I'm not sure why, but I always had trouble with BentSpoke's numerical systems. They only really use them in two ways, which I now understand to be to highlight the alcohol content in their Cluster series and the year of release for their Descent imperial stout. My only defence is that I'm pretty sure they released a Cluster 16 in 2016, and that the subsequent movement of Cluster's digits both up and down while Descent continued its steady ascent was a riddle too far.
Moving on, there's a little confusion to be had with Cluster 10 too – the 10 percent ABV beer BentSpoke released for their tenth anniversary – namely that it's higher in alcohol than the most commonly seen of their Clusters (8) yet is rather more delicate (hence being tagged an XXXPA rather than IIIPA). Clear bronze in colour, there’s no denying there's some booze-derived flavours and a little heat in there; there's nowt in the way of heavier malts to swallow such things up, after all. But the flip-side of this is that the beer is free to let clear mandarin, ripe melon and orange blossom aromas waft from the light caramel base.
Any sweetness on the palate isn’t sticky – texturally, it's not far off a Naughties US pale despite its heft – and, should you not tread carefully, is a surefire way to mark the Canberra brewery's milestone by ending up pretty damn bent.
James Smith
Published June 21, 2024 2024-06-21 00:00:00
