Where's your hops at?

Back when new Irish pale ales cascaded onto the market on a near daily basis, I started a programme of reviewing them in big batches, for efficiency. Today, new ones still get collected this way, but it seems to be taking longer and longer to gather enough for a new substantial post. I began drinking today's baker's dozen in early March.

First up, it's a brand new brewery for me. Great Eastern Brewing has been running a taproom bar in Wicklow Town for a couple of years now, but this is the first time I've seen their beer canned. It's called simply Citra Pale Ale and is 4.3% ABV. They've gone haze, and quite a deep amber colour with it. The aroma is bright and fresh, all zested oranges with a hint of vanilla. Although it has the proper roundedness of hazy hoppy beer, it stays light, and the flavour is beautifully clean. It's a simple one: just mildly bitter citrus again, and a degree of oily herbal resin. It shows that this was created for a brewpub as it's very sessionable and quite undemanding, but at the same time is a well-made example of what it is, with no brewing flaws or poor recipe decisions, something that isn't the case for every fledgling Irish brewery. Great Eastern appears to know what it's doing and I wish it well.

I've had various versions of the TwoSides summer pale ale on here over the years. Two Yards: New Zealand Pale is, by my count, the ninth they've done, brewed as usual at Third Barrel. The ABV is a non-changing 4.3%, and it's pale and hazy: another core feature. We're on the frivolous side of the Kiwi hop harvest here (Motueka and Nectaron), with the brightly tropical aroma. The flavour follows up with an almost intense pineapple candy sweetness, alongside guava, cantaloupe and passionfruit for good measure. Low strength means a quick finish, but it's clean, with no grit or dregs. The best versions of Two Yards are sunny sessioners, made for al fresco pints at Brickyard. This edition is absolutely one of those.  

Wicklow Wolf has done another of its collaborations with companies that aren't natural collaborees, this time it's Outwest, a clothing firm, and the beer is a "west coast trail ale" which seems like it might fit. It, too, is called Outwest, and is 4.5% ABV. The clarity is top notch, pouring a bright and sunny golden. Floral perfume and sweet ripe summer fruit form the aroma, and there's lots of concentrated flower action in the flavour. That gives it quite an intense taste, and not in the citrus and pine manner I was expecting. Although the beer is light, I found it a little tough to drink, the perfume gumming up my palate while the pale malt doesn't provide the cleansing crispness I think this beer needs. It will have its fans but it's not for me. More fun to brew than to drink, perhaps.

Galway Bay, in collaboration with American brewery NoFo, has created a self-proclaimed tribute to New Zealand's hops, with a pale ale called Southern Weather. It's a pale and hazy affair, in the modern fashion, and a full 5% ABV. The aroma is fabulously tropical, with promises of passionfruit and pineapple fully delivered on by the combination of four Kiwi hop varieties. That's where the flavour opens, too, on a bright cheery chord of harmonious fruit salad. A slightly more serious herbal bitterness follows that up, where I think the NZ Cascade and Nelson Sauvin take over from Motueka and Pacific Sunrise. None of the effect lasts very long, however, and it all tails off into watery fizz a little too quickly for my liking, especially given the fluffy haze credentials. It's very enjoyable while it's there, however, so I'm not really complaining. As a hop showcase it performs the task it has been given very well. 

Is there any phrase more stirring to the human soul than "retail collaboration"? DOT's latest is with Martin's Off Licence in Fairview and is a New England-style IPA called Fully Charged: 5% ABV again. Pale and hazy? Check. It looks like thinly-spread lemon curd and smells like a beachside cocktail bar, a mélange of diced tropical fruit turning ripe in the sun. It's a psyche-out that the flavour opens with citrus: a sharp ping of lemon zest. The New England side takes a moment to catch up with that, eventually adding the mango and mandarin from the aroma, and the vanilla custard from the style spec. Bitterness reasserts itself in the finish, where the chewy pith and pine resin send us on a short trip to the West Coast. Because I liked this, I immediately went hunting for flaws, but all I could come up with is a very mild rasp of chalk or grit, and I really had to look for it. This is a hazy IPA for the sceptics: full of the bitter charms of "proper" IPA with a distinctly New England tropical seam and minimal brewing flaws. If you normally eschew this style but are willing to give it an occasional chance, and if you're in the Dublin 3 area, give this one a shot.

