750ml bottle, hibernated for a year, time to break it out on NYE. Pours pitch black in the glass with a frothy tan head, decent retention. Rich roast and chocolatey notes on the nose, a little bit of liquorice, dark fruits. Taste is very rich, chocolate, roast malts, liqourice, dark fruits, booze - but not so much you'd know it was 11.5%! finish is warming, roasty. Full bodied, thick, smooth mouthfeel, fine carbonation. Definitely worth the wait. This has convinced me to save 2017 Cloudwater specials for at least a year.

Phenomenal imperial stout. I've only come across these guys recently but they're right up there with the best UK brewers. Not at all boozy which is impressive given the strength. Lots of roast chocolate and coffee. Not much bitterness. Quite thick.

750 ml bottle. Pours a black colour with a small white head. Aroma of fresh grassy hops, graininess, floral notes and mild sweetness. Flavour of crisp grassy bitterness, heavy maltiness, grass and floral notes. Medium bodied. Heavy!

750ml bottle. Pours pitch black with a smooth brown head. Aroma of roasty malts, coffee, chocolate, cocoa and earthiness. Taste is sweetish, malty, roasty and earthy with some licorice, chocolate, cocoa and toffee. Finish is earthy, chocolatey and sweetish with loads of licorice, roastiness, syrup and cocoa. Heavy and earthy.

Bottle split at Leightons 20K extravaganza, 01/03/17, team effort on this purchase. Black with a well appointed tan head. Nose is toffee fudge, fruit loaf, umami, spice, dark chocolate, light roast. Taste comprises chocolate, charr, roast malts, dark fruit tang, spice, brown bread, dates. Full body, fine carbonation, semi drying close with a balanced boosty kick. Decent enough Impy stout ... ticks all the style boxes but no Wow.

March 2017 - Bottle share at One Canada Square. Big thanks to the team. As ’Cloudwater Imperial Stout Special Edition - Hibernate ’, 11.5%. Opaque black with a foamy brown head, leaving dotted lacing. Aroma is whisky & coke, earthy and some cola. Body is smooth with soft carbonation. Taste has some demerara sweetness, cola, earthy with a dry finish. An OK imperial stout. Certainly an improvement on some of their attempts. (3.7)

The last one of the ten 0.75 litre Cloudwater beers shared between four of us in Chez Sophie, Shrewsbury on 22nd Feb 2017. This must be the one that had glue in it, because my head was stuck to the pillow of my bed in the morning and I couldn’t get up! Dark pour, tanned head. Choc choc and a touch of spice in the nose, more hoppy in the mouth but still malt led with the molasses releasing the usual Stout flavours of coffee, chocolate and liquorice. Fairly sweet this one compared to the earlier Imp Stouts we encountered during the session.

March 1st 2017
Leighton’s 20K at his posh new gaff! Thanks to the team. Hazy deep brown beer, tidy pale tan head. Palate is airy and semi dry, decent fine carbonation. Smooth dark chocolate malts. Little spice. Airy finish. Standard stuff really. Cloudwater kick arse with hops, long way to go with the malts.

75cl bottle @ monthly tasting, Chez Sophie, Feb 16. Pours dark, tan head. Last beer of the evening, after a LOT of imperial stouts, so notes aren’t great. Smooth chocolate character, moderate sweetness with some dark fruits and robust roasted malt presence. Very good.

Bottle at L42. It pours near black with a small beige head. The aroma is soft, sweet, cookie dough, toasty, earthy, leather, toasty sugars and treacle. The taste is smooth, sticky, sweet, sugary, chewy, rocky road, dried fruits, sugary, boost and candy with a hot, spicy finish. Full body, fine carbonation and sticky moth-feel, prettying sweet and sugary. Fair.