Pastore Sour Power, Siren 10th B'Day Beers & Unbarred Dank Depot Takeover!
H E L L O
C L A PT O N C R A F T
C R E W !
👋 👋 👋 👋 👋
We're far too excited for a preamble this week, and quite rightly too, with our first collab of 2023 landing! As you might have spotted in this week's earlier Newsletter our nostalgic, Lilt-inspired (RIP) Session Sour with Pastore, Totalmente Tropicale is available across the shops from this afternoon. Of course, if you're already sold on our pineapple and grapefruit juicy wonder, we also have a multitude of other tart treats from the Waterbeach wizards...
Moving from rising stars to stalwarts of the scene, we're thrilled to be a part of Siren's 10th Anniversary Celebration, with all four specials available at every Clapton Craft. Speaking of parties, Unbarred will be taking over the taps in Wood St next week, including the launch of their yearly fave, Dank Juice with California Smash Burgers coming fresh out of the kitchen from Street Food legends Chuckaburger. All your deepest, juiciest, munchies-induced desires are covered in some Brighton-based revelry, so swing by from 4.20pm, Friday 31st March!
If that wasn't enough we have Amundsen's decadent Scream Easter Egg Pastry Stouts and Baron newbies, including a mega Verdant x Rivington collab dropping online, and in-store. While, further magic from the internet-sphere arrives courtesy of Sureshot (Beak & Kees collabs!), Burning Sky, Verdant (Fruit Car!), and DEYA.
Rounding things off there's all your Manager mentions including features on Sake, Howling Hops, and Quarter Gin, with tastings all booked in for tonight, plus so much more. Here we go!
B R E W E R Y
O F T H E
W E E K
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That's right it could only ever be our Sour soulmates, Pastore! Springing from Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, we were lucky enough to stock some of the very first beers from father-son team Chris and Ben Shepherd (Pastore in Italian) way back in January 2020.
As proved by their incredible reception from the general public, and fellow alike, Pastore have proven to be masters at either end of the tart spectrum. In their Wild Ales they match the funky, complex, acid-driven flavours of UK sour greats like Burning Sky or The Kernel but they can also deliver the drinkability and juicy, fruit-forward joy that Vault City or Brick have mastered in their Triple Fruited Goses and Pastry Sours.
With the beers speaking for themselves, and with now head brewer Dan Wye attending the same photography degree in Bristol as our Social Media and Webshop guru Tommy W, it's clear we were only going to become tighter! Hatching a plan to follow up our legendary Ballando Il Twist (aka Fanta Fruit Twist), we have Totalmente Tropicale, plus a wide range of super suds to celebrate one of the biggest brewing success stories of the last few years!
You can get the full lowdown on our spritzy Session stunner in our previous Newsletter right here but suffice to say this is every bit the dreamy, drinkable delight we'd hoped it'd be. Clocking in at 3.8% this packs just the right hit of puckering acidity, with a quenching, dry finish designed for maximum sinkability. That's not to say this isn't rammed full of flavour of course, in fact, this is dripping with zingy, vibrant fruitiness. Think ripe, sweet-sharp, prickly pineapple cube notes paired alongside zesty, subtly funky, bitter grapefruit. Totalmente Tropicale indeed.
In fine support of our collab cracker, we've got a little bit of everything for your perusal! If Pastry Sours are more your thing then look the way of Toast Alla Francese, a luxurious blueberry sweet-sour brunch banger take on Italian French Toast; or there's Panna Cotta, an equally ingenious and indulgent rhubarb, white chocolate and vanilla effort. Meanwhile, their gluggable Mango & Passion Fruit Waterbeach Weisse is all smooth, orange jelly tones.
