Kind of blue

Before moving on to more pressing matters, a nod of approval for the label design of the two latest beers from Lineman. The calming blues and purple invoke placid oceans and mellow night skies. They make it clear from the outset that you're dealing with a class act.But it's the liquid that counts, of course. The first liquid is a pale ale called Cirrus. Strata and Citra is the no-messing hop combination, and there's no messing in the aroma. Citra's zingy grapefruit is to the fore, but Strata's pineapple and mango isn't far behind. It's a smell that promises a good time. And it doesn't renege on that: my three-week canned example tasted bangingly fresh, again leading on the bitterness but leaving room for the softer tropicality behind. It is hazy, though, so you need to be prepared for a little vanilla sweetness which I didn't exactly welcome, but which didn't ruin the mood, at the same time. Both kinds of fruit last long into the finish, buoyed up on a full and soft body, thanks to…