But before that, the hops make themselves known, with a fun and spritzy lemon flavour, akin to barley water or soluble vitamins. All it needs to be convincing, I reckon, is a bit more body. I'm sure there's a spare bag of lactose somewhere on the Rascals premises.

Together, a party lager and an alcohol-free beer suggest that a change of ethos may be afoot at Rascals. Or, perhaps more accurately, they're sticking close to the target market of young drinkers that they've always had, but the demands of that segment have changed. I hope there's still room for old-person craft beer in their brewing schedule.

Fresh start

Here we go then. The new beers of 2026 start at the Rascals taproom at the beginning of February. Or rather, outside it. The bar and pizzeria in Inchicore was doing a roaring trade on bank holiday Sunday so I had to make do with a perch outside. That they're doing well in these straitened times gave me enough of a warm glow to offset the chill.

The long-running Pilot series is largely what we're about. Pilot #146: Belgian Dubbel is a little on the light side at just 6.8% ABV. It's pale too, more amber than the expected dark brown. First sip indicated that they've missed some targets here, and the gravity in particular. It's inappropriately thin, lacking malt weight and alcoholic warmth. The Belgian yeast did its job, however, delivering lots of esters, with red apple to the fore, followed by tannic raisin and sweet grape. It's a near miss. While not a bad beer, it offers so much of dubbel's fruity fun but without enough substance to make it properly enjoyable. But that's what pilot breweries are for. Hopefully somebody else noticed what went wrong and will fix it should they choose to scale up the recipe.

You wait forever for Dublin 8 to produce one pistachio stout then two come along at once. Open Gate's landed late last year, and here's Rascals with Pilot #148: Pistachio Stout. This is 6% ABV and quite light with it, plus I'm not sure there's any identifiable pistachio. Nuts, yes: there's a slightly earthy, peanut-butter effect, and a degree of hazelnut crunch, but with lots of vanilla too. Pistachio ice cream, maybe? I had hoped for a hefty, creamy stout, and this isn't that. But it's tasty. If you like your novelty beers low-key, and you should, this fits. It doesn't even need to be relegated to dessert, even if it's technically a smidge strong for session drinking.

Last up on draught was Bullseye Export, a supercharged version of the session-strength stout Rascals launched in 2024, boosting the ABV from 4% to 6.5%. Although that's only a tiny bit stronger than the previous beer, this one had the satisfying density that the other stout lacked -- and that's despite it being served carbonated rather than nitrogenated here. Its heady booze vapours added to the sense of something luxurious, and maybe a bit naughty. There's roast aplenty too, of the savoury, meaty sort. I was ready for a smack of old-world hop bitterness from the flavour, but it didn't go that way, unfortunately. In fact, it's quite sweet, giving further hazelnuts and lots of toffee and butterscotch. That turned it a bit cloying, and I think I dodged a bullet by not having nitro gloop to contend with as well. I'm sure it will have fans, but I'm not among them. It's not a bad beer and isn't offensive per se, just not how I prefer this kind of thing to be done.

Other commitments meant I didn't have time to finish with a glass of the new Mosaic IPA but I picked up a can before leaving. This is actually a 2025 release, having been around since August, apparently, but this the first time I've seen it. The Italian text on the can suggests it may be primarily for export. It was fresh, showing a packaging date of December and smelling magnificently of fresh fruit salad, which is exactly what I want when I see "MOSAIC" writ large on a can. The flavour follows logically from that, but intensifies it considerably. There's a powerfully punchy bitterness, more pith than flesh, finishing on a very west-coast rasp of pine acidity. In front of it, the pineapple and passionfruit are still there, albeit briefly. The bigness of the flavour is doubtless aided by its 6.3% ABV. It has a certain amount in common with that other Irish Mosaic showcase, Little Fawn, lacking that one's accessibility but making up for it in poke. It's clear and pale too, so is recommended to all the west coast revivalists out there. Since it seems to be in regular production, it would be nice if it were more available locally. We could do with a few more beers like this in circulation.

Is this the year my allegiances change from stout to IPA? That seems unlikely but it's still early days.