May Bank Holiday saw Ballykilcavan farm hosting the Greenfields music festival, and the brewery created The Greenfields Festival IPA to mark the occasion. It's an amber fellow; lightly hazed and 5.5% ABV. Not much happens in the aroma, beyond a light citrus spritz, and the flavour is similarly understated, at first anyway. The gentle lemon notes fade quickly, but before I could decide it's a damp squib, there's a growing and persistent bitterness -- earthy and tangy, suggesting Cascade hops to me -- and then a dry tannic quality. I'm reminded a little bit of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, albeit with a little less punch. The decision to make it on the strong side for the style was a wise one: there's full-bodied smoothness here, without which it might run the risk of turning harsh. As is, it's a very decent and classically formulated American-style pale ale, one which doesn't need to be kept icy cold, and can be quaffed quickly or sat over, as the occasion demands. Ideal for an outdoor event, then, but pretty good in general. 

Citra, Mosaic and Sabro are the hops which Third Barrel has put into Shout!, which sounds very much in the brewery's wheelhouse, and likewise that it's a 6.8% ABV hazy IPA. "Juicy" says the label, and it smells intensely sweet, though more of vanilla and orange ice pops than pure juice. The flavour doesn't exactly pop with juice either, but does something more grown up instead. There's a wide seam of pithy citric bitterness, overlaid with oily coconut flesh and a fine dusting of ground black pepper, adding a heat that's part alcohol and part yeasty spice. The sweet vanilla arrives late, dampening the bitterness and softening the beer's whole effect. It works. This is hazy with balance, showcasing bright and fresh hops, but in the cuddly, fluffy context of modern murk. It would be hard work to find something to dislike here.

The latest in Kinnegar's limited edition series is Brewers At Play 49: Fresh Hop West Coast IPA. "West Coast" I can believe, because it was brewed in Donegal, but I suspect "Fresh Hop" is a reference to the very unfresh processed hop product that Yakima Chief is currently shilling. Words used to mean something. 5.9% ABV is blousey for an Irish IPA, though low for authentic west-coast. I liked the medium amber colour, however, and can forgive the slight mistiness: it's unfiltered rather than hazy. The aroma brings a beautiful combination of lightly toasted malt and an earthy, spicy Cascade effect, doing a great job of channelling the mighty American IPAs of yore. The flavour expands on that, with an almost gunpowder level of sparky spice: piney resin meeting smouldering incense. There's a fresh(ish) oily citrus quality, and a sweeter side that's not quite crystal malt's caramel, but a gentle layer of golden syrup or runny toffee. While I wouldn't say it's balanced, its tilt towards the hops is beautifully done. I remain sceptical about the "fresh" claims, but as a representative of the west coast revival trend, it's a flag-carrier. Get some of this if you miss those old resinous beauties.

Rye River's Miami J hazy IPA is a regular spring fixture, but this year they've given it a new hairstyle, using Prysma as product. It's a "liquid hop flavor platform", which doesn't sound very steady, but claims it can make the beer taste of all the hops with none of the bitterness. That seems like a good idea for hazy IPA. The problem, however, is that the beer isn't all juicy and tropical. It's gritty and savoury, which creates a different kind of bitterness, while the sweetness is all vanilla esters and no fruit. I looked hard for some hop brightness but none was forthcoming, and I found only a weird raw and leafy green vegetable twang. This isn't the first time Rye River has used Miami J as a laboratory for BarthHaas's processed hop products: they did it back in 2022 as well, with similarly underwhelming results. This is altogether too rough and earthy to be enjoyable as an IPA, let alone one with purported hop superpowers. Back to basics for 2027, please.

I drank that back-to-back with Whiplash's Acid Raindrops, a collaboration with Seattle brewery Feast Fashion: similarly 6.5% ABV and just as pale and hazy. Comparison was inevitable, and this has a similar level of vanilla sweetness, but lacks the dreggy grit which marred the previous one. Still, hop fruit isn't a big part of it. A little peach, maybe, but thoroughly drenched in cream. It's extremely smooth and glides off the palate, leaving behind only a faint peppery spice. €5.75 for the can isn't extremely expensive by the standards of these thing in these parts these days, but I would have liked more depth of flavour and more proper hop impact. This doesn't deliver on what I understand to be the principal thing which hazy IPA is supposed to do -- big fresh hops -- and falls down in a quite stereotypical way for the style. It's not offensively bad or anything, but does get filed with the other low-energy beers Whiplash has been turning out recently. And no, I don't think some proprietary hop extract product will help that.