For those after something really rather special, we also have Pastore's Raspberry Bacchus. A clean Saison conditioned on second-use raspberries and Bacchus skins collected from Gutter & Stars Wine, grown in Crouch Valley (Essex) expect jammy, floral red fruits with a quenching, earthy, acidic finish. Alongside we have Foresta Nera, a dark wild ale, conditioned on Kent cherries and cacao nibs. A true black forest-imbued beaut, this sees a building sourness meet funky sweet-shop chocolate, and cherry cola vibes.
You can experience their Sour prowess up close and personal in Finsbury next Friday, with our super formaggio-meets-funky event. Limited tickets remaining here. But, if you'd rather sup some delicious bevs from the comfort of your own home, as always, there's 10% off six or more beers online at the link below with double loyalty points in-store until next Friday. Now, who's for a tinny of Totalmente Tropicale?!
S I R E N 1 0 T H
A N N I V E R S A R Y
B R E W S
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That's right, true pioneers of the UK scene, Siren have reached double digits! We don't know quite what the craft beer landscape would look like without them if we're honest, but we would guess half of the modern breweries we love maybe wouldn't exist in the same form today. As a result, it's a testament to their longevity that they're still one of the most consistent, innovative, and quality-driven breweries in the UK, or even further afield.
And, to raise a glass to some absolute icons we can think of nothing better than the four releases Siren have lined up for us, encapsulating their greatest hits while pushing the boundary for each respective style. Be sure to pick up these extremely limited, celebratory suds!
Times Ten - 100-day Helles combining fresh floral, herbal & citrus flavours w/ a base of cracker-like malts & a hint of crisp, quenching honey-sweetness. Easily their most ambitious Lager ever, this has been a true labour of love, times ten!
Exquisite Corpse - Recruiting 10 influential people from their past, mainly incredible brewers themselves, each contributed a method or ingredient to this 6.9% IPA. The only catch, no-one knew what the other had proposed…
Crescendo - A spectacular mashup of their most recent CCC project. Capturing the rich cacao of Candour, the punchy vanilla of Curiosity & the luxurious intensity of Charm to bring a crashing Crescendo of flavour to the series.
Maiden 2022 - The first ever beer brewed at Siren, this is the 10th edition of their impossibly popular barley wine. Unique & ever-improving thanks to the additional depth & complexity they're able to call on from the barrels as time goes by.
U N B A R R E D
D A N K J U I C E
& F O O D P O P U P
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A true annual highlight it goes without saying that Unbarred's Dank Juice is one of the peaks of resinous, oily Hazy IPA perfection. Crammed with Cashmere, Chinook, Citra, Mosaic and Strata hops this has bags of fruity dankness, papaya, lemon, citrus and pine leading to a zesty, smooth, tingly finish. Having secured a limited keg of this green glory pouring alongside a variety of other Unbarred treats we thought, why not make it a full Brighton takeover?
As a result, we have California street food smash-patty superstars Chuckaburger at Wood St from 4.20pm next Friday. With a lean, mean, menu you can find below, we're expecting this to be a jam-packed affair, so head on down early to avoid a serious case of the munchies, and to quench your thirst!
M E G A W E B
W O N D E R S
T H I S W E E K
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🇳🇴 AMUNDSEN 🇳🇴
(AVAILABLE IN ALL SHOPS)
Indulgent Pastry Stout Scream Egg Series! A true Easter surprise featuring three 7.0% stunners: Dark Chocolate & Coffee, Milk Chocolate & Salted Caramel Fudge & White Chocolate & Marshmallow Fluff. Sweet tooth essential!
🔥 BARON 🔥
(AVAILABLE IN ALL SHOPS)
End Of Play w/ Verdant & Rivington - Decadent, pulpy NEIPA.
Birdbox - Hop-forward Porter w/ complex banana, chocolate & herbal notes.
🎯 SURESHOT 🎯
Pretty Pretty Good w/ Beak - Lush NEIPA w/ fleshy mango & white grape tones.
Hot Fudge Car Wash w/ Kees - Thick, deluxe, sundae-style cacao Stout!
You're Not Stupid Jazz Is Stupid - Zippy tropical Session Pale.
