Vibrant Forest Return, Collabing With Siren & Magic Mezcal!
H E L L O
C L A P T O N C R A F T
F A N S !
We're not exactly sure what's going on with the weather right now, so with seasonality up in the air we're supplying some consistency with a non-stop flurry of brilliant bevs this week. Up first, one of our favourites (and yours) Vibrant Forest make a long-overdue comeback. Next, there's sneaky first details on our Siren collaboration, following on from a breathless visit to Wild Card, and Pensador feature with an extremely exciting Mezcal. Across the shops there's picks from the likes of Cloudwater, Rock Leopard, and Hammerton - who'll also be debuting a brand new beer at our tasting in SE23 tonight. Finally, juicy goodness from Verdant plus two super special sharers from Gipsy Hill drop everywhere. And, landing online there's more from Manchester mainstays CW, plus a smattering of Vault City and Northern Monk. Now, to the main event...
B R E W E R Y
O F T H E
W E E K
Quite frankly it's been far too long since last having New Forest heroes Vibrant Forest on these shores. Working with them since the early days of CC it's been a delight to see them progress and reach the big double digits this summer, with the team refusing to slow down in the slightest. Continually packing passion and sheer flavour into every last drop of their beer, we're righting the wrong of their absence in a pretty major way with six slamming cans dropping this week including some long-time favourites, a cheeky collab rebrew and a few new crackers!
We couldn't help but dip our toes in the hazy water this time around, and where better to start than Pupa. One of the progenitors to those sessionable, juicy pales (think Steady Rolling Man or Sonoma), this cask descendent swells with deep citrus and ripe tropical fruits with a full, yet smooth mouthfeel. Thankfully, our seasonal special, the stone fruit sensation Misty Woods also returns. Here, Citra provides pithy, grapefruit tones with Simcoe adding fiery pine and prickly tangerine notes in this East meets West Coast IPA. Finally, Stone Sap is all NE firepower with vibrant apricot flavours dominating alongside a huge, you guessed it... sappy finish.
Balancing out the nonstop juice, we have a delightfully tart Cucumber & Mint Sour that's coming for Orbit's Tzatziki throne. While their Grizzly Pear sees them team up with favourites Affinity for a zingy gooseberry meets sticky-sweet pear effort. Following in Brick's brilliant Black Light footsteps Metropolis brings the BIPA comeback to the fore once more, matching complex notes of dark chocolate with high-rise notes of herbal citrus.
As usual, we're delighted to be serving up 10% off 6 or more on our BOTW online with x2 loyalty points in the shops. We wholeheartedly recommend taking a deep dive!
I T ' S
R A I N I N G
C O L L A B S
It's fair to say we're quite the fans of Siren, crowning them our Brewery Of The Year for 2020. It follows then this lot were pretty much the first name on the collab teamsheet this time around. And, with the stars aligning just over a fortnight ago we linked up with our buds in Berkshire. Renowned for their session sorcery, we've opted to follow in their Squiggle and Suspended In... footsteps with a supercharged, yet supremely suppable Hazy Pale built for all seasons.
Utilising a malt bill made up of wheat and a hefty dose of oats for a thick, silky, yet clean mouthfeel we then hand-selected a medley of hops to pair perfectly. OG Mosaic offers up vibrant berry flavours and an earthy complexity, while El Dorado is all freshly cut pineapple and soft stone fruit. Lastly, Idaho 7 leant a little more to piney pink grapefruit and fleshy mango. Harnessing this tropical storm of pure juice power sheltered by a comforting, pillowy body we've designed this as the ideal all-day drinker, whatever the weather.
P E N S A D O R
S U P P L Y T H E
H I G H S P I R I T S
In a much welcome diversion, we're delighted to have a rather rare offering from Pensador, released just yesterday. Though produced and tested in the same way as a normal Mezcal this incredibly small-batch (500 bottles in total) distillate is the first in a series not submitted to regulators for official approval - a preference of producers enabling them flexibility to follow their wildest dreams. Made in the Miahuatlán region of Southern Oaxaca by Felipe and Ageo Cortez, Especial Tepextate is made from 100% Tepextate agave, and fermented with natural airborne yeasts for 5 days in an open-topped wooden vat. An umami bomb with green pepper, fresh coriander, Jalapeno and seaweed, this evolves into a clean, fresh finish. A truly phenomenal spirit, this is as challenging as it is rewarding whether you're an agave skeptic or fanatic.