Brewers from Nautile in Nantes were in Dublin recently and one port of call was Hope, where they contributed to the brewing of an IPA. Groac'h is named after the Breton sea-witch who, legend says, curses anyone who makes smeary AI images of her. The can doesn't tell us what kind of IPA it is, so it was a surprise to find it amber coloured and mostly clear. West coast? Damn straight. The pithy aroma is an early giveaway; sharply citric, with added crisp leafy vegetables. No fruit salad here. An authentically American 7% ABV gives it weight and depth, but the flavour is not about that malt. A hard, raw, invigorating bitterness is the main feature, including all the typical elements in parallel: zesty lime and grapefruit, oily pine and fresh spinach leaves. And while it may not have the pleasing crystalline clarity of the best West Coast IPA, the modest haze makes no encroachment on the flavour. You can take it from me that this is old-school IPA of the best kind. The anti-haze mob should be buying it in quantity -- who knows when we'll see this sort of beer again?

The latest hazy IPA from Lineman is an IPA called White Noise. It's a full 7% ABV and moderately murked, topped with a head of rocky white foam. The aroma is broadly tropical, but very similar to a million other beers of this type. Citra, Ekuanot and Maui Nelson are the hops, the latter of which is a new one for me. Turns out it's not a hop, but another of those fancy extract products. Its manufacturer says it delivers pineapple, and pineapple is very much delivered in the flavour here. It's not extremely sweet, which is good, but it's not exactly multi-dimensional either. Apricot and white plum, maybe? Otherwise it's quite a generic tropical character. Which isn't to say it's a bad beer. This is beautifully refreshing and dangerously session-coded. Once I gave up trying to pick the flavour apart, I was quite content to neck it, and enjoyed doing so. This is a super-clean IPA brewed to Lineman's usual high standards, and aptly named.

In the absence of any double IPAs for this round, I'm finishing on a black one, again from Lineman. I Might Be Wrong is 6.5% ABV and headlines Citra, Mosaic and Columbus hops. I thought dankness might result from that, but we seem to be on the New England side of black IPA, alas. There's no hard bitterness, and instead a softer peach and plum flavour with a seasoning of red summer berries is all that the hops do. Similarly, there's little by way of roast, only a mild toasty bite at the very end. Where you get your money's worth is the texture: it's beautifully smooth and very easy to drink. That's not what I, personally, want from a black IPA -- give me the bite -- but I accept it's a valid approach. Black IPAs are rare and to be treasured, not nit-picked. But maybe ramp up the dank next time, yeah? For me.

I'll draw a line under proceedings there, and hope there'll be enough for another round-up before too long. On a statistical note, this is quite a good showing for the west-coast style beers. The revival seems to be bubbling along steadily, which is a positive sign.

Krushing it

I'm due to post another of my round-ups of assorted Irish pale ales soon, and these three are offcuts from that work in progress. Third Barrel tends to do hoppy and hazy at a pace, so it's unsurprising that I was able to separate out three for their own entry. 

First up is Concrete Jungle, and another poorly realised AI streetscape adorns the can. Though a substantial 5.9% ABV, it's pale and hazy, looking all fluffy and innocent. Enigma, Idaho 7 and Hallertau Blanc hops had me expecting some softly fruity fun. But there's a kick to this: the aroma is quite pithy, while the flavour does have a significant citric bite, especially right before the finish. Ahead of that, it shows the grape-and-gooseberry white wine effect of H. Blanc in particular, with Enigma's spritzy satsuma plus a more serious diesel minerality. Its mouthfeel is as soft as it looks, and there is no interference from the haze: no earth, no grit. This is almost as good as hazy IPA gets. The fruit flavours could stand to be a little brighter, but they perform adequately in this understated mode as well. 

By the badly rendered palm tree (?) I'm guessing that the latest version of Two Yards is meant to taste tropical. This iteration of the hazy pale ale produced by Third Barrel for Two Sides is made with Strata and Cryo Pop, and the ABV stays at its usual 4.3%. It smells more citric than tropical, though still sweet, like mandarin or tangerine. That's pretty much how the flavour goes too, with a certain amount of pithy bitterness balancing the juice. I get a bit of oily coconut in the background, so maybe that qualifies it on the tropical front. Once again, happily, the haze doesn't interfere with the flavour but does add body, so you get a full and smooth texture to go with your mini oranges. A can at home was enjoyable but I'd say it comes into its own on the sunny front terrace of its home pub, Brickyard.

