CLOUDWATER DIPA V2 / 9.6% / £5 for a half / Port Street Beer House
Oh god. I just ordered a third of the new Cloudwater double IPA and took a sip and almost fell over. I’d forgotten that I’m v hungover after the Common belated Christmas party last night and that I’ve only eaten chocolate digestives all day (approx 6). We went to Brewdog and All Star Lanes. Nice times all round. I was a little late to the party so didn’t get to drink anything at Brewdog. If I had I would have plucked for one of my favourite beers of modern times, Brewdog’s Jack Hammer IPA. Have you ever been bowling? It’s hard isn’t it. The distance between the ball release and the pins is so much further away than I remember. We had the two-lane private VIP room, infamously visited by Drake and Rihanna. The Guinness was tasting pure and fresh off the boat. The Coors light was tasting like sweetcorn, a taste that mainstream lager drinkers crave oft unknowingly ~ a conspiracy rumour/fact imbedded in my brain from a beer tasting courtesy of our resident beer expert, Jonny Sture. Or, as he shall now be known, Jonny Sweetcorn. Tell you what doesn’t taste like sweetcorn, this Cloudwater DIPA v2.
So the first Cloudwater DIPA was great. Like really great. I awaited its release eagerly and bought two bottles from Heaton Hops at 2pm the day it dropped. I followed up this prolonged intake with a half of it on keg from Bottle in Heaton Moor. I remember it like it was yesterday. I don’t think it was yesterday though. November 2015 maybe. Something like that.
Is the sequel better than the original? The original to my mind, was pretty flawless. It tasted so fresh and fruity, it belied it’s 9% strength. It slipped down like a day dream. It was a real nap inducer.
If anything, version 2 almost tastes fresher and fruitier and, at the slightly strengthier 9.6%, slips down possibly even easier than the first. If you have a double IPA doubter in your midst, or someone who is a famous non-fan of high strength beers, then you need to introduce them to this. This will change their mind, guaranteed. Lots of the top strength demand a sizeable sessioning, namely they encourage baby sips. This doesn’t. Sure, you wouldn’t chug it, nor would you idly quaff. But you’d take many baby sips over and over at pace until it was gone and then order another. You might well be reduced to baby state afterwards but you wouldn’t regret a thing.
It’s a joyous drink, a celebration of heaps of hops and balance. It’s not heavy, it’s light. Freshness is at the fore. You gotta get it while it’s hot, as it were. That’s not to say that it’ll drop off, I just doubt that it’ll stick around long enough to wane. Drink before it is dulled and dull your senses at the same time. Have a napping station at the ready, don’t make plans, and embark on a full stomach. It’s intoxicating, in part because it tastes so dang good. You want to drink more of it, you don’t want to close the curtains at a third. It then becomes intoxicating in terms of strength. You’re then under the table. I almost wrote “mouth party” just then but I didn’t. Remember that I didn’t and then remember that I did. I’m not saying that Cloudwater DIPA v2 is a mouth party but then I’m not saying that it isn’t. I just can’t physically bring myself to type those words, and not because of the beer.
Congratulations Cloudwater, it’s a beautiful bouncing beer. You should be very proud. I’m glowing, you’re glowing, everything is glowing. Good night.
