Hammerton Brewery is a first time feature on the blog but not new for me personally. As a London based brewery I’ve had some of their core range on draft a few times, particularly their N1 pale ale. We’ve also had their flagship beer ‘Crunch’, a peanut butter stout, on draft at work before! This beer, ‘City of Cake’ is a Chocolate Fudge Cake Stout, which sounds simply divine if you ask me. It comes in at 5.5% ABV and has been brewed with the addition of lactose, so will not be vegan friendly.

The beer pours midnight black with a light tan head that dissipates quickly. On the nose you get pure chocolate brownie. The same aroma as when you pull the baking tray out of the oven. The body of the beer is very much like a classic stout for me. Sweet chocolate on the front end leading into a coffee bitter finish. The body of the beer is fairly solid and the added lactose and oats provide the beer with a nice smoothness.

A quick note on the can art: An amusing can wrap that appears to depict the industrial revolution in chocolate format. There very well maybe a reference I am missing!

This is a very solid milk stout from Hammerton. I think the milk sugars, from the lactose, work well to add a sweetness to balance some of the back end bitterness. I personally would have loved for the chocolate and fudge flavours to really to push through more. However, I still think this a fun, rich and tasty flavoured stout, a style which, from my limited experience, Hammerton appear to do fairly well. I have actually been invited to visit their taproom so I will be attempting to make my way over to Islington in the near future for a tipple or two.

Score: 7.5/10

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Additional Information:

• Hops: Not Available
• Malt: Not Available
• IBU: Not Available
• ABV: 5.5%
• Gluten Free: No
• Vegan: No