Name: Strawberry Milkshake IPA Brewery: Rascals brewing Where: Dublin Style: IPA Strength: 6.3% Size: Pint Damage: €6.50 So a tweet goes up that Idlewild bar in Dublin will have a new beer in from 4pm today. A strawberry milkshake IPA. Sounds intriguing my giddy Monday tastebuds say? I agree whole heartedly. I'll be in the area later too! After a failed attempt to apply for a drivers licence ( I forgot passport, proof of address and filled the form out wrong) I hit the city. It's freezin out. I walk in the door of Idlewild. Still love those stain glass windows. There it is. Strawberry Milkshake IPA by Rascals. 6.3%? Meaty. I order one. "Will ya have a pint?" Says the barman I was thinkin glass but fuck it it's Monday and it's January. "Pint yeah" I says with a giggle. Let's go deep. "Let me know what ya think, feedback welcome, it's something we're tryin out. Only 19 litres made" he says That's only 40 pints I slowly calculated! Light is low in the bar and the beer has a cloudy hazy appearance. Fruity on the nose. Yeah a kinda strawberry vibe. I imbibe after finally unraveling my warm scarf and my cold mind. Mmmmmm! Fruity! A mellow finish. I do get strawberry milkshake. This is great! Like it's not just a beer with the sweetness of a strawberry syrup say. It's a sweet mellow IPA with a nice strawberry background. I ask the barman how it's made. Ya see the barman designed the beer in collaboration with Rascals and it's the first in a series of beers based on cocktails. It's a pilot, they might change the fruit to apricot. Or was it peach? Anyway he goes on to tell me that lactose was added to boost the sweetness. Like those milk stouts in the US maybe. Fructose? Sugar was added? Feck I think he said fructose but anyway a sugar was added that doesn't ferment and stays in the beer to give it body. Finally strawberries were added. Wow! These guys are going deep! Thinkin the large thunk bout the damn drank! Next up is a beer based on an old fashioned. Cloves, cardamom and star anise will be used. It'll be a dark ale. Orange peel will be added of course and it'll be brewed with oak chips? Over oak chips? Anyway oak chips. Wow! What they are doing is great! Will I have another? Does a duck shit in the woods! I raise the finger and give the nod....