Hello, and welcome back to the Eternal Hoptimists,
‘Little Purple One’ can only mean two things to a man of my age, Prince Rogers Nelson the funkiest, mini-dynamo, guitar god or the one Quality Street that everyone loves and bickers over. This collaboration beer between one of my personal favourite brewers (Brew York) and the guys who are making a big name for themselves in the low ABV niche (Mash Gang) manages to combine both.
The can art is a magnificent tribute to the man in his purple rain pomp, and the sweet is the inspiration “…to develop a rich malt base which is finished with chocolaty cacao nibs, luxurious vanilla and a decadent nutty flavour.”
Sounds funky but will it fill the little man’s high heeled boots…
- Name : Little Purple One
- Brewery: Brew York, York
- Hops : Not specified
- Grain : Munich, Melanoidin, Crystal Rye, Crystal 400, Crystal 150, Chocolate and Sinamar malts and flaked oats
- Aroma : A pleasant aroma, not overly roasty with chocolate and sweet hints of treacle toffee
- Appearance : Black with a cream coloured head
- Body : Rather thin for a stout and medium carbonated. There was a disappointing lack of head retention considering the added oats
- Taste : Sweet but certainly not overpoweringly so, with chocolate and hints of vanilla coming through, but I failed to pick up on any nuttiness. A typical modern style stout
- Dietary restrictions : Allergens highlighted
Not a bad effort at all. This is clearly a stout and a modern style one at that being towards the sweeter side than bitter and smoky. That said the sweetness was kept in check, which is probably a good thing considering the low ABV. Yes, it is on the thin side and underpowered, but that was always going to be the case before the ring was even popped. What they have brewed here is a nicely flavoured stout at a strength below that of grandad’s mild of 50 years ago, which is something to be applauded.
Peter’s overall rating: 3.7/ 5.0
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