Two cans of what if

Lineman is a brewery best known for its straight-up right-on interpretations of classic beer styles. It's something I have massive appreciation for, so was a little wary when things took a turn for the experimental recently.

Electric Avenue Number 1 is an IPA and claims to be the first in a series of experiments with the style. It doesn't look like other breweries' experimental IPAs, being a near perfect clear golden colour with an even white head. Cascade and Centennial hops are long past their experimental phase, and Strata isn't exactly daring or weird either. I shouldn't quibble, though, because the beer is lovely. I expected bitter but it's highly perfumed, smelling of exotic jasmine and honeysuckle. The flavour is as clean as the beer looks, mixing incense spice with bubblegum candy, trailing off on blueberry, lychee and nectarine. 6% ABV gives the fruit and flowers plenty of base to work from. It's a sunny and summery sort of IPA, intense and a little heavy, but not difficult. The experiment was a success.

The imperial IPA Rabbit Hole is a different sort of experiment. The blurb says it was an attempt to create a beer with features from three sub-varieties: west coast, east coast and red. It certainly looks red in the glass, with a muddy sort of haze. The red liquorice rope of red IPA is apparent in the aroma, though there's a fresh and sharp side too, almost acrid, and I'm guessing that's the west coast. I get a crisp burntness on the foretaste, which isn't something I'd expect to find in IPA of any stripe. Summer berries -- strawberry and cherry -- come next, and the luscious sweetness is where east coast IPA enters the picture, as much about the soft texture as the actual taste. The finish is a little harsh: boiled spinach and cabbage, shading towards rubber. Thankfully that's brief, and hard candy is the only residual aftertaste. Once again the high ABV -- 8% this time -- serves to accentuate everything. I wouldn't necessarily deem this experiment a huge success. It's very much a red IPA at its core and you need to enjoy that style to enjoy this. The attempt to bring in aspects of other IPAs seems a bit, well, efforty, and more suited to home brewing. The end result is OK, but a little busy and unbalanced.

Was I right to be wary? Let's wait for the second Electric Avenue before passing judgement. Meanwhile, Undertone dark lager and Torrent porter are also out and about at the moment, if you're wanting some safer high quality.

Streaming service

A new pair from new Dublin brewer Lineman today, with some stylish new can branding.

I began with Torrent, a straight-up, no nonsense, no gimmicks porter of 5.2% ABV. Given the success of the brewery's Astral Grains stout, I had high hopes. Chocolate is the main feature here, sweet and creamy, in both the aroma and foretaste. After this there's a nutty bite, some coconut sweetness and a jolt of espresso on the end. That's enough, I think. Nothing complicated or weird; a good balance between the sweet and bitter sides. Pretty much everything you should want from a porter. Any chance of a cask?

The companion piece is a similarly straight-up, no-foolin', west coast IPA called Zephyr. It really does channel San Diego classics like Sculpin right from the beginning. It's a pale golden shade and smells sharply of grapefruit pith and peel. That squeaky dry citrus is front and centre in the flavour throughout, with just enough malt roundness to propel the hops on their way. It's 6% ABV but could pass for a degree or so more, with plenty of substance and even a little heat. Time was, I would have found something like this unpleasantly bitter and hard to take. Now it's a welcome change from the more recent trend for soft and sweet IPAs. This one tastes finished.

Could Lineman be our saviour from the stylistic silliness that continues to infect beer in Ireland and beyond? Recent releases suggest it just might be.