After the huge success of the last Noordt x Cley collab, this time around it was time to infuse beer with gin! Cley makes two different gins, one barrel aged and one unaged. Of which the latter was used to infuse an imperial wheat ale from Brouwerij Noordt. I was a huge fan of their last collab, the Noordt x Cley Malt & Rye Baltic Porter, so I can’t wait to try this Noordt x Cley Ginfused!
Just yesterday I was working at Sjaak Breur’s Whisky Trail at the Salud stand next to Cley. And Paul asked me if I had ever tried a beer with ice… to which my obvious reply was that I hadn’t. But with their Noordt x Cley Ginfused they’ve released a beer that you can drink both as a beer, or as a Gin Tonic in a copa glass. Never having tried that before, I knew I had to give it a go. A big cheers to Paul & Maria for giving me a can to go! And I still had some of their gins on the shelves at home as well, so let’s make it a pairing!
Pssst… Did you know you can own your very own Cley Cask? Check it out here!
Tasting Notes Noordt x Cley Ginfused
Type of beer: Imperial Wheat Ale
Brewery: Brouwerij Noordt
Infusion: Cley Dutch Dry Gin 43%
ABV: 8,5%
Nose:
Filled to the brim with lovely notes of citrus and barley. Lemongrass, kumquats, freshly squeezed limes and grist straight from the mill invite you to a lovely refreshing glass of beer.
Nosing the gin itself neat next to it reveals notes of orange zest, freshly squeezed tangerines, hints of nutmeg, juniper berries and surprisingly a whiff of Jalapeño peppers.
Palate:
I’m tasting this poured over ice, though Paul also told me it was a great beer to try neat. But the fact that it can be enjoyed over ice intrigued me too much. Be aware that the tasting notes neat might be a slightly different experience though. As is, this is cool and refreshing (beyond just the temperature). With notes of lemon peel, juniper berries, freshly made toast on an early morning. I’m surprised with how much I like this over ice and for a hot summer day this is going to be absolutely perfect!
The first thing that I notice on the palate is more of that jalepeño pepper I noticed earlier, which leads me to believe there might actually be some pepper infused in this dram. But there’s also plenty of juniper berry, orange zest, and freshly squeezed limes. Paired with a luscious, almost buttery, mouthfeel.
Finish:
For the beer I can’t really say too much about the finish. Because of the ice it’s cooled and watered down too much to really have much of a finish. But for an easy sipper, hot summer’s day, beer… that’s perfectly fine for me!
The Cley Dry Gin has a very long finish however, with that spicy note from the pepper, paired with more herbal notes of nutmeg and cardamom seeds, lingering beautifully.
Verdict:
Whether it’s the beer or the gin you’re looking to try, I can highly recommend both. Though I will add that the Noordt x Cley Ginfused is a limited release, so don’t wait to long to get your hands on a can! Both are of outstanding quality though and through the years I’ve come to expect nothing less from Paul & Maria. If you don’t know Cley yet, you really should get your hands on some!
Tasting Notes Cley Dutch Gin Barrel Aged
Okay, let’s do one more just for the fun of it. It’s the weekend after all! Just like the Cley Dutch Dry Gin their Barrel Aged variant has been bottled at 43%. So let’s find out in the tasting notes what a few years in the barrel does to this already stunning gin!
Nose:
Heaps of vanilla cover the pepper and citrus notes that I picked up with the Dry Gin. It’s smells just like lemon custard, oatmeal cookies, and jalapeño pops. A lovely combination if you ask me!
Palate:
The outspoken flavours of the Dry Gin’s palate have become much more subdued and instead find themselves lingering a little behind initial notes of vanilla and fresh oak shavings. A lovely example of what a cask can do to a spirit!
Finish:
The finish is just as long as on the Dry Gin, but I find it much more evolving. Flavours of vanilla, juniper, barley and citrus seem to come in waves. Although that buttery mouthfeel from the Dry Gin does become a tad more dry here.
Verdict:
Seeing how much of a whisky fan I am I halve expected to have a strong preference for the Barrel Aged Cley Gin over their Dry Gin, but it turns out just the opposite! Don’t get me wrong though, this is still a very tasty gin. But between the two I’ll pour myself another of the Dry Gin!
