North East Beer Review

A new delicious sounding release by Tiny Rebel. This time it is the new Clwb Cabana which appears to be a juicier take on Clwb Tropica. Clwb Cabana is marketed as a Caribbean IPA which carries a significant 7% ABV. How will this Caribbean style IPA fare? I am a fan of Tiny Rebel with a particular affinity with the stronger brews. So to find out I will cover the history of this beer and brewery, the pour, the taste and aroma and finally my verdict.

Rebellious brewery from Wales

Tiny Rebel was founded in 2012 in Newport, South Wales by Brad Cummings and Gazz Williams. They initially started in a small space before moving to a purpose built facility in 2017. This was in Rogerstone, Newport. This also included a bar space, tours and event space.

Early on, Tiny Rebel had released beers such as their Fubar and Urban IPA and one of their Welsh Red Ales called Cwtch won Supreme Champion Beer of Britain in 2015 which was monumental for such a small brewery at the time. They grew to export to many different countries along with awards in the SIBA Brewery Business of year and UK brewer of the year in the International beer challenge.

When it comes to Tiny Rebels mission, they emphasise “great times and great beer” with a playful rebellious spirit. The brewery also runs a community fund which involves putting money back into local projects and individuals. And as growth has occurred they have not lost their rebellious identity.

Clwb Cabana is a 7% IPA which is said to be “full of tropical vibes from the first sip”. It is a tropical forward IPA with a kick. Hopped with Cascade, it is also brewed with Pale, Chit and Vienna malts as well as TR House yeast. As always Tiny Rebel has smashed the can art.

A juicy pour

Clwb Cabana pours a bright yellow to golden colour which lives to the juicy nature this beer promises. A foamy white head forms which retains through much of the drinking experience. Thus, leaving a fine ring of lacing. The carbonation is lively but remains controlled to keep the juicy feel. Overall, a beer and pour that oozes tropical vibes.

A loaded tropical experience

Aroma

Clwb Cabana explodes with tropical fruit flavours such as pineapple, passionfruit and guava. This is followed by a delightful hint of citrus fruits such as lime and lemon zests. A light malt aroma is accompanied by a slight herbal flavour. This is drink is designed to be overwhelmingly tropical with it certainly so it isn’t the most balanced aroma but certainly pleasant.

Taste

The taste of Clwb Cabana pretty much mirrors the aroma. From the first sip, the Clwb Cabana opens with an immediate tropical juice flavour including the likes of mango, passionfruit, pineapple and guava. This followed by the citrus zests of orange and lemon. Mid palate, comes the malt base which gives this a degree of sweetness that adds to the depth but doesn’t quite balance out the tropical forward flavour. The finish is clean and juicy with a lingering tropical juiciness. Overall, this is does exactly what it is advertised to do and provide a stupendously tropical experience.

Time for my verdict

Overall, this is an interesting concept and feels like an evolution of the Clwb Tropica IPA. I like this more than Clwb Tropica as it offers an extra degree of depth and I like the accessibility of this beer as it is a supermarket brew. This Caribbean IPA is punchy tropical ale which had a surprising level of sweetness. To be honest, I really enjoyed this one and really reminds of a Sunny D or Umbongo. Overall, I rate this a brilliant 4.75 out of 5.

Where did I purchase this beer?

I bought this beer from Morrisons. I believe this sold out pretty quickly online but it is still available in the British supermarket.

Thanks for reading my review. If you enjoyed this review you will love my review of Tiny Rebel Cloud Control.