A double IPA and a triple collaboration finishes us off. Krush Proof is a joint project with Third Barrel's fellow west Dubs Lineman, and some suspicious out-of-towners called Rock City, from the Netherlands. I've remarked previously that Krush is a promising new hop, and isn't it a shame that hop hype is a thing of the past? Maybe I liked the bullshit. Anyway, tropical is the game of the name here, from the concentrated mango aroma to the guava and pineapple-in-syrup foretaste, it's pure sunshine. Not in an innocent and carefree way, though: it tastes and feels all of the 8.1% ABV and more. Allied with the fruit is a delicious contrasting spice, suggesting grapefruit skin and white pepper. It never gets busy, however, and while I would stop short of calling something so viscous "clean", nothing is out of place for a hop-showcase double IPA. You are left in no doubt that this is a strong beer, to be sipped slowly. Sharing a 440ml can with a fellow hophead wouldn't be unreasonable. On this showing, Krush is still top of the hops for now, but I remember when I used to think of Mosaic like this.

In conclusion, and to the surprise of nobody who has been paying attention, Third Barrel is still acing the whole hop thing. Whiplash has the reputation among Dublin breweries brewing this kind of beer, and of course their branding is excellent and ethical. As regards the liquid, however, I think Third Barrel has been making better stuff recently.

Hop whirl summer

It's pale ale round-up time again. Let's see what the nation's hop slingers and haze merchants had for us in the first half of Summer '22.

We'll begin at Third Barrel and an ickle 4%-er called, in responsible fashion, Day Drinkin. Simcoe is the hop and it's very much in tropical mode, starting with mango and pineapple in the aroma, turning a little bitterer and more resinous on tasting, but not by much. Although the texture is as light as one might expect, it's not watery, showing a soft fluffiness commensurate with its haze, and a pleasingly long pithy finish. As such, this is a real best-of-both-worlds job, bringing the full flavour you get from decent New England IPA while still being genuinely sessionable. I've no idea if they intend to keep this in the range but I think it could have a place there.

Kinnegar keeps the session going with another one at that strength: Brewers At Play 24: Summer Ale. There's a lighter touch on the murk here, though it's not completely clear. The aroma doesn't have much to say; a slightly savoury crispness, like bread crusts. The flavour is more interesting. Instead of piling in the hops like Third Barrel they've added citrus peel which gives it a real-tasting orangey zestiness. That's pretty much all it does, however. I reckon they're using its easy-going summer drinkability as a rationale for not making it very complex, however I think there's still room to pull interesting moves at this strength. Regardless, if simple unfussy refreshment is the goal, they have achieved it. Drink it cold, however: that underlying breadiness does the fruit no favours as it warms.

Meanwhile, Ireland's sunniest pale ale is back for another summer. Two Yards, collaboratively brewed at Third Barrel for 57 the Headline and Brickyard, looks like it's been given a recipe tweak, with Citra and Simcoe proclaimed on the can, though the hotside hopping is Strata and Centennial. Despite those dank and bitter aroma hops it still smells fabulously tropical. You get a little pinch of limey citrus on tasting but lots of juice too. The only spoiler is the dry and chalky murk grit which seems to be an unfortunate consequence of the soft New England texture. It's still pretty good though, and fully meets the remit of being an easy-drinking 4.3% ABV pale ale with bags of flavour.

The "session IPA" category gets stretched to its alcohol limit with the new one from Lough Gill. Hazy Seisiún is a sizeable 4.8% ABV, which might make for some very hazy sessions indeed. In the glass it's the pale yellow of lemon squash with a head that crackles away to nothing in seconds. Not great on the visuals, then. The aroma is brightly tropical, suggesting that Mosaic is the hop in charge, over also-ran Citra. The texture is sessionably light without seeming thin, with a cleansing fizz helping boost its thirst-quenching abilities. The flavour stays quite tropical, though with an extra lemon edge from the Citra, finishing with a slight pinch of resinous acidity. Despite the appearance it's very clean and shows off the hops well. It's uncomplicated, unfussy and extremely drinkable: the very picture of proper session IPA, excepting that ABV.

The milkshake IPA trend, in danger of seeming retro these days, is still in full swing at Rascals. Their latest is called Havana Ball, a collaboration with Nottingham's Neon Raptor and designed to resemble a piña colada. It certainly does in appearance: that somewhat bilious yellowy orange, with a faint combover of white bubbles. Coconut, pineapple, mango and vanilla feature in the ingredients and that's exactly what you get in the aroma, every bit as Hawaiian-shirted as the can design implies. A more serious bitterness opens the flavour but is quickly silenced by the cocktail side. It's sweet and creamy, the latter feature impressively created without the addition of lactose (me hole). The coconut is most prominent, making it taste a little like suncream, while the tropical fruit is present but doesn't overcome the bitterness, meaning it's not as sunny-tasting as I'd like. I think this one is for fans of milkshake IPA only. It's perfectly stylistically accurate -- you get what's promised -- but it won't convince anyone of the milkshake IPA's merits all by itself.

