On Tap at Guinness: Strawberry Porter

Ale infused with juniper, sage, and dandelion. A strawberry and basil porter. A beer brewed with lactose, giving it a smooth, creamy feel on the palate. Such concoctions sound like the brainchild of a startup in Boulder, Berkeley, or Berlin? Think again. The beers are on tap at the Open Gate Brewery, a small-batch pub on the back side of the vast Guinness plant in central Dublin. “We’ve got license to do anything we want,” says Peter Simpson, the master brewer in charge of the project.

And by that, he really means anything. When an American brewer named Heather came for a visit, they honored her with a beer flavored with heather. A member of the Guinness team loves plums; a damson plum brew followed. And for a brewer’s wedding? Ferment to Be, a beer made something like champagne, with a secondary fermentation in the bottle. Simpson’s team cooks up test brews almost daily and offers pub-goers a new beer every two weeks or so.