Your once-a-week dose of retail therapy from Singletrack’s Premier Dealers, stockists and advertisers:
Tuesday Treats gives you a quality serving of independent bike retailing and a chance to win big in this week’s prize draw!
This week, we introduce Purity Brewing Co.
Today, we’re checking in with another mighty fine cycling friendly brewery crew. Purity Brewing Company is an award winning brewery located in the heart of the Warwickshire countryside.
Established in 2005 by Paul Halsey and Jim Minkin, the brewery prides itself on consistently producing great beer with an emphasis on quality, craftsmanship and unrivalled eco-credentials. Head Honcho Paul tells us more…
Hi Paul! How did the brand come about?
The Purity Brewery has its routes firmly planted on a thousand-acre farm, which drives its commitment to eco-friendly brewing where waste water is recycled through a unique wetland system and spent grain is used as cattle feed. We are nearly ten years in the making, and we boast a staff body of twenty nine based in our new, multi-million pound state-of-the-art brewery, offering a fantastic range of award winning craft beers and a hard earned national following. We’ve documented the company history and sustainability model here.
The farm setting has also inspired the names of the beers, with crazy geese and loveable dogs at the heart of our branding. The setting also plays host to a number of outdoor pursuits, of which cycling is paramount. The brewery is perfectly located for riding in the Warwickshire countryside, stopping off at a local pub with Purity on tap, or finishing with a refreshing beer from the brewery shop.
As huge cycling fans, Purity’s bike orientated beer ‘Saddle Black’ is a hats off to all friends passionate about two wheels.
What is your current best-selling/hottest product?
Our most popular beer has always been and remains our first beer, UBU. It’s a 4.5% Amber Ale named after the farm dog which chased me through a field on our first meeting, but later became a great friend. UBU balances bitter and sweet (just like the dog!) with a rich fruity flavour and hop aroma. It has made the top 50 beers in the world three times at the international beer challenge.
What was the last custom build you did?
Our last custom brew was our black beer, Saddle Black, Purity’s nod to the world of the bicycle. Many of us at the brewery are keen cyclists, some border on the fanatical and we have our very own branded Pashley bike on display in the brewery shop. I currently have micro-tears in my achilles from mountain biking in the Pennines and Hopton Woods in Ludlow, but some of the brewery lads are well into the local routes around Warwickshire.
We wanted to create a beer dedicated to the British cycling community and it was our head brewer, Flo Vialan, who led on the development of Saddle Black. It’s a full flavoured, gnarly black beer using chinook and cascade hops to give a full smoky and citrus aroma, combining a mix of black pepper, deep fruits, orange and spices.
Saddle Black is a seasonal 5.1% cask beer from November to April, but is now available at 7% in 330ml bottles all year round. We’ve also had Saddle Black cycling jerseys manufactured and these – along with a case of beer of course – will be part of the exclusive prize giving, for three lucky subscribers.
What else is in the works?
Just as this competition goes live, we’ll be putting the finishing touches on an exciting Limited Edition drink called Gnarly, a 6.5% black beer matured in whiskey casks for six months. There will only be 1,000 bottles of Gnarly, and they’ll come in 75cl champagne and cork bottles, available from 1st December here and at the brewery shop!
Tell us something that no-one knows?
The Purity brewery was born of a bike ride! After exhausting a number of potential locations back in ‘05 I had all but given up the ghost in the area when, during a random bike ride, I met a farmer called Granville who happened to think his farm could be an ideal site for a brewery. This happy accident of a meeting was immediately after I had been chased through a field by a dog named UBU!
We invite you to stay in touch with us on Facebook Twitter and Instagram for updates. We’re a social bunch, give us a shout. Otherwise we are stocked throughout the UK. Give us the taste test.
Tuesday Treats Prize Draw
Click here to win this week’s prize!