It is the year of the TIPA or the year of the Cloudy? I lose track………
Name
The Realest
Brewery
Cloudwater
Style
TIPA
Hops
Citra
Mosaic
ABV
10%
Wow, Cloudwater have had a belting year haven't they!! It saddens me that I missed the start of their TIPA train which probably got underway with 'The Seed Which Cannot Be Sown' (discounting the oddity that was 'Subbles' and their annual release 'Chubbles').
I missed one or two more but from '12 Yellow Legs' onwards, I was well and truly strapped in.
Given how incredible their triples have been, I would have bought this one even if it was brewed with Fuggles and Kent Goldings but no, here we have the daddy of hop combos, Citra & Mosaic. As you can tell from the picture, this was a thicc and chewy monster, a real-sipper and savourer if you will, overflowing with ripe sticky stone fruits and a mature hint of cracked pepper and savoury veg on the finish. There was a touch of boozy warmth coming from the 10% but it was very well camouflaged in that viscous body.
The photography on this one has taken a departure from the bright and vivid greens and yellows of nature to focus on the gloom and the grey, the workmanlike get-it-done pragmatism of the Manchester communities encircling Cloudwater's city centre home. I can't decide if that pairs well with the hop combo and flavours within (the stalwarts of the modern hop family tree if you will - they have paved the way for your Stratas, Sabros, Motuekas and all manner of floral and fruity fellas we are seeing these days) or if they are every bit as bright, bold and effervescent and deserve to be encased by a luminescent Rio de Janeiro Carnival float.!
In reality, who cares - the bottom line is that this is a fabulous TIPA, one you should pick-up if you see it and if you don't see it, make sure to pick-up Cloudy's next TIPA because it's undoubtedly going to be another juicy banger!!
RATING
4.75 / 5
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