Beer of the Week

Siren Craft Brewing, Broken Dream - 6%, 300ml, £2.85

Siren Craft Brewing is just over a year old but is already making some serious waves in the capital, where it is based. Alongside its core range of pale, hoppy, beers and this beer (its stout) it bottles the odd special too.

Its specials are something to behold too (if you can catch them before they sell out) from a Limoncello-inspired sour IPA, through an imperial stout aged on Buckfast-infused oak, right down to the mealworm beer brewed for the Nordic Food Labs.

It's not all for shock and awe however, with all of its offerings demonstrating the perfect balance between eccentricity and drinkability: in other words, they're always delicious.

This coffee and chocolate infused stout pours a deep, enticing Labrador brown with russet highlights underneath a ring of butterscotch head.

The aroma is delightful - rich lashings of chocolate sauce with a subtle underlying smoke and an edge of roasted, astringent coffee adding a wonderful fruity note.

It has a rich, silky mouthfeel with a very light carbonation. The flavour is unbelievably smooth. Sweet spotted-dick and tea cakes broaden out into an expansive coffee and chocolate palate-soaking delight.

This becomes deeper and darker, enriched by a flourish of smoked malt and the slightest of hop bitterness. The finish is oily, lingering on the tongue for what seems like a very happy age, scattering dusty cocoa powder around the palate for minutes after every sip.

• Recommended by Michael Bates, Trembling Madness, 48 Stonegate, York, YO1 8AS @tremblingmad

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