Starbucks launches Espresso Cloud IPA, a coffee-beer hybrid with a cloud of micro-foam

It's a drink that combines two of our favourite things

The Espresso Cloud IPA took a year for the Starbucks team to master

Starbucks is serving up its most experimental drink yet - a glass of IPA beer topped up with a shot of espresso.

The beverage took a year for the Starbucks team to master and brings together two of the best drinks ever for really unusual creation.

Dreamt up by coffee master Justin Burns-Beach, the Espresso Cloud IPA was inspired by the mixing process behind Starbucks’ Shakerato – where a combo of espresso and syrup is shaken until it becomes frothy.

In this case, the espresso is shaken over ice with orange pieces and a touch of sweet vanilla to create a cloud of micro-foam which is layered on top of a freshly poured IPA; the beer is served with the cold-shaken espresso shot on the side but Justin recommends pouring it in.

“Mainly what I wanted was the foam to put on top to get that head on the beer but I didn’t want to waste the espresso so that’s when I decided to just pour it into the shot glass and have them both side by side,” he said.

“Then it was like, what happens if you just pour in a little bit? Seeing the effect of that was just mind-blowing. The visual of it, watching another cloud develop was really exciting.”

The result? A refreshing punch of vanilla orange-infused espresso and citrusy IPA.

Some Starbucks branches in the US and UK have experimented with serving up alcoholic beverages. Would this new concoction tempt you?