We have a new beer brand in Outer Place, based in Kildare but launching with an IPA brewed just across the Dublin border at Lineman: Intergalactic. Oddly, for a beer of this name, it doesn't use Galaxy hops, but Citra and Ekuanot instead. It looks quite like orange juice in the glass, and smells like it too: an enticing sweetness, promising refreshment despite the blousey 6.2% ABV. That strength is well demonstrated in the texture: there's a properly satisfying heft to it. The flavour is much less juicy, mixing tangy citrus, a harder wax bitterness and a savoury fried-onion note. While perfectly pleasant, it's rather more serious than the colourful can and colourful aroma led me to expect. Still, this is a rock-solid IPA; well designed and executed; hazy yet clean-tasting. A good start for any new brand. 

Wicklow Wolf has always been good for classically American takes on IPA, and I expected something along those lines from their latest west coast IPA, West Side Story. In the almost inescapable modern fashion it's quite hazy, a barely-translucent sunset yellow. The ABV is up at 6.6% which suits, as does the aroma, laden with lemon spritz and pine sap: no juice here. The centre of the flavour is citrus, and bergmot in particular, plus lime rind and more lemon zest. It's a sharp one, though softened a little by the fuzz, as well as some chewier dank resin. I was sceptical at first, but this is a proper west-coast-style IPA, despite appearances. The handful of drinkers who still think IPA should be bitter, step this way.

What Comes Next? asks Lough Gill and Bullhouse in chorus. They do so via the medium of a New England IPA hopped with Amarillo, Strata and Comet. Like their session IPA above, it's quite a sickly-looking number, with a greenish tint to the yellow, and appearing a bit watery, despite its 6.8% ABV. And while it's not, it's nowhere near as full bodied as one might expect for this sort of thing. The aroma is flamboyantly tropical, with a spritz of citrus too. It's odd, then, that that the flavour is quite savoury. I get green onion and caraway first, then a little lemon before it finishes on dry grit. I feel cheated out of the mango and pineapple I could smell. From a promising start, this becomes just another of those wonky hazy jobs. Oh well. What comes next?

Here's a surprise: Whiplash's new double IPA is clear! Then again, The First Rebirth is badged as "west coast" so I would be complaining again were it not. It's 8% and brewed with an old-school combination of Cascade, Chinook and Columbus. From that I expected a big whack of bitterness and a sizeable heat, but it's altogether softer. Yes, the big malt is there; no crystal but enough Golden Promise for it to be slightly unctuous. The foretaste is a kind of grapefruit and lemon candy: sweet on the outside, bitter in the middle. Unsubtle, but so was every American double IPA during the IBU wars. Complexity is hard come by here, but there's a little weedy dank, and a little pine. We're back on the lemon oils for the finish, however. This is a pretty good impression of the first wave of double IPAs. Irish drinkers who remember the arrival of Of Foam and Fury and Beoir#1 may get a bit of a Proustian rush.

Staying at 8% ABV, Post Card has its first double IPA out now: Pigeon House. They say it's New England style, but in the fashion of Irish breweries doing this five or six years ago, it's amber coloured and only barely hazed. Citra features on the hop bill and that gives it a lime bitterness in the foretaste. It's only when that settles to sweeter vanilla on a smooth body that we come within shouting distance of Vermont. The bitterness won't quit, however, and with each sip there's a new punch, getting harsher and more annoying as it goes. Then the alcohol burn kicks in and doesn't improve things any either. I tried hard to find an angle from which this works, but it's too sharp, too hot, cloyingly gummy and, oh, savoury as well. It's like they threw everything at double IPA and all of it stuck. I hope it finds an audience but it's not me.

Sticking an extra .1% on that, we have Many Coloured Days from O Brother. It's an opaque orange colour with an impressively long-lasting head for something of this nature. The alcohol gets busy right from the aroma, expressing as a heavy, funky, grassy silage effect. A thick and greasy texture goes along with that: this is a sipper, no alternative is on offer. Strata and Idaho 7 are the hops and they bring a flavour that's every bit as serious as the rest of this. Savoury resin with a brush of garlic is the first impression, with poppyseed and rye bread deeper in. A spark of pith is as fruity as it gets. This isn't how I like this sort of beer. It lacks fun, sunshine and accessibility. It seems rather grey and joyless, and is certainly quite hard work to drink. Not what I thought I would get, given the name.

