Cloudwater Brewery

Cloudwater Brewery is based on a fairly non descript industrial estate close to Manchester’s Piccadilly station. If you didn’t know it was there you’d never be any the wiser. Cloudwater host a brewery tour every Saturday morning starting at 10.45. You can check availability and buy tickets here Just make sure you allow enough time to find it!

Cloudwater Facts

  • The brewery only started production in February 2015
  • The online store opened in 2017
  • Cloudwater was voted second best brewer in the world in the 2017 Ratebeer awards.
  • They do not produce a core range of beers and have a creative philosophy in their brewing
  • Wheat and oats are used to give the finished beer mouthfeel. They release proteins which bond with chemicals from hops. The beer is hazy/cloudy and  this will eventually sediment out. This is why such beers have a short shelf life.
  • Freshness is key and their beers have three dates on the beers. COD – canned on date. FFB – freshest flavour before date and BBE – best before date.
  • There is a terroir aspect to hops, some of the best coming from the USA and New Zealand. Hops are a significant expense in the brewing process.
  • Beers are centrifuged before canning/bottling to remove suspended particles of yeast/hops and so produce a better balance in the beer

Cloudwater have a taproom just a short walk from the brewery itself. Located in the railway arches on Sheffield Street very close to piccadilly station.

The Beers

  1. Cloudwater DDH Centennial Pale 5.5%. Orange/amber in appearance, hazy, small white head. Aromas of orange, lemon and slightly tropical. Flavour is burnt orange and grassy, low bitterness, smooth. Slight bitterness on the finish. Very drinkable.
  2. Cloudwater DIPA V3.1 8.5%. Yellow/orange, cloudy in appearance, small head. Aromas of mango, citrus, banana, and pineapple. Mouthfeel is good, full, smooth and creamy. Low bitterness, quite sweet. Flavour is complex with tropical fruits, caramel and pine. An interesting and excellent beer.
  3. Cloudwater DIPA V3 2018 8.5%. The recreation of a beer first made in 2016. Deep yellow/gold with the very slightest haze, small light tan coloured head. Intense aroma of grapefruit, orange, tropical fruit and malt. Palate is rich and creamy with medium bitterness. Flavours of orange, mango and caramel. The finish is long with a hint of bitter orange. (Can)
  4. Cloudwater Session Pale Laurel 4.5%. Yellow, cloudy, light head. Aromas of citrus – lemon and grapefruit. Palate is soapy, pine, resin. Lingering finish.
  5. Cloudwater Pilsner Motueka Mandarine 5%. Pours yellow/gold with a slight haze and a small persistent head and nice lacing. Delicate aromas of grapefruit and orange.. Lovely mouthfeel, creamy with a gentle bitter tang and a touch of sweetness. Flavour of malt, caramel and citrus. Clean and refreshing. Very nice. (Can)
  6. Cloudwater Small IPL Citra 2.9%. Orange/yellow, hazy and pours with a good white head. Aromas of grapefruit and orange. There is a good flavour of citrus with a nice burnt orange edge. Dry with medium minus bitterness. Very drinkable. (Can)

Cloudwater may not make the cheapest beer around but considering the attention to detail that goes into their production they are well worth it. Beers are well made, characterful, packed with flavour and are very drinkable. Try them, you won’t be disappointed.

 

 

Tio Pepe Fino En Rama 2018

Sherry sales have been in decline in recent years. The Wine and Spirit Trade Association calculated that sales decreased in the UK from 22 million bottles in 2005 to only 10 million in 2015. Fashions change and the image of sherry as a sweet style of fortified wine appealing to a perceived older generation was very much held against it. I remember when gin was unfashionable not all that long ago but how it has reinvented itself since then, gin sales in the UK are at an all time high. So what next for sherry?

Recently there have been some indications that sales are beginning to grow again, particularly in the drier styles of sherry such as fino and manzanilla. For me this is good news and I hope that the trend continues as sherry is currently one of the most underrated of all wines.

Along with the arrival of lighter evenings and the advent of spring we have the annual release of Tio Pepe Fino En Rama. Now in something like its ninth year, this is fino sherry that comes fresh from the cask and it’s at its best just after release. They change the label each year but always choose something from the company archives. Last winter was particularly cold and dry in Jerez and this has contributed to an intense fino that is packed with flavour. Its fresh, lively, youthful, dry with almond, baked bread and a lingering finish with a touch of bitterness. Its unfiltered and this helps to pack in the flavour. It’s a gem, try it before it’s all gone.

Leeds’s Victorian Arcades

On a recent visit to Melbourne I was struck by the Block and Royal Arcades in the Central Business District and how similar they were to the arcades found in Leeds. Both cities built their arcades in late nineteenth century with the Royal Arcade in Melbourne the oldest dating back to 1870, but it seems unlikely one influenced the other. Perhaps arcade building was simply very fashionable in late Victorian times. The Burlington Arcade in London’s Piccadilly is certainly much older, dating back to 1819. What is clear is that these shopping arcades were the shopping centres of their day and are a must see on a visit to the city.

Block Arcade Melbourne
Royal Arcade Melbourne

In Leeds there are three surviving arcades from the Victorian period. Although they had lost much of their splendour by the  mid twentieth century, programmes of restoration have brought them back to life. They are home to an eclectic mix of retail units and cafes and include an excellent range of independent retailers.

THORNTON’S ARCADE

Thornton’s Arcade was the first to built in the city. Commissioned by Charles Thornton and designed by George Smith it opened in 1878 and connected Briggate with Lands Lane. It provided a pleasant covered walkway for shoppers, replacing the alley and yard that existed beforehand.

The clock in Thornton’s Arcade is based on Walter Scotts novel Ivanhoe and features several of the characters including Robin Hood and Friar Tuck. The clock itself was made by Potts and Sons who were local clockmakers of the day. The characters were carved by a John Appleyard.

QUEEN’S ARCADE

Running parallel to Thornton’s Arcade, Queen’s was designed by Edward Clarke and opened in 1889. As they are today it looks the most modern, partly because it has been repainted in pastel colours,  it has a glass roof and this gives it a light and airy aspect.

COUNTY ARCADE

The most elaborate of the Victorian arcades and restored in the early 1990s to the wonder that you see today. Designed by Frank Matcham, who was actually a theatre designer, it opened in 1900 . It is on the opposite side of Briggate and leads to Vicar Lane and the nearby Leeds Market.

Highly decorated with intricate ironwork, marble and fine mosaics it was fully restored as part of the Victoria Quarter development in the early 1990s.

Cross Arcade is very short and runs from the middle of County Arcade out to Queen Victoria Street which in the original design was a traditional shopping street.

In the development of The Victoria Quarter Queen Victoria Street became a modern arcade with the construction of an ornate stained glass roof.

It makes an interesting contrast to its Victorian neighbour and the restoration of the shop fronts is no less ornate.

The Victoria Quarter has become a high end shopping destination, it is a lovely mix of the old and the new and great place to wander around.