Guinness four on probation prior to release

It will surprise nobody to learn that there is a middle-aged bulge in the Irish beer market. Males between 25 and 40 are the fastest growing group, according to Guinness research, and not just around the waist. So it was no coincidence that these were the sort of people who turned up for a media taste test yesterday of the new St James's Gate beer range.

It wasn't the sort of weather you'd launch a ship in, and the company which brought us the brewing industry's version of the Titanic must have been worried at the omens. Nobody was mentioning Guinness Light at the taste test, but then nobody had to.

We were asked to try each of the beers and then describe the taste, starting with Pilsner Gold. "Metallic" suggested one of the tasters, but this was not the correct answer. "Floral" would have been accepted, the chief brewer looking for more imagination on our part. "Could you relate that to walking around a garden?" he asked).

We tried the Harvest Dark lager next which the PR pack said was redolent of "passion fruit, strawberries, etc," and has a "late dryness in the aftertaste". "Metallic" suggested the same taster.

By the time we got round to the Wheat Beer and the Wicked Red Ale, the range of descriptions had widened somewhat, to include "hic" and "burp". The Wicked Red Ale is described by the brewers as having "caramel" and "malty" tastes.

The beers cost 20p more than ordinary lagers, with a further 30p premium on the Wicked Red. The range is already on tap in 20 selected bars around Dublin and, if it proves successful, will be distributed more widely next year.