It seems to me me that the best hopwork being done in these parts is at the low-strength level. Maybe that's a seasonal thing: when the temperature goes up, the session-strength beers press my refreshment buttons just right.

Just a quick one

Prolific Dublin brewery Third Barrel tends to warrant big long posts as I try to keep up with everything they've put out. It's a much more manageable handful today, however.

The first, under the main brand with collaborative input from Berlin brewpub BräuGier, is a cold IPA called #Verboten. This is the first cold IPA I've featured here and you'll need to go somewhere else to learn why some nerd thinks it's genuinely innovative while a different dork considers it the same as India pale lager. Regardless, it's 7.5% ABV and a rich golden colour in the glass with a slight haze. Strata, Idaho 7 and Cryo Pop all feature in the hop charge, with a promise of juiciness to come. It smells like your basic American IPA, with more modern candy-chew sweetness favoured over citric bitterness. The body is quite heavy, fully reflecting the ABV but not the promise of cool fermentation: no lager crispness here. Mind you, going back to the label it says it's brewed like a lager and "fermented like a West Coast" suggesting, as the mouthfeel definitely does, that it's an ale after all. I am confused. The flavour offers much of what the aroma does, being fruit candy again, plus an added savoury dimension: fried onion and peppers. The very ale-ish texture gives that a long and slightly sticky finish. Overall, it's fine. I'm not wowed by this amazing new style of beer, nor by a superior American-style IPA, but it's nice. Third Barrel does IPA well, and this is one of those, no more, no less.

New for TwoSides is Hazy Train, an IPA which does what it promises: an opaque orange-yellow with a fine meringue topping. I was expecting sweet but it's very nicely balanced, delivering a tang and a spice with the juice and eschewing any vanilla or other confection. I was happily horsing through my pint at The Headline before I thought to check the ABV: it seemed light but the complexity hinted at hidden alcohol. Thankfully it's only 4.5% ABV and thereby fully horseable. I was reminded a little of the past TwoSides classic Two Yards: it has the same bright and summery freshness. On a dismal midwinter afternoon it was exactly the ray of sunshine I needed.

Dessert is breakfast: a coffee and oatmeal stout from Third Circle called A Shot in the Dark. Coffee and cereal is exactly what the aroma delivers, and the flavour is strikingly bitter. They may as well have added a couple of Gauloise to this, because it's extremely grown-up and not even remotely creamy. 5.2% ABV is low for something of this nature, but the lightness it provides accentuates the powerful roastiness. To ding it, the coffee side is a little overdone and I can't help feeling there's a good stout buried under it. Also, isn't oatmeal meant to make it smooth? It really doesn't here. That's me being persnickity, though. On its own terms, this is lovely: one of those boldly flavoured beers where the boldness is a reward in itself. If you've yet to find a coffee stout that delivers sufficiently on the coffee front, here you go.

Three quite different beers here, all showing off the talents of the Third Barrel team. Dublin's brewing scene would be a lot duller without them. I'll have a different brewer's very different take on cold IPA in a post coming soon.

Late to the party

This is day eight of Indie Beer Week 2018 and I'm rounding off my series of posts with the beers I discovered during the week itself.

I'm picking things up where I left them yesterday with Praetorian, new from YellowBelly and as far as I know exclusive to its beer club subscribers. "Polaris hopped blueberry weizen" is the unlikely style statement, and it's 5% ABV. It looks like a smoothie, pouring a murky dark purple hue, without a proper weissbier head. There's not much aroma, while the flavour is odd and perfumed: a mix of miscellaneous spices and non-specific fruit. There's a sharpness which could be attributed to the berries, but nothing that really says blueberry flavour. On the other side it's a weissbier by texture for sure, but that's it. I get the Polaris, though: a sharp herbal mint. So one out of three. For all the wowee craft innovation it's quite a plain beer, a lot less interesting than any standard weizen you care to name.

