Monday, 9 March 2015

Two metre tall - Cleansing Ale

So I bought this beer on way home from local bottlo to celebrate the end of the working week (nothing feels a better way to celebrate the end of the week than buying a new beer to try!). What caught my eye was the name "Cleansing Ale" - I loved the idea of it; beers these days are being made full of hops or brewers are trying weird and wonderful styles like a summer farmhouse ale etc I thought this could be a winner. I suppose "cleansing" is in the eye of the beholder- to me this is another amazing 'full on' beer and leaves your tongue remembering the taste! That is maybe not what I was expecting to say about a cleansing ale! 

So what about the beer? 

The first thing you note is the smell! The smell reminds me of a Belgian beer like a Belle Vue, really strong and really fruity / florally. The next thing you notice as you pout is the colour: it has such a bright, vibrant colour. A quick read online tells me the beer is made with wild yeast, so it is no surprise that the colour and smell is so unique.

Yip, the beer is that bright
Every time I poured this beer it produced a big head, but it settled quickly.

As for the taste: really interesting fruit flavours but not as fruity as the nose suggests - I think it is the wild yeast that gives bigger smells. The body of this beer definitely has sour flavours through it and there is some big hops, malts and a little bit of sweetness on the after taste to ensure the sourness doesn't leave a bad taste in your mouth.

I had a wee look on their website; it says the beer needs 3-4 months in the bottle for the characteristics to start to fade to give it a lighter flavour. Well both my beers had 4 months on them and I ain't too sure they had faded!

Really interesting bottle, label and brewing history notes

How cool is that message! 
I would love to met the brewer and ask about the name / adverstising - I find it confusing, it isn't a beer that will cleanse the palate, and they don't make it obvious that it is a wild yeast beer so the colour, sourness and smell is meant to be that way and I would love to know why they don't promote it for what it is!  

Is it an absolutely awesome beer? Sure is!
Is it a cleansing ale? Hmm, not to me- drinking a few of this beer will make me switch to a cleansing ale! 
But if you can get hold of this beer, you definitely need to pick up a few! Especially if you like wild yeast beers and things like Belgian Beers and French Saisons. 

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