M A N A G E R
P I C K S
T H I S W E E K
ELLA - WOOD STREET
⛺ TWO TRIBES ⛺
Roller Disco - Grapefruit, lemongrass & lime coalesce for a crushable, zesty Pale.
New Romantic Mandarin - Light & spritzy Sour w/ tart mandarin over a biscuity base.
Go Big - Baltic Porter w/ deep, dark malt character full of caramel, cacao & molasses.
FRANKLIN - KENTISH TOWN
🐆 ROCK LEOPARD 🐆
Type Here To Search - Dank West Coast IPA w/ a citric bitterness.
Next To A Mountain - Mountain IPA (NE meets WC) hopped to the high heavens!
Echo Chamber - Resinous & suitably indulgent New England DIPA.
HANNAH - FINSBURY PARK
🌧️ CLOUDWATER 🌧️
A Series of Good Ideas - Fresh, special chuckleberry Sour, spritzy & dry.
Deep On Soap Street - Pale w/ sweet berry notes & a tropical, pungent dankness.
A Door To Paradise - Rich, oily DDH IPA w/ a bright, juicy finish.
DAVE - BALHAM
🏆 THE KERNEL 🏆
Brown Ale - Remarkably gluggable & warming US meets UK dark beer.
India Double Porter - Roasty, toasty malt fun w/ a blueberry hop punch.
Biere De Saison Damson - Tart, funky goodness w/ a nutty complexity.
LARA - FOREST HILL
🔨 HAMMERTON 🔨
MYSTERY BEER - Unannounced 1st pour!
Paw Paw Vs - Zingy, saline & quenching papaya & apricot Sour.
Tuned - Soft, Hazy Pale w/ aromas of citrus fruits & grapefruit.
🗣 TASTING FRI 5.30-7.30PM 🗣
OPHIE - CLAPTON
🐦 THE BEAK 🐦
D'est - Unfiltered, naturally carbonated Czech Pils fizzing w/ noble hop flavour.
Locals V4 - All Nelson IPA w/ lovely white grape & candied melon flavours.
Popple - Unctuous Pale w/ notes of peach, mango & pine sap.
MEL - WALTHAMSTOW
🇩🇪 SCHLENKERLA 🇩🇪
Weizen - An amber-hued, smoked Wheat Ale w/ undertones of banana, clove & silky malty sweetness.
Marzen - Bamberg's specialty, a dark, bottom fermented smoke beer. Think earthy, almost streaky bacon goodness.
W E B S H O P
WONDERS
T H I S W E E K
🌿 VERDANT 🌿
(AVAILABLE ALL SHOPS THIS WEEK)
Road To Unruin - NEIPA Collab with Allkin, loaded w/ spiky pine & soft tropics.
People Money Space Time - Soft, ultra sluggable Session Pale, an absolute fave.
Marylou - Irresistibly peachy, umami-tinged, & lip-smacking Pale Ale.
Neal Gets Things Done - Smooth, slightly savoury NEIPA, a true Cornish classic.
⛰ GIPSY HILL ⛰
(AVAILABLE ALL SHOPS THIS WEEK)
Bourgeois Blend 1 & 2 - Their first barrel-aged releases; a sour Golden ale fermented in Red & White Wine French Oak, then pitched with a mixed culture of wild yeast & bacteria harvested from the breweries favourite sours. Two different blends that are deeply tart & tangy.
🍋VAULT CITY 🍋
Double Maple Triple Chocolate Blueberry S’more Sour - Nuff' said!
Sour DIPA - Alpha Delta collab. Hazy, sherbety Sour w/ a huge citrus zing.
🙏 NORTHERN MONK 🙏
Smug The Enlightenment - TIPA w/ Arpus, a maelstrom of passion fruit & dank papaya.
Lend Your Time (Re-Up) - Coconut & cacao Impy Stout w/ Mikkeller & Neon Raptor.
🌧 CLOUDWATER 🌧
Deep On Soap Street - Pale w/ sweet berry notes & a tropical pungency.
I Have Become The Boat - A cult classic NEIPA w/ waves of deep, vivid fruit flavour.
As usual, we hope you enjoyed this week's lowdown & have a great weekend!