Cloudbusting #7
Grimm Artisanal Ales

 

Lacked the Nelson hop IMO!

 

 

I haven't been lucky enough to acquire any of the previous six Cloudbusting releases, but it seems like the idea here is a rotating hop series of beers that all clock in at a solid 8% ABV. Not going to lie, though, some of the recent packaged Grimm IPA offerings haven't really been as good as I expected, especially given the high-as-hell bar set by stuff like Lambo Door. I'm going in with only moderate expectations and hoping to be impressed, though, given that the hops focused on in this edition are two of the best from New Zealand: Nelson and Motueka.

The pour here is quite gorgeous... it's a juicy-looking orange-smoothie color with a lighter complexion than I expected. The head is thin but very retentive and it leaves behind absolutely spectacular lacing, probably some of the best I've seen in an IPA of late. It is pretty literally an actual sheet of consistent micro-bubble driven foam clinging to the walls of my glass. Very impressive. Legs are not great, but you can't have it all, and I would prefer lace over legs any day of the week if I had to pick one thing to make an IPA look good. One thing's for sure: the look of this leads me to believe that this is probably very saturated with the label's claimed hop varietals.

On the nose, I immediately get some of the Sauvignon blanc wine character of the Nelson hops with some gooseberry, tangerine, guava, and candied grapefruit. Some light minerality and dankness along with freshly-peeled and zested lime carries in through the next big inhale I take, but the citrus takes a backseat to the overwhelming fresh and fruity, unique Nelson-focused appeal this makes. As this warms a bit, it becomes even more apparent that Nelson is the focus here. Not to say that Motueka isn't making an appearance, but it's drowned by the guava and dank grassiness present throughout.

The flavor has a touch of malt backed up almost-immediately by grassy hops with a subtle focus on tropical fruit and wine-like white grape, finishing quite dry and effervescent despite the chalky NEIPA-like yeastiness. I get some nectarine, guava, mango, key lime, grapefruit, and resin with a bit of ethanol in there. It's not enough to make this feel truly strong, so it doesn't really feel like an 8%er, but it's not light-bodied either. This feels pretty well-crafted and is a fair bit better than some of the more recent Grimm hoppy beers I've had, as there seems to be a higher level of focus on a specific "feel" here that has this coming across more cohesively than some other strong NEIPAs from other breweries as well. Would buy again, but probably won't have the chance to given the rotating nature of the Cloudbusting series.

 

Well balanced New Zealand hop IIPA: Motueka and Nelson Sauvin sharing the stage equally balanced.