A Quart of Ale± #95. On the craft journey with a couple of top IPAs by Boundary.

A Quart of Ale± #95

On the craft journey with Boundary, Whitefield

Boundary Inefficient Knowledge IPA 6%, 440 ml can Bradleys

This re-release by the Belfast Brewery, a cooperative owned by its members, tastes they claim, “just as banging as first time out”. Got a whiff of those hops as soon as I pulled the tab. Colour is a murky looking lemon. Those forward aromas give up citrus, mango and passionfruit and a touch of pine.

The head has vanished by the time I finished typing that first paragraph but the flavours are just waiting for the ambush which is carried out with some energy by the “banging” flavours of the more exotic fruit led by the mango and pomegranate. And it is the same combo of fruit right to the very satisfactory finalé, a finish defined by a firm note of bitterness but not at all a strident one. One of the better IPAs around these parts for sure.

It is dry hopped with 16 g/l of Nelson Sauvin, Citra and Simcoe. Nelson Sauvin is a variety from New Zealand noted for its refined Sauvignon Blanc character  (from which its gets its name) and it is becoming very popular with brewers.

Inefficient Knowledge. A strange name, not that strange names are unusual in beer. Well a little knowledge is a dangerous thing but there’s nothing insufficient about Boundary’s brewing knowledge and nothing inefficient about how they’ve applied it here.

Boundary Lounge Capacity IPA 6%, 440 ml can Bradleys

Just like the Inefficient Knowledge, the hops just cannot wait to show off, doing their aromatic stuff the second you pull that tab. The head seems too go even quicker than the other one though but you can see the murky lemon coloured liquid is more or less crammed with bubbles.

With two US hops, Amarillo and Citra, used here, you can expect citrus and mango and more and that is what shows in both aromas and flavours and they are not at all shy, going all out to deliver a tasty fruity delight of an IPA. Another very satisfactory outcome from the Belfast Brewery, though if I had to pick one, I’d give a slight edge to more complete Inefficient Knowledge.

Boundary is a cooperative owned by its members. While sipping, be sure and check out the artwork on the can by John Robinson.

This IPA has been dry hopped with 16 g/l of Amarillo and Citra.

Boundary Excellent GIF Work Imperial Stout with Tonka Beans 10%, 440 ml can Bradleys

This Boundary stout, a collaboration with Beer Hut Brewing, is a black one (you guessed?). The tan head gets out, fast! Tonka beans (Masterchef followers will know of them) are the rather exotic ingredient. It is the aromatic seed of a large tree from the Amazon rainforest.

Boundary say: “We’ve been wanting to brew with Tonka for some time.” I picked this can up on the strength of their excellent Inefficient Knowledge and Lounge Capacity IPAs but it turned to be, for me, an overly-sweet letdown.  

Just as well I’d a can of the superbly balanced Eight Degrees Devil’s Ladder (11.5% abv) on standby. Previous review here. 

• Much more on the bean in this BBC Future article here.  

Whitefield The Viscount Weizenbock 7.5%, 500 ml bottle Bradleys

Tipperary brewery Whitefield said The Viscount was “our drink of choice for Christmas Eve. A Weizenbock made with 30% sake rice.”

The German-style Weizenbock is a wheat version of a German-style bock, or a bigger and beefier dunkelweizen. They usually fall within 7-9% abv so the Templemore beer gets in. Bitterness normally is 20-35 IBU but there’s no IBU on the Tipp bottle or on the website. Indeed, there’s not a mention of this beer on the site.

Not too sure that any German producer uses or would use sake rice in a Weizenbock. So why did Whitefield do so? “Strong white beers can be overpowering but we use sake rice to add lightness and floral tones to bring about a wonderful balance. Fruity and strong, balanced,” they say.

It pours a cloudy (unfiltered) orange with a vigorous soft white head. There’s strong aromas, especially bananas. And that follows through to the palate as a sweetish element. This kind of wheat beer (including its less alcoholic cousin Weissbier) is ideal in the summer and also versatile at the table "pairing well with everything from pizza to pork, salad to seafood” according to the Beer Bible.

So did the sake rice work? Looks like it did as The Viscount has no noticeable warming alcohol sensation. The “sub-styles” of Weissbiers are Hefeweizen (cloudy orange, the original); Kristallweizen (filtered and clear), Dunkelweizen  (dark, more toasty), Weizenbock (dark, stronger), Rauchweizen (made with smoked malt, but rare).