That backed up my notion that weissbier isn't one of the traditional styles amenable to craft hacking, a prejudice which was further confirmed by Lemondrop, just released by Carrig Brewing. The hacking is apparently no more than dry hopping with the titular hop and Denali, but my pint arrived clear and gold in a straight-sided glass, the attempt at a big weiss head making it look like an underfilled pint of lager. The mere 4.6% ABV is further evidence of inauthenticity, but it really kicks in from the aroma: sweet and sticky like a lemon meringue pie. The flavour is pretty much the same, adding a touch of banana foam sweets. The whole thing is weird and artificial. Contrived; and bound to upset any Germans who come to Bar Rua looking for a weissbier. This experiment didn't work out.

Staying in that pub, owner Carrig's other new guy was Basil Blast, a gold-coloured Centennial and Simcoe pale ale of 5.5% ABV, with a purported large helping of basil in the whirlpool. There's definitely something other than the usual in here, but I'd swear it was ginger: that slightly woody, chewy, spice you tend to get from real fresh ginger. It certainly shouts over the hopping, and I am assured that no ginger was involved in the recipe. There is a slight herbal tang on the tail, but it's not the oily green richness of real basil. A dry and tannic finish complements the spicing. This is definitely a refreshing beer, and was much appreciated on a warm sunny afternoon; it's just a little confusing.

Around the corner, last Friday, Stephen Street News hosted the third beer release from Liam, aka Dead Centre Brewing: Seeking Sunshine IPA. He kindly donated a can for me to bring home where I drank it in the last rays of Sunday's sun. It's 5% ABV and brewed with Citra and Amarillo, pouring a pale yellow shade with little head. The aroma is quite dank and funky, though with a little bit of juice thrown in. Its flavour, then, is disappointingly savoury, piling in the caraway taste I associate most with Mosaic-gone-awry. There is a faint juiciness as well on the very end, a tantalising echo of mandarin, hinting at what this could have been without all the honking caraway. The texture is nicely full thanks to the oats in the grist, and the carbonation is low enough to make it easy drinking. It's still a passable IPA, but in need of punching up, I think.

I covered Third Barrel's goings-on on Tuesday. Their last-minute contribution to the week, in UnderDog yesterday, was Juice Bigalow. And yes: juice. Big juice. Mega juice. It opens on a giant bag of mandarins, rendered extra juicy by an effervescent sherbet quality. There's bitter kick on the end, a growing dankness, a metallic tang and... waaaait a minute: this bears a striking resemblance to Tuesday's sensation Two Yards, from the same brewery for someone else. Is it wrong of me to suspect this is a very small variation on it? Very small? It doesn't matter either way to me: I get great beer regardless. Pleasingly full-bodied at a super-sessionable 4.1% ABV, it's properly complex and juicy as all hell. You can call it what you like, sure. (And I am completely wrong to be suspicious; see comments).

Fresh from Whiplash is Shades of Marble double IPA, at the standard Whiplash ABV of 8%, hopped with Galaxy, Vic Secret and Lemondrop, and both looking and smelling like pineapple juice. There's a bit of yeast grit in with the tropical fruit, though that doesn't come through in the flavour. It's still pretty soupy-tasting, however: glutinous floury protein blocking any hop brightness. There's a green veg foretaste, then the bitter liquorice of Vic Secret, and a buzz of alcohol. It's all a bit harsh and unfinished-tasting for my liking, and yes I know that's the style. Clean this one up and it would be very decent.

I finally got to tick off the last of the Hopfully trilogy brewed for the Klaw restaurants (you can find the other two here). Auntie Arthur's is a porter, modestly strong at 4.8% ABV. The presentation was poor: a dirty glass leading to dodgy head retention, but that didn't interfere with the flavour. There's a light and easy-going chocolate foretaste, followed by medium roast and a slightly metallic tang on the end. A long aftertaste brings endless cups of strong filter coffee. This is dry rather than creamy, yet still full-bodied. Solid; by-the-numbers. It went very well with my sweet and spicy prawn poke.

Hopfully also released a new seasonal, described as a "white India Pale Lager" and named California Uncommon. This has the pale and hazy appearance of a witbier but puts delicious fresh and juicy peaches at the front of the flavour. The expected herbal spicing comes after, a little jarring at first but settling out to rosemary and lemon zest, like a slightly adventurous stuffing. While not particularly lager-like with all this going on, it is at least clean and devoid of unpleasant yeast interference. You could just consider it a decent pale ale and be happy with that.

Rascals came out with a sequel to last year's Strawberry Vanilla Shake IPA in the form of Raspberry Sundae IPA. While the former did manage to preserve a considerable proportion of its IPA character, this one throws it all up in the air and runs away giggling. It tastes exactly like raspberry ripple ice cream, warming to lean more towards a jam-and-cream spongecake. There's a certain beery bitterness buried right at the back, and a touch of actual hop flavour on the reflux, but otherwise this is all dessert. It's clean and drinkable despite this: fun, silly and hard to dislike.

