Otherworld Baleen Hazy Pale Ale

Otherworld Brewing make the sort of beers that suggest somebody grew up loving both classic heavy metal album covers and modern craft brewing in equal measure. The branding leans cosmic, mythical and slightly chaotic, while the beer range jumps comfortably between hazy IPAs, tart fruit sours, imperial stouts and historic styles. It’s a broad church, although probably one with louder music.

Based in Scotland, the brewery has built a reputation for bold flavours without losing sight of drinkability. The hop-forward beers tend to favour expressive tropical fruit character and soft texture, while the darker stuff carries plenty of roasted depth without immediately becoming exhausting. You’ll also find smoked lagers and historic porter recipes appearing alongside modern haze bombs, which keeps things far more interesting than endless variations of “DDH Something Something”.

There’s a slightly gothic energy running through the whole operation, but thankfully the beers don’t disappear into gimmick territory. The artwork may look like it belongs on the side of a fantasy pinball machine, yet underneath it there’s usually a well-made beer with decent balance and clear intent.

The mixed fermentation and sour releases are particularly good at avoiding the trap of becoming pure acidity delivery systems. Fruit character stays recognisable, sweetness is controlled and the base beer still matters. That sounds obvious, but it’s surprisingly rare once brewers start emptying puree into tanks with the confidence of a contestant on a cooking show.

Otherworld feels very much part of the current Scottish craft scene where brewers are comfortable pulling influence from American hop culture, Belgian fermentation, old British styles and internet-era experimentation all at once. Sometimes that produces chaos. Sometimes it produces very good beer.