THE GREAT DEBATE: Do YOU think the Government should be banning 14-year-olds from ever buying cigarettes in their lifetimes - and will it work?.Holly Willoughby 'murder and kidnap' plot: Shopping centre security guard 'had weapons, planned to assemble restraint kit and contacted hitman in the US to try to kill This Morning star': 35 stone suspect appears in court.Fergie loses his 'tower of strength': Tributes pour in for Sir Alex Ferguson's wife Cathy who has died aged 84 and was by legendary Man Utd manager's side for more than five decades (and was the only one who gave HIM the hairdryer treatment).Whether or not you assign a trend-friendly acronym a la the PSL to the drink - maybe ECI or ECIPA - is up to you. For just $6 you get a bottle of IPA and a ristretto espresso shot, not to mention all the fun of role-playing a potion-mixing mad scientist.
If you love the intersection of coffee and beer, the offering from Starbucks is worth a try. Maybe a little sweeter than we’d prefer, but overall it manages to be both refreshing and stimulating. The final verdict? The Espresso Cloud IPA is gimmicky, but it’s also pretty tasty. After a few sips, when the towering column of foam drops below the rim of the beer glass, the sipping gets marginally easier, but we still struggled to drink the Espresso Cloud IPA with grace.
The stiff foam sticks to the upper lip, the nose and the beard and mustache (if you’re so equipped). It’s fun, but it isn’t the easiest beverage to actually drink. Pouring the espresso into the beer provokes a surge of more foam that travels up and out of the glass. The coffee froth that initially tops the beer is firm, almost like a meringue, and intensely flavored. Far from the paper cups and grab-and-go culture of Starbucks, the Espresso Cloud IPA is delivered via a green-aproned barista on a tray. It’s certainly an interesting experience. Surprisingly, the main impression was of a chocolatey burnt-orange, with the hoppy IPA providing background flavor and some lightening effervescence. Flavor wise, the Espresso Cloud IPA is more coffee-drink than beer-drink. The coffee’s added sweetness rounded the bitter edge of the IPA, while that signature acrid roast of the espresso brought the drink back into balance. When we visited the Hollywood Starbucks on Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street, the classic Bear Republic Brewing Racer Five IPA was the “craft beer of the week.” Showcasing old-school American aroma hop varieties, the pine-and-citrus flavor of the IPA was well matched to the orange peel-infused espresso. The IPA used for the drink depends on what each Starbucks Evenings location has on hand. It’s dramatic and inventive, but is it delicious? The remaining espresso is served as a sidecar in a shot glass to be poured into the beer. The espresso is first shaken with ice and flavorings (it’s sweetened and spiced with orange peel and vanilla), and the resulting froth is spooned atop a tall glass of IPA. The drink, which reportedly took more than a year of development in the Starbuck R&D lab, isn’t just a shot-in-a-beer. Designed to showcase the possibilities of a Starbucks that also serves booze - the Starbucks Evenings locations do - the Espresso Cloud IPA marries a shot of espresso to a glass of craft IPA. Starbucks has a new coffee drink that blends craft beer with espresso, called the Espresso Cloud IPA.
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