Had a guided tasting session from Cloudwater Brew last night and while they were busy launching a core range of solid, mid-range beers that are more likely to appeal to the common gentleman, the session was aimed at giving you access to their high-powered high-concept stuff that they’ve been doing recently with barrel aging, under a new program (and a new manager, Brian Hung).
Barrel-aged saison with lemon and rose, using a custom-made yeast from the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology. This produced something like “But what if a cider fucked a beer and the beer got pregnant.” in my mouth, with a very straightforward nose and taste, a solid all-rounder from start to finish, but also the most unexceptional of the beers. Just a perfectly good saison.
At a mere 11.4%, this stout was the sort of decadent drink you could add cream to, or have with vanilla ice cream, or do literally any sort of dessert-based activity and have the flavours complement each other. Aged in port, single malt, and bourbon barrels, it was absolutely ridiculous, multiple layers of dark flavour, and lots of staying power. I could sip this forever.
So this was a sour to stop anyone in their tracks, 1 kilo of apricots per litre, with an astringent nose that was totally unlike the rich sherbert taste, which frontloaded a bunch of apples before finishing on apricots. One of our group literally could not drink this, so I had his.
Turns out Chuckleberry isn’t that bloke from Police Academy. Braggot mead and Belgian tripel, then fruited with chuckleberry, this was perhaps the most easy-drinking, light, refreshing, energetic, and at this point in the evening I realised I was drunk. Perfect for summer, plenty of complexity from the mead/tripel, but constant fruit notes throughout.
Another stout for end times, rum and bourbon barrel aged, 10.7%, turns out tonka beans are tastier than Tonka toys, thick caramel and vanilla flavours layered over each other. I cannot emphasise how decadent this stout was. It was like having the height of the British Empire poured into your mouth by some dedicated manservant, whom your father assigned to you at birth.