Cloudwater IPA Colabaration Pack.

 This box is a bit of a change from usual and I realise it won't be for all readers however I feel its a great box to introduce alcohol free beers to alcohol drinkers. 

Cloudwater Brewing have come up with a great idea for a colab box.  They have created a pack containing 3 modern Juicy IPA's and one alcohol free IPA each with a different Hop Combinations.

The beers were brewed with the help of brewdog and sold in Tesco stores.  I know not everyone will agree with this and will think it's pushing away the bottle shops who have supported breweries through the years but for me it's a great way for these breweries to get their name out there and to have an alcohol free brewer in the mix is even better.  Hopefully people who find this box will then seek out more of the breweries beers from their local bottle shops and whilst there discover other great breweries along the way.

Cloudwater are committed to changing the alcohol industry for the better.  The pack is brewed with this in mind with each brewer they have collaborated with highlighting a different cause.  All profits from the beers go to the collaborating breweries to help them develop and strengthen their business.

Cloudwater & Good Karma Beer Co - Free Your Mind.

First off I will start by looking at the Alcohol free offering of the box.  Good Karma Brewing are involved in the mindful Drinking scene.  They embrace the ethos of wellness and positivity.  Your mindful journey needs to be about one thing - you, your body and what goes in it.  They brew alcohol free beers and with it try to spread good vibes, equality diversity and sustainability are at their core.

This beer has been brewed using the Talus hop.

Upon Pouring this beer you get a strong fruity Aroma.  This is reflected in the taste with a citrusy flavour.  It is very smooth flavour with very little bitterness left behind and a good creamy mouth feel to it.  They haven't gone too bold with the flavours but think this is a good idea as will appeal to more people.

The flavour is a good introduction to Alcohol free beers and seems a great inclusion in the pack.

Cloudwater & Queer Brewing - Our Love Fills the Air

Next up I am Looking at the Collaboration with Queer Brewing Company.  As you can probably tell from the name Queer Brewing Company are a Queer-owned Brewery providing visibility for LGBQT+ people using thier beers as the vehicle for social change.  The Beers raise money for LGBQT+ charities and they try to make beer more inclusive.

The beer is 6% and uses Queer Brewing favourite malt base and Citra Hops.  

The beer pours quite cloudy with a lovely head.  There is a slight citrus Aroma to the beer but it's very subtle.

Nice citrus flavours with a slight bitter finish.  Since cutting down on Alcohol I have found that when I do have an alcoholic drink, I notice the alcohol a lot, and I'm tasting that more than the other flavours in the beer with this one it leaves a nice warming feeling but you still get all the other flavours coming through.

Cloudwater & Rock Leopard Brewing - One Way Or Another

Rock Leopard Brewing is a BAME owned brewery who hope to get craft beer more accessible to the BAME community.

I must admit their message of them being inspired by their love of Couchant Noble Cat and Music, a mission to prove that privilege is a platform that can and be used for good confused me to begin with.  But I think this is them saying they are in a position where they are privileged to represent their communities and this will them getting the products out their will hopefully inspire more people from their community to do the same.  

They love hop forward beers and as such like to brew beers that match this to put their passion forward.  #passionforward.  

This beer is brewed with mosaic hops.

The beer again pours with a similar hazy colour to the Our love fills the air and has a nice head.  There are lovely tropical aroma coming through I pick up some passion fruit.  The flavours you get coming through are quite citrusy and this has quite a bitter finish. 

Cloudwater Beer & Eko Brewery - Embracing Otherness

The final beer of the set for me is the Eko Brewery  - Embracing Others Collab.

Eko Brewery is a London based African inspired brewery.  They want to share their heritage and share their culinary experience through their passion for beer.  They hope that when others see what they have done that they will realise that people from minority groups can become entrepreneurs in areas they are usually under represented too.  They also support charities that  shine a spotlight on issues that impact their communities.  

This beer is brewed with simcoe hops.  So we should expect fruity and earthy flavours to come through in this beer.

When I poured the beer I got quite piny Aromas.  It has a very Hazy colour and a nice creamy looking head.  

The flavours that come through are very piney and quite a strong bitter aftertaste.  

Box Overview

I enjoyed all 4 beers in this box its great to see how the different hops change the flavours of the beers. 

To me this is 4 great beers each with a distinct taste.  These beers aren't trying to be anything special but show the different flavours each hop can produce really well.  

I hope that including an alcohol free beer in this box will lead regular beer drinkers to see that Alcohol free beer doesn't have to be the tasteless examples we tend to see in lots of pubs it can be as good as its full strength cousins.    It also shows how a drinker can be mindful of their drinking and combine alcoholic and alcohol free beers during their nights out.

whether you are a drinker of alcoholic or alcohol free beers then please check out all the breweries involved in this box.  They all have support great causes with minority areas.  I know I will be looking to see what they all bring out in the future would love for each of these breweries to bring out an AF Version of their beers so non drinkers will also feel included.