A late-evening call to The Hill in Ranelagh yielded a pint of Dolmen. This whiskey-barrel stout is from Western Herd, a Clare brewery whose wares are rarely seen in these parts. It's 7.6% ABV and sweet without tasting hot. Black cherry is at the centre, laced with coconut cream around the edges and given a dusting of cocoa. But there was something else, something not part of the confection construction, and it took me a while to figure it out. Autolysis. A jarring meaty flavour -- Bovril or gravy -- that hovers in the background and comes to the fore at the very end. It's too late to spoil anything, but it does take the shine off an otherwise calm and balanced beer.

Here endeth the week's festivities, for this blog at least. Got your plan ready for the closing weekend of IBW18? Good.

Who wants some?

I've not visited the Third Barrel Brewery, but outbound traffic must be brisk, what with three in-house brands to keep stocked, plus numerous proxy arrangements for other beer makers. In my second post for Indie Beer Week 2018, I'm going to be looking at a varied handful of beers from the D12 brewer.

You rarely have to wait long for something hoppy, and the latest in that line under their own labels is Shut Up Juice pale ale. It's a dense opaque orange colour, 5% ABV and primed with Citra, Vic Secret, El Dorado and Simcoe hops, promising a smörgåsbord of citrus and tropical flavours. Juice is to the fore in the aroma but the flavour is more severe — sharply acidic lemon and lime plus a strong hit of yeast, almost to the point of tasting smoky. There's a great beer under here but I think it came out a bit rough and rushed.

Subsidiary brand Third Circle released a wholly unexpected golden English bitter recently, named AK, which turned up on cask at UnderDog. Bang on at 3.8% ABV and absolutely bang on with its waxy bitter opener — almost Landlordesque. There's a more modern lemon rind kick lightening the mood a little after that, and then it all fades away quickly, ready for another sup. Served a little cooler, somewhere with an outdoors option, it would be a summer belter, and the sort of beer no Irish brewery makes any more. As-was, it was still pretty authentic tasting, and much better than most of what goes through the pumps at Irish Wetherspoons.

I was also happy to chance upon Third Circle's Our Daily Brett at The Beer Market, having missed out on the event where it first appeared. This is another 3.8%-er, and a hazy pale orange. There's a highly perfumed aroma: sweet jasmine and heavier incense. The attractive exotic smell turns to a full-on musk on tasting, loaded with woody resins, all sandalwood and cedar. There's a slight peach tang, injecting a little sweetness, though it doesn't have the gummy thickness that often comes with Brett-derived fruit notes. An unfortunate savoury yeast twang sounds a bum note towards the end. It finishes quickly, entirely in keeping with the low ABV. This is decent, and cleaned up it would be superb.

Moving to the client brewers, but keeping that UK vibe alive, here's C'mere T'eme (should be "T'me", surely?), the second release by Crafty Bear Brewing. Though badged as an amber ale, I had it on cask at The Black Sheep and that very much turned it into a dark English bitter. It's smooth and fantastically tannic. Behind the tea there's an exotic spicing of sandalwood, frankincense and peppercorns. If it stopped there, it would be another great one, but the tannins just keep building out of control, becoming harshly astringent by the end. It was frustrating to see it just miss the mark, but it's an experiment worthy of repeating.

Established client brewer Two Sides has teamed up with Brickyard for two Third-Barrel-brewed offerings so far. The first is Two Sides's second coffee porter, called Bricks & Porter. It's on the high side for a pintable sessioner at 5.5% ABV but makes good use of the extra legroom to pack in loads of milk chocolate and coffee notes, with a sweet dash of hazelnut adding an extra, complementary, dimension. The texture is creamy and yet the body is light. A rock-solid coffee porter, and ideal if you value sweetness over dry and bitter roast.

Finally, for the sort-of heatwave we're currently going through, Two Yards, a 4.3% ABV session IPA. Details are scarce, but it's hella juice-looking and hella juice-tasting, beginning on real oranges and then calming down and thinning out to more of an orangeade thing on the end. In the middle there's a bright floral jasmine spice as well as a mild hit of alium and a naughty buzz of dankness as well. It's extremely satisfying when a beer packs all of this into just a light and easy-drinking package. Maybe there's something to this collaborative brewing lark after all.

The Indie Beer Week posts continue with more Dublin beers tomorrow.