Purity releases ‘Champagne beer’

There’s a new way for beer-lovers to celebrate in style this season as a limited edition Champagne-style beer comes on the market.

Purity Brewing Company has created Gnarly, a strong black beer, which has a limited run of 1,000 corked, Champagne-style 750ml bottles.

Brewed with a variety of Maris Otter, Crystal Rye, smoked and black malts, and hopped with Northern Brewer, Cascade and Chinook, the beer is then conditioned for six months in traditional oak whisky casks.

Paul Halsey, managing director of Purity, said: “Gnarly uses champagne yeast which gives the beer a light and tight carbonation and the oak whisky barrels provide an unmistakable and decadent twist.”

Purity describe the 6.5% abv beer as carrying “spiced black pepper and dark fruits with a hint of orange”, adding that the hops lead to “a lingering bitter finish to counter the sweetness produced naturally by the tannins of the cask”.

The beer’s name is a tribute to mountain bikers, “gnarly” being a word that became popular in the 1970s to describe a dangerous but exhilarating ride.

Gnarly is available at www.puritybrewing.com and the brewery shop at Upper Spernall Farm, Warwickshire for £14.95.