Allen V13 - The Mashup
Cloudwater Brew Co.

Thick cloudy yellow colour with a crisp head.
Aroma: hops, tropical fruits, orange peel, citrus, pineapple, kiwi, guava, hint of grass.
Taste: hops, tropical fruits, kiwi, fresh citrus.
Full bodied.
A proper summer DIPA towards a NEIPA style.

A mashup of two of the best Hazy IPAs brewed in the UK: Verdant’s Allen and Cloudwater’s DIPA v13.

404ml can.
L: Opaque, the colour of freshly squeezed orange with a reddish core. The off-white cream head collapses quickly to a ring and an arc of lacing.
S: Overripe tropical fruit. Rich and earthy and juicy.
T: Orange, lime, pink grapefruit, mango, pineapple, coconut, hay, fresh pine, cannabis and alcohol. Loads going on.
F: Full body, rich mouthfeel, dry finish.
O: An amazing, complex, hazy DIPA. A massive beer. Very in-your-face but also incredibly complex and subtle. Not inexpensive, £7.95/can, but worth a try if you’re a fan of this style.

Would be interesting to sample alongside the two original beers from Cloudwater and Verdant but neither are currently available…

 

Pours a hazy, vibrant light orange with soft, fluffy head.

Smell is juicy, dank and pithy. Notes of melon, mango, citrus, peach, pineapple, grass and gooseberries.

Taste is juicy and dank with a solid bitterness. Notes of mango, citrus, peach, lemongrass, gooseberries and some herbal hints. True to the Cloudwater staple, this is powerful, yet clean and drinkable.

Mouthfeel is medium, soft and pillowy but a bit undercarbonated.

Overall, a terrific crossing of classic beers, shame about the carbonation.

Pours a hazy, orange coloration with a tiny, frothy head. Smells of light biscuity malt and citrus/tropical/berry hops, with notes of orange, mango and white grape, as well as hints of earthy/herbal accents. Taste is an excellent balance of light biscuity malt and fruity, juicy, herbal, earthy, slighty floral and resinous hops, with citrus, tropical and berry notes of orange, grapefruit, mango, lychee, white grape and gooseberry, as well as just a hint of pine. Finishes with a medium bitterness and some grapefruit, lychee, white grape and hints of pine lingering in the aftertaste. Soft mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

There really is an amazingly varied depth of flavor to the flavor profile here, with the spectrum ranging all the way from fruity, juicy floral over to herbal, earthy and resinous notes, with quite a range of fruity flavors as well, with zesty citrus, sweet tropical and slightly acidic berry notes, while finishing with a good bitterness. At the same time, it's really well-balanced, not feeling overloaded and rather well-defined, with a great harmony of sweet, acidic and bitter notes. While it's a bit of a shame that the mouthfeel, while good, doesn't quite live up to the flavor profile here, this still makes for an outstanding example of the style.

 

2 months old. Can to wine glass.

L: Pours a full and hazy dark yellow with a large-pored white head that dissipates quickly and doesn‘t leave any lacing. No floaters.

S: Ripe tropical fruits paired with herbal and resinous notes. Dank, sweet and grassy.

T: Ripe mango and pineapple. All kinds of stone fruits. Grapefruit as well. Sweet and fruity body with some herbal notes. Slightly zesty. Finishing with a medium bitterness.

F: Juicy and full-bodied. Low carbonation. A bit sticky.

O: Very interesting idea to do some kind of mashup of two of the most popular British IPAs. Unfortunately I‘ve only had Allen (which I prefer over this one) before, so I can‘t really do a full comparison. It’s definitely a quality brew which I really enjoyed drinking, but somehow that certain something that you usually find in the best beers of both breweries is missing here.

On tap at Cardinal, Stavanger. Opaque yellow to orange colour, white head. Aroma of guava and papaya, a hint of strawberries. Flavour with the same elements, some lactose sweetness, and a fairly bitter finish. Good beer.