⛅ BURNING SKY ⛅
Assemblage 4 - Blended BA Wild Ale w/ light oak & lemon-like acidity.
On Returning - Nelson Sauvin hopped mixed ferm beer. Vinous, complex & tangy.
Table Beer - Oak-aged Wild Ale. Earthy, crisp, funky & super sluggable.
💚 VERDANT 💚
Fruit Car Sight Exhibition - All-Citra DIPA, one of their most cherished beers to date!
Way Beyond The Long Blank - NEIPA w/ umami & sharp grape juice goodness.
Lightbulb - Their original bright idea, a crisp, clean & citrus-filled XPA.
🐊 DEYA 🐊
Senescence - NZ IPA featuring Nelson Sauvin & Motueka for max tangy lime fun.
Steady Rolling Man - Arguably the finest modern UK Pale Ale. Nuff' said!
Into The Haze - NEIPA saturated in tropical fruit succulence.
M A N A G E R
P I C K S
T H I S W E E K
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FIONN - FINSBURY PARK
🐺 HOWLING HOPS 🐺
Cabin Fever - Generous, juicy, soft fruit explosion of a NEIPA.
Blackbox - Puckering, zingy blackberry, blackcurrant & lemon Sour.
Country Mile - Fresh, pint-able lemon meets pine Pale Ale.
🗣 TASTING TODAY 5.30 🗣
TOM - BALHAM
🍶 SAKE SPECIAL! 🍶
Dewazakura Oka - Soft, beguiling, clean & concise cherry-esque Sake.
Akitabare Koshiki Junzukuri - Subtle Junmai w/ notes of citrus & ripe plum.
Dewazakura Tobiroku - One for the champagne lovers! Dry, taut & sparkling.
🗣 TASTING TODAY 5.30PM 🗣
LARA - FOREST HILL
🍋 QUARTER GIN 🍋
Light G/n - Innovative, distilled delight clocking in at just 12.0% for a versatile, complex, low-alcohol spirits option. Think a London Dry Gin w/ excellent body & a fresh punch of herbaceous citrus from orange & grapefruit peel.
🗣 TASTING TODAY 5-7PM 🗣
GUY - ST JOHN'S HILL
🌾 BURNT MILL 🌾
Get the Diamond - Single hop Citra WCIPA, the crisp citrus pinnacle!
Mill Pils - Grassy, floral GF Lager w/ a bracing, moderately bitter finish.
Pintle - Desert Island West Coast Pale, dangerously crushable.
EDDY - CLAPTON
🇮🇹 COCCHI 🇮🇹
Di Torino - Legendary Vermouth w/ cola bottles & baking spice flavour.
Americano Rosa - Aperitivo w/ notes of dried rose petals, vanilla & ginger.
Americano - Orangey, quinine infused Aperitivo. Essential in a Vesper Martini!
SAM - WOOD ST
🌈 QUEER 🌈
Blackletter w/ Newbarns - Light, zippy & super sessionable XPA.
Burst Into Bright - Vibrant, zesty & beautifully layered NEIPA.
Become Your Own God w/ Mash Gang - Gorgeous citrussy AF Pale.
ILARIA - KENTISH TOWN
🦜 POLLY'S 🦜
Floret - Infinitely drinkable core range slammer, peachy Pale perfection.
Deluxe Edition - Mango, papaya & yes, even Jelly Tots-like Hazy IPA.
True Rosegold - Zesty, suppable Citra & Simcoe Pale w/ stone fruit depths.
MEL - E17
🍻 AUGUSTINER 🍻
Helles - The OG crispy boi & lovingly referred to as 'liquid bread'!
Dunkel - Deep, yet clean amber Lager w/ liquorice fun aplenty.
Pils - Packing a refreshing herbal bite, this is one of our absolute favourites.
We hope you enjoyed another mega Newsie! - Have a great weekend, Team CC