Beer we go for a brand new chutney from the Dark Side
A quirky collaboration between two iconic Welsh brands has created a “marriage produced in foodie heaven”.
Food company Bwydydd Madryn and the Purple Moose Brewery have joined forces to launch a new tastebud-teasing chutney.
The relish from Madryn’s Calon Lȃn range has been infused with the deep malty and blackcurrant flavour of Purple Moose’s multi-award winning Dark Side of the Moose beer.
It’s the latest in a series of new products unveiled by Madryn who earlier this year opened a new warehouse in Pwllheli to cater for their growing order book.
The expansion came about in part because the launch of their successful new www.blasus.cymru website to enable the company to sell direct to customers as well as through supermarkets, convenience stores and restaurants across Wales.
According to managing director Geraint Hughes, they were looking to add a new chutney to their stable of cupboard products because of soaring demand.
They approached the Purple Moose Brewery in Porthmadog who were only too pleased to have the opportunity to work together.
After experimenting with several of their different ales, they plumped for the popular Dark Side of the Moose beer as the perfect partner for the new chutney.
Geraint said: “We wanted to create something a bit different with our savoury chutneys and wanted to link up with another Welsh brand so we approached Purple Moose.
“Chutneys have been making something of a comeback in recent years and the demand for them has been growing significantly.
“Working with another Welsh brand in this way works on so many different levels and Purple Moose beer is a personal favourite of mine too.
“On top of that, the quirky branding is brilliant and adds something a bit out of left field to the Calon Lȃn brand. It’s jived things up a bit.
“When we were developing this chutney, we tried a few beers from the Purple Moose range but Dark Side of the Moose was the one that worked best. It is the ideal match in terms of the taste and the depth of flavour in the chutney.
“Apart from the Dark Side of the Moose beer, the main ingredients of the chutney are mangos and apples so it has a bit of sweet and sour in the taste, making it incredibly versatile so it can be paired with everything from salads to the top of quiches to sausages.
“With Calon Lȃn we are developing a range of cupboard products to tap into different segments of the market so we make jams and condiments.
“We also recently launched Piccalilli Pwllheli which like the chutney and jam is made in small batches by hand in Pwllheli on the Llŷn Peninsula.”
Purple Moose managing director Lawrence Washington is equally delighted with the outcome of the collaboration, as it involves his personal favourite beer, Dark Side of the Moose – so named because he is a big fan of supergroup Pink Floyd and their hit album Dark Side of the Moon.
Like Madryn, Purple Moose is going from strength to strength and now employs more than 40 people at the brewery, the town’s Australia pub and their two shops in Porthmadog and the newly-opened store in Betws-y-Coed.
Lawrence said: “It’s brilliant to be able to collaborate with Madryn because it improves the offering of the fantastic food and drink producers we have in North Wales.
“It showcases us and hopefully it helps Madryn as well, providing another route to market for our products.
“It’s mutually beneficial and we sell the chutney in our shops as well.
“The style of Dark Side of the Moose is a dark bitter which doesn’t really fit into the other beer styles of the UK – it’s not quite a porter and not quite a stout.
“It’s still one of my favourite beers and it’s won by far the most awards of any of our ales, including the Golden Fork at Great Taste Awards as the best of all the food and drink products in Wales, not to mention the award for the best name at CAMRA’s Cambridge beer festival.
“It’s 4.6 per cent and it’s got a really nice deep malty flavour from the darker malted barley that goes into it. That rich, biscuity flavour is balanced nicely with the bramling cross hops which give almost a blackcurranty aroma and flavour.
“It works perfectly with the chutney. The chutney is wonderful and has a nice tang of the beer in it – it’s a marriage made in foodie heaven.”