18 August 2018

The Purple Panther Porter (Lidl) By @SpectreUK


I've recently re-watched some of the old Peter Seller's Pink Panther films and was pleasantly surprised at how funny they are. I couldn't remember much about them, as I hadn't seem them in so many years, but that kind of slapstick humour does tickle me.

No Pink Panther with this porter, purple is the colour of mystery and this Purple Panther has oodles of that. I picked this bottle up from a Lidl some time ago whilst we were driving back from a holiday somewhere. I know that sounds vague, but I have no idea how long this bottle has been in my beer cooler. Yes, I have a beer cooler in the kitchen. It was left by the last people who lived here, so thank you very much :-) Cinabar tries to fill the beer colour with other stuff, but it generally doesn't last very long in there. I like my beer cold and refreshing, and not too crowded.

At 5% volume and produced by Hatherwood Craft Beer Company, this Purple Panther is an enigma. Why Purple Panther? Why not Black Panther, as they usually are that colour!? Besides the purple looks more black in the bottle. The label describes dominant coffee bitterness in the Purple Panther's rich smooth flavour, with hints of toffee from the speciality sugar the brewer used in their secret ingredients for this "smoky malted porter".

On opening there was that familiar dark fruity porter smell with a hint of coffee and sweetness. I can see where the 'panther' name for this porter came from. It's almost jet black. On taste there is a definite dominance of coffee to the roasted malts mixed with the complementary bitter hops, followed by the smoky toffee sweetness the label describes that flows like a mysterious dark rich river over my tastebuds. This is an expertly crafted porter from a shop I rarely have chance to go into, and it's full of pretty decent stuff too!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Please do purple panther in cans it is the best stout I have tasted and I have tasted a lot