CRAFT beer has no shortage of pioneers. Even today, new brewers are trying new things in new places with varying degrees of success. Although many of us have our own go-to styles and beers, lines are becoming increasingly blurred, sometimes for the better, sometimes not.
However, the pioneering spirit of independent brewers chugs along nicely and none more so than among Irish brewers.
Now, it will escape few people's notice that the word 'pioneer' in Ireland has another meaning which isn't exactly conducive to the consumption of alcohol - quite the opposite in fact.
So when the guys at Otterbank wanted to make a beer in honour of 'Granda David', a man who had never touched a drop in his life, they decided to go big.
That resulted in them brewing The Pioneer, a barrel-aged imperial stout with the unique pioneering Otterbank stamp all over it. You see, the Muff-based outfit purposefully describe themselves as 'brewers and blenders', meaning they like to add a mixed-fermentation twist to their beers, even if it's not in keeping with the established style.
Therefore, when they decided to make an imperial stout, you just knew it was going to be a little bit different. What isn't different is the strength – this one clocks in at a hefty 11.9 per cent.
It pours a jet black colour with a slightly off-white head, but this is where the similarity with other stouts ends. The beer itself undergoes a standard primary fermentation with their house yeast before being transferred to whiskey barrels sourced from Co Antrim.
Then, they chuck a bit of wild yeast - brettanomyces bruxellensis to be precise - and kick off a secondary fermentation and barrel ageing for 13 months or so.
This gives this stout a bit of Flanders Red tinge to it. The first signs are in the aromas which, combine the standard stout smells of coffee and roasted malt with a slightly sour edge.
This follows through into the flavours with a smooth and toasty flavour coupling up with a hint of acidity and sourness. There are hints of sour cherry, coffee and a little bit of dark chocolate.
There's very little hop bitterness and the marrying of many flavours hides the strength very well.
