Purple Moose Brewery, Porthmadog, Wales

We operate a few beer swaps with other retailers in the north of England. Recently we had the opportunity to get a few beers in from the Purple Moose Brewery, Porthmadog, Wales. It's a brewery that Zak visited last year, when he was writing a round-up of the Welsh brewing scene, and he was impressed by the beers then, but until now, we didn't have the connection to get any. But now we've put that right.

Purple Moose is the brainchild of Lawrence Washington, who wanted to set up a small craft brewery with a distinct identity, and brew the beers that he liked. At the time, one of the beers that was a massive influence on him was Harviestoun's Bitter & Twisted, a pale beer with a notably dry, grapefruity edge. By coincidence, at the time he was looking to found the brewery on it's current site, Harviestoun's old brewplant came up for sale. Lawrence bought it, and on an unusual kerbside location on a backstreet in Porthmadog, Purple Moose was born.

As you might expect from the above, Purple Moose's beers are modern, clean and fresh, with an emphasis on hop character, and are definitely in the "session ale" category. We're only carying a couple of cases of these at the shop in Headingley, so if you'd like a taste of Porthmadog's finest, we suggest you get yourself down here a bit sharpish.