Cloudwater’s beers may look understated; their beers are anything but. The Manchester brewery has only been operating since the spring but already it has a great back catalogue of interesting beers.

Cloudwater’s beers are moments in time. Instead of having a year-round core range, founders Paul Jones and James Campbell have opted to bring out a different range of beers with each season; their choice of flavours and styles a reflection of both the available ingredients as well as the seasonal weather and how that affects our own choice of food.

Look beyond their wistful labels and you see a focus on the land and time itself, and you start to realise how much thought has gone into these beers, from the elegant shape of the bottles and beer geek-pleasing details on the back to the intricate and complex beers inside.

The ever-changing offering of beers affords Cloudwater great flexibility, something, Paul explains, that is at the heart of the team’s experimental philosophy. It allows them to adapt to trends, new styles or emerging hops. It also means, Paul admits somewhat ruefully, a lot more work and pressure to get the recipes right first time.

Cloudwater’s US Hopfen Weisse (5.2%) is a prime example of their seasonal outlook. The spring version was made with bergamot lemons; this autumn’s Hopfen Weisse will focus on New Zealand hops. Their sampled summer weisse used fresh US hops, giving it a big fruity character that sat so well with the tanginess of the style.

The US Hopfen Weisse pours a cloudy gold, opaque like a fruit gum, and has a beautiful rich fruity, orange and tropical aroma, with a bit of that yeasty, hospital ward reek creeping in, too. Texture-wise it’s effervescent, frothy and lovely.

It’s a complex beer with much going on. The yeast-vanilla-banana flavours you’d expect from a weisse are clearly there, but early off you’re also greeted with a fruit bowl of flavours – tangerine, slices of Granny Smith, nectarine and lychees. Then a sourness, tart and tangy, almost face-pullingly-so, before it nurtures you into a rewarding bitter and fruity hop finish.

FIVE OTHER CLOUDWATER BEERS

Cream Ale (4.8%)

Golden, crisp and clear like a lager, Cloudwater’s Cream Ale kicks off with a big lovely pine and tropical hop aroma – it smells fantastic. This hop-heavy and smooth-bodied ale has early tastes of resin, pineapple, mango and citrus before moving into a bitter, dry and salty journey home.

Session IPA (4.3%)

A gentle resin aroma on this so-called Session IPA that pours a little bit cloudy out of the fridge, giving a warm light golden colour and a comforting frothy head. This is a hop-forward beer that has a big, clean bitter hit and medium body. Tastes of tropical pineapple, white toast and new leather. Like the cream ale, it starts with a fruity sweetness before moving into a bitter hit. Although billed as a session ale, you might find yourself looking for something different after a few.

Grisette (3.5%)

This saison variant has a typically sour and yeast tang aroma, and a pale yellow, opaque and very lively appearance. It bursts open with sweet summer fruits followed by a sudden thinness, like lemon water with hints of mint leaf, before settling into a grapefruit and clove-infused bitterness. Light, crisp and refreshing.

Summer IPA (6.8%)

A pungent and potent IPA that reeks of citrus and tropical fruit and which doesn’t hold back on bitterness. It pours a hazy golden colour with a fruity and floral aroma that is followed by flavours of orange, mango and caramel. A lovely, well balanced IPA.

Red Rye ale (4.8%)

One of Cloudwater’s newly released beers from its autumn range, it’s also going to be accompanied by a porter – darker beers become more popular as the days grow shorter - an autumn IPA and the New Zealand Hopfen Weisse. Expect the Red Rye to be similar to the Session IPA with fruity flavours and rich toffee malts, but with a bit more body, a lot more colour and some spicy bitterness.