Craft Beer Review #9 - BrewDog/Cloudwater Brew Co: BrewDog Vs Cloudwater New England IPA
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| BrewDog Vs Cloudwater: New England IPA in can. |
The Brewery
BrewDog[1] is a "craft brewery", founded in 2007 in Aberdeenshire, situated in the northeast of Scotland. I say "craft brewery", because the definition[2] of a craft brewery is that it produces 6 million US barrels of beer or less per year, which BrewDog actually do, as they only brew approximately 3.2% of that maximum amount. However, in terms of craft breweries, BrewDog have been wildly successful so far. In the thirteen years since they opened, BrewDog have: opened 82 bars world wide, opened brewing locations in Scotland (two), Germany, America and Australia (soon), and started an Airline[3]!
BrewDog are as well known for their beers, as they are for their bars. They have an excellent business model where they have their core beers on tap, as well as a few seasonal/special edition beers, and finally a number of (usually) local guest taps pour beers from other breweries[4].
However, BrewDog really were on the forefront of the European craft boom, and were very focused on bringing a consistent, affordable craft brewed option for many drinkers[6]. From this ethos was also born a desire to bring quality, full-flavoured alcohol-free beers to the market[7].
BrewDog are as well known for their beers, as they are for their bars. They have an excellent business model where they have their core beers on tap, as well as a few seasonal/special edition beers, and finally a number of (usually) local guest taps pour beers from other breweries[4].
However, BrewDog really were on the forefront of the European craft boom, and were very focused on bringing a consistent, affordable craft brewed option for many drinkers[6]. From this ethos was also born a desire to bring quality, full-flavoured alcohol-free beers to the market[7].
BrewDog make a number of very fun and interesting collaboration beers in their "vs" series, from big adjunct stouts and IPAs to sours, lagers and even an Indian Pale Weizen. This brew though is a fairly industry-standard style NEIPA, although, and rather critically, it's priced at less than five Euros!
First Impressions
The artwork on the can is thematic. That is, there is some line work in background, but the BrewDog logo is there, as is the name of the beer, the beer style and the collaborating brewery (with their logo too). There is a two-colour palette in use for each beer, which changes for each different collaboration beer, and here's it's a soft blue and green.
The nose is....subdued. I can smell mango, peach and a little orange zest. Naturally, there's also a sweet dankness to the fruit aromas, and a little pine is also noticeable. However, this isn't bursting with fruit juice. It smells exactly like what I would expect a classical NEIPA to smell like, and it's reassuring, because I like NEIPAs.
The Tasting
To start with, the flavour is a more intense version of the nose. I get tropical fruits, mango and peach, but more grapefruit than orange this time. The finish is mildly bitter, but at no point is it overwhelmingly bitter (it turns out they only added Mosaic to the boil, but heavily dry-hopped with Citra and more Mosaic). There's a lot of balance here, and I really like that. The mouthfeel is smooth and a little thicker than your standard IPA, and they've used oats as any classical NEIPA usually does.
The hops are Mosaic and Citra, which are exactly the hops you might expect in a classical NEIPA, and they go so well together[9]. This is one of those beers that you almost don't realise that you're drinking, until you look down and notice an empty pint glass, although you might want to be careful there though, as it is 6.8% ABV, and sessioning this beer could buy you a one-way ticket to pants-optional time-travel land.
So, how do my tasting notes compare to the professionals[10]? Well, I got the grapefruit, mango, orange and pine. I'm glad that I missed the "big onion" that one reviewer detected (I've never been able to smell the size of an onion, so I'll tip my cap to that skill), and the soapiness. I famously rarely drink soap because of the flavour, so I feel like I'd have noticed this.
The hops are Mosaic and Citra, which are exactly the hops you might expect in a classical NEIPA, and they go so well together[9]. This is one of those beers that you almost don't realise that you're drinking, until you look down and notice an empty pint glass, although you might want to be careful there though, as it is 6.8% ABV, and sessioning this beer could buy you a one-way ticket to pants-optional time-travel land.
So, how do my tasting notes compare to the professionals[10]? Well, I got the grapefruit, mango, orange and pine. I'm glad that I missed the "big onion" that one reviewer detected (I've never been able to smell the size of an onion, so I'll tip my cap to that skill), and the soapiness. I famously rarely drink soap because of the flavour, so I feel like I'd have noticed this.
Final Thoughts
Basically, this NEIPA looked, smelled and tasted exactly how'd you'd expect a NEIPA to taste. This brew is so safe, Hudson Hawk is thinking about breaking into it[11]. However, don't let me put you off this beer, because remember, it's less than 5 Euros. At that price, I don't think I've ever had a NEIPA anywhere near this good, and I challenge everyone to suggest one if they have.
So, who would I recommend this beer to? Well, anyone. It's easy-going, extremely drinkable and never overbearing in sweetness, bitterness or dankness. Some people love a tropical hop bomb that is extreme in some way, flavour or alcohol content-wise, but I don't know anyone that hates when a beer is good, without being over the top.
