What's going on at Hopcraft then? It used to be all beer that tasted of beer (hops, mainly) but now they've gone all Hipster?
Well, we've been brewing pale and hoppy beers (plus some dark ones) for the last 4.5 years as Gazza like them and doesn't want to brew beer he doesn't like - fair enough, thinks the editor. However, the signs were on the wall when "Campania", our Neapolitan milk stout, made it's appearance a year or so back, and it's now being surpassed in strangeness and interest by some of the new brews!
So, next up is an extremely pale ale (Carling coloured but, luckily, not with the same character!) dosed with 80kg of (very expensive) Blueberry puree and lots of (by volume even more expensive) Indian vanilla extract which gives a vivid purple colour and a fruity, vanillary taste which is both complex and interesting, although it's the colour which is the first draw here!
This is being kegged and casked next week so, if you'd like to try it, better get a move on and order some / persuade your pub to get hold of some as it won't hang around.....
