Cloudwater Brew Co // The Mashup 2023
Cloudwater’s Mashup project returns for its second year after a successful maiden launch in 2022. Rather than misremember how it works, allow Cloudwater to explain:
“Inspired by our love of musical mashups, this new collaborative project brings you four new beers that combine some of the greatest hits from eight UK breweries.
The idea is simple.
The eight breweries were coupled up and each pairing was tasked with creating a new collaboration inspired by two of their best-loved recipes.
And, as a nod to the musical inspiration for the idea, they’ll also co-create a playlist to accompany the beer, giving a sense of the personalities and passions of the folks responsible for what’s in your glass.”
The brewery pairings and beers to mash together this year are:
Cloudwater Brew Co’s Be Well Friends (TIPA) & Beak Brewery’s Purrr (NEIPA)
Verdant Brewing Co’s Even Sharks Need Water (NEIPA) & Rivington Brewing Co’s Never Known Fog Like It (NEIPA)
Polly’s Brew Co’s SPUR (NEIPA) & Overtone Brewing Co’s PLUR (DIPA)
Siren Craft Brew’s Middle Finger Discount (IPA) & Newbarns Brewery’ Super Gold (Pale Lager)
An all pale affair this year after a bit more of a mix last year but I’m willing to put my personal preferences aside as long as the beers are good.
As usual, we’ll go for the classic Expectations vs. Reality review style and I’ll even listen to each playlist as I have each beer - I’ve included the Spotify lists below each beer review for ease. Let’s crack open the beers and bang on some tunes.
Siren Craft Brew x Newbarns Brewery // Super Gold Finger Discount - 4.8%
Pale Ale with Mosaic Hops & Cedar Wood
What they say: Using the Siren spinbot, the 100% Mosaic dry hop and bright, spicy Cedar Wood of Middle Finger Discount is layered into the drinkability and premium crispness of Super Gold.
Expectations: I’ve had both original beers before both a few years ago now (Siren’s in 2021, Newbarns’ in 2020) but remember enjoying them a fair bit. It sounds like a decent combination so I’m hoping it’s as good as it sounds on paper.
Reality: Yeah, this was great. The only beer in the pack that isn’t a DIPA so it’s at least a little different from the rest. The woodiness is a little more subdued than I remember from the Siren beer but that’s no bad thing - this beer is very smooth and easy drinking. It was a bit of a relief to crack into something sub 5% for the first time in a while so this was a welcome sight. Off to a great start.
Siren x Newbarns Playlist
An absolute banger of a playlist here featuring Millencolin, Spanish Love Songs, Gallows, TLC, Toto, Manchester Orchestra, Paul Simon and Thin Lizzy to name more than a few. There’s even the theme music for WWE wrestler Kane thrown in for good measure as well as Rebecca Black’s Friday. It’s definitely a mashup in every spirit of the word but one I am definitely very here for.
Overtone Brew Co x Polly’s Brew Co // SPLUR - 8.5%
New England DIPA
What they say: SPLUR has taken the recipe of Polly's core favourite SPUR, a 7% DDH IPA and enhanced it with more body and hop flavour and a higher ABV taken from Overtone's PLUR recipe, a 8% DDH DIPA.
Hops: Galaxy, Simcoe, Simcoe Cryo, Chinook, Citra, Azacca
Expectations: I haven’t had either base beer this time around so I’m going into this one blind - both beers sound right up my street though so I’m sure I’m going to have a lovely time. Both breweries are two that I don’t drink enough of so I was delighted to see them involved in The Mash Up this year.
Reality: Yeah, this bangs. For 8.5% it goes down almost too easily. It’s super soft and smooth and just incredibly drinkable. I cracked open the can to have with dinner and finished it before I was done cooking. Dangerous.
Overtone x Polly’s Playlist
A playlist that starts with one of LCD Soundsystem’s best songs is always going to be a winner. Throw in some choice cuts from Bowie, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Menzingers, The Swellers, Queens of the Stone Age and Run The Jewels and it absolutely slaps. Limp Bizkit’s Break Stuff is also tucked in there somewhere. It’s 20 songs longer than the previous one so you’d have to sup your beer much much much longer than I did to appreciate every song.
Verdant Brewing Co. x Rivington Brewing Co. // Never Known Sharks Like It - 8.5%
New England DIPA
What they say: We've walloped together Whale Sharks and Rivington's Never Known Fog Like It, then beefed it up to 8.5% and dry-hopped it to hell and back. By adding Mosaic and Simcoe in this Mashup version, we've basically created a true monster from the deep! Expect some additional pithy grapefruit, pine and dank tropics to the Sharks citric focussed bite.
Expectations: Both of the base beers here are absolutely fantastic. I’ve only had Rivington’s Never Known Fog Like It a handful of times but it’s up there with Steady Rolling Man and Parade as one of the best New England Pales this country has produced. Verdant’s Even Sharks Need Water is also incredible, and not just because of the It’s Always Sunny reference. The Galaxy really sings in it and gives it a spiky edge. Excited for this one!
Reality: Yeah, this slaps. Taking two iconic pale ales and dialling them up to DIPA was always going to be a winner, wasn’t it? It’s super, super smooth and fruity and soft and just about all you want from a DIPA. Wonderful.
Verdant x Rivington Playlist
94 songs means you’d need an entire crate of this beer to get through all the songs in this super eclectic playlist. I did not expect Mis-Teeq’s All I Want in this list. Neither did I expect a remix of Gabrielle’s Sunshine. Nor a remix of Shola Ama’s Imagine. Or Flowers by Sweet Female Attitude. Someone is clearly a fan of early 2000 pop/R&B! All nestled next to The Kinks, Sonic Youth, Aphex Twin, Frank Ocean and Sigur Rós.
Cloudwater Brew Co x Beak Brewery // Purrr Well, Friends - 8.5%
New England DIPA
What they say: Be Well Friends is a Southern Hemisphere dominated triple IPA, which was released as part of a series of beers which highlighted hand-selected big New Zealand hops to see how they can be utilised for modern, high ABV.
Purrr is a chewy, feathery-soft IPA showcasing Mosaic and Strata hops for flavours of melon, passionfruit and strawberry bubble gum.
Expectations: I’ve had Beak’s Purrr on several occasions (and even have one in my fridge at time of writing) but I have not tried Be Well Friends. A TIPA mixing with an IPA to create a DIPA - whodathunkit?! Hope this is as good as I think it’ll be. Who am I kidding - this is obviously going to be great.
Reality: This was probably my favourite of the 4-pack. It edges out the Verdant x Rivington beer just because it has a little bit more bitterness which I’m very much a fan of. It’s thick and juicy and is definitely one to savour. Each mouthful is a delight that just makes you want to go back for more.
Cloudwater x Beak Playlist
I feel like this may be the only playlist of appropriate length to enjoy a beer to - clocking in at 12 songs it has some bangers from Iggy Pop, New Order, Guided By Voices, Sonic Youth and Nirvana to help you enjoy the beer.
Summary
The quality was always going to be high here and whilst I’d have loved a little more variety with the styles brewed (an imperial stout akin to Gatto from last year would’ve been cracking), you can’t really complain when the majority are DIPAs so I’ll settle for 4 top quality pale beers instead. Especially when it’s been as humid as the past few weeks have been.
I realise the bulk of the reviews here have just been - this is a great DIPA but when they are this good and faultless, it’s hard to be critical or find words beyond ‘this is great, drink this beer’.
This series is great. Drink these beers.
