Purple Black Eye by Ocelot Brewing Company

Purple Black Eye

by Ocelot Brewing Company

Often times when you discover a really unique blend of coffee and cascara (dried coffee cherries), you stand up and say "Why has it been such a long time for this flavoring to make it here?" Then you stand back and casually read the label of the beer you have been drinking and it hits you - if you were going to have a guess, it would be Ocelot Brewing Company and the blend would be Purple Black Eye.

Purple Black Eye - Ocelot Brewing Company

Ocelot Brewing Company (23600 Overland Drive, Sterling, VA Voice: 703-665-2146; www.ocelotbrewing.com) is nothing new to the National Capital area. Nestled to the west of the Dulles International Airport (www.iad.com) on the Loudon County Parkway, I have made note a couple of times of these breweries experiments with deep brewed stouts. This time is no exception with this classic tasting and unique brew.

Purple Black Eye takes two approaches to its coffee laden stout flavor. First, it takes the traditional fashion of using hops to arrive at the the flavor. The Purple Black Eye does this pretty early and begins to bring in the drinker. But then, it socks it to you with in the surprise, a dried coffee cherry, known as a cascara. It is a sweet cherry but it is tempered by its bitter coffee taste. The two flavors taken together with their strong stout base make this a truly flavorful beverage that leaves the drinker wanting more. It is a truly fantastic experience.

I gave this is 4.5 out of five star on Untapped. This is a really outstanding drink - and I think the cascara and coffee combination is headed for bigger things if it is to be realized.

Skal!