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Schwartzwalder Kirschtorte – ABV 7.2%

German for Black Forest Gateau, this brown-black beer is lighter bodied than a traditional stout or porter but has intoxicating cherry and chocolate notes.

Aroma: Swirl it around in the glass to release the heavenly aromas of cherry, forest fruits and dark chocolate.

Taste: Instead of being over-sweet, the cherry sourness is carefully balanced with roasted malt and subtle notes of chocolate, giving an easy drinking beer. A dry, slightly bitter finish complements the aromas of fruit, to leave you wanting more.

Food Pairing: This beer is the perfect accompaniment to cold game pie – or for the full Schwartzwalder Kirschtorte experience try it with few squares of good quality dark chocolate.

Leeds Lurking Cherry Coffee Imperial Porter – ABV 10%

A beautiful-looking porter that’s dark and rich, with similarly gorgeous can artwork by photographer Tom Joy, this is a collab with Other Half New York.

Look: Clear brown-black colour with a large, off-white frothy head. Soft carbonation and great lacing that lasts.

Aroma: Malty and sweet; loads of sweet cherry and chocolate notes, with some coffee beans underneath.

Taste: Huge roasted malt and coffee hits for persistent, bittersweet layers. More cherry notes fading to dark sweet malt. Medium- to full-bodied.

Verdict:  This is one lurker we actually want to stick around.

Cherry Blackout Chocolate Cherry Stout – ABV 8%

If you’re looking to drink a chocolate cake this is as close as you’ll get. Fuggles and Phoenix hops wander through a Black Forest of cherries and chocolate.

Look: The beer pours jet black in the glass with a small tan head.

Taste: It has a velvety mouthfeel with cocoa, vanilla and the sweetness of dark cherries.

Food Pairing: This beer feels like a luxurious dessert in its own right, but adding a slice of black forest gateau will only serve to heighten the pleasure.

Verdict: If we had to sum up Cherry Blackout in one word? Sumptuous.Thankfully we aren’t bound by a one-word review limit but we’ll keep this short so we can spend more time drinking it.

Forest of Avium – ABV 8.2%

A thick, jet black imperial stout brewed with cherry which blends with the dark malts to make this a Black Forest Gateau in a glass.