Yes this beer was a little formulaic, and yes this beer was a little too safe to be some sort of modern-day classic, but I know this much: I wish I could buy this in my local supermarket "craft beer" section, instead of the some of the beers we have at the same price[12].
If you like what you read, feel free to check out my Instagram page here. I post short reviews almost daily, and while they're not funny, informative or groundbreaking, they definitely are a collection of pictures with words.
One thing to notice here is that this is a "budget" NEIPA.
| Brewery | BrewDog/Cloudwater Brewing Co |
|---|---|
| Beer | BrewDog Vs Cloudwater: New England IPA |
| Style | New England IPA |
| Alcohol | 6.8% |
| IBU | 45 IBU |
| Price | 4.36€ |
| Untappd Global Score | 4.05 |
| My Untappd Score | 3.9 |
Footnotes
[1] This beer is a collaboration brew between BrewDog and Cloudwater Brewing Co. I've actually reviewed a beer from Cloudwater Brewing Co. before, which you can find here, and talked a little about their brewery. Hence, I'll only talk about BrewDog in this post, but feel free to read my Cloudwater review too!
[2] To be fair, there is no agreed upon definition of a craft beer. Guidelines have been made in different countries to define these things, but there is no strict definition.
[3] They don't fly too often, and it mainly goes between BrewDog Breweries (US to Scotland say), and you get in-flight beers. But that would be a rowdy flight.....
[4] I had an excellent day at a BrewDog bar in Mitte, Berlin a few years back. I would encourage everyone to start their day drinking adventure with a wood-oven pizza and a flight there. However I also had an amazing day hanging out at the DogTap, Berlin's BrewDog brewery/restaurant taproom![5].
[5] I'm not being paid for this advertising by the way. I just had a great day and love being day drunk!
[6] Which is not to say that they don't also produce ridiculously expensive brews too. Their "The End of History" was US$765 for a 330 ml bottle!
[7] This seems admirable, but they haven't quite got it right yet for me. Nobody really has. Alcohol-free beers seem a bit like headphones that only go up to 50% volume currently, and ultimately they are clearly missing something important. I think it's probably alcohol.
[8] If you do know what I mean, please feel free to imagine murky fruit juice anyway. I'm not the thought police.
[9] They're like Batman and Robin, eggs and bacon, or, as I learned at BrewDog in Berlin, alcohol and unnecessarily competitive shuffleboard.
[10] Spoiler alert: my notes compare badly. I can't taste really specific flavours like "over-ripe pomelo", "hand cut grass" or "oat flakes that were facing the east coast and dreaming of their parents sage words of advice". Strangely, I can detect "overly pretentious descriptions" though.
[11] That's a reference to a failed 1991 Bruce Willis movie in which he plays a thief. Shout outs to anyone who got that reference. I actually didn't hate that film, which is one of the nicest things ever said about it.
[12] I refuse to call Guinness "craft" beer. I also refuse to call Sternburg Export "beer".
[3] They don't fly too often, and it mainly goes between BrewDog Breweries (US to Scotland say), and you get in-flight beers. But that would be a rowdy flight.....
[4] I had an excellent day at a BrewDog bar in Mitte, Berlin a few years back. I would encourage everyone to start their day drinking adventure with a wood-oven pizza and a flight there. However I also had an amazing day hanging out at the DogTap, Berlin's BrewDog brewery/restaurant taproom![5].
[5] I'm not being paid for this advertising by the way. I just had a great day and love being day drunk!
[6] Which is not to say that they don't also produce ridiculously expensive brews too. Their "The End of History" was US$765 for a 330 ml bottle!
[7] This seems admirable, but they haven't quite got it right yet for me. Nobody really has. Alcohol-free beers seem a bit like headphones that only go up to 50% volume currently, and ultimately they are clearly missing something important. I think it's probably alcohol.
[8] If you do know what I mean, please feel free to imagine murky fruit juice anyway. I'm not the thought police.
[9] They're like Batman and Robin, eggs and bacon, or, as I learned at BrewDog in Berlin, alcohol and unnecessarily competitive shuffleboard.
[10] Spoiler alert: my notes compare badly. I can't taste really specific flavours like "over-ripe pomelo", "hand cut grass" or "oat flakes that were facing the east coast and dreaming of their parents sage words of advice". Strangely, I can detect "overly pretentious descriptions" though.
[11] That's a reference to a failed 1991 Bruce Willis movie in which he plays a thief. Shout outs to anyone who got that reference. I actually didn't hate that film, which is one of the nicest things ever said about it.
[12] I refuse to call Guinness "craft" beer. I also refuse to call Sternburg Export "beer".
Sources
Figure 1: https://www.brewdog.com/uk/brewdog-vs-cloudwater-new-england-ipa
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