Siren Craft Brew’s annual ‘CCC’ beers release is nearly here. They will be at venues nationwide from this Friday (13th November).
But, for only the second time (the first in 2022), CCC doesn’t stand for Caribbean Chocolate Cake. No, this time it’s Charm, Curiosity, and Candour. The trio, however, remain decadent and delicious dark beers.
Siren Craft Brew have collaborated with Chicago’s Revolution Brewing, Horus Aged Ales in California, and Phase Three Brewing from Illinois to present Cinder, Chasm, and Crucible. These three beers have challenged Siren’s brewhouse team and technology.
Launching on Friday, CCC will be available across 80 launch venues, including Siren RG1 in Reading, Siren Cheltenham, and the TapYard in Finchampstead.
Launch venues include: The Nags Head (Reading); Fox & Hounds (Caversham); A Hoppy Place (Maidenhead); Piccadilly Tap (Manchester); Port Street Beer House (Manchester); Corks of North Street, The Steam Crane, and Famous Royal Navy Volunteer (all Bristol); and Vessel Beer Shop (Plymouth). There are 36 London venues and more across Birmingham, the South Coast, Sheffield, Leeds, York, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The beers
Cinder (8.4% ABV imperial stout)
Brewed with Revolution Brewing (Chicago), masters of dark beers. Fairground flavours all round: deep caramel, brown sugar, toasted marshmallow, and a touch of fire, built from a concentrated oak-aged blend.
Chasm (9% ABV imperial porter)
Brewed with cult, barrel-only heroes Horus Aged Ales. A 9% ABV delve into the depths of the deep Earth, chasing unique, moreish umami sensation. Speciality malts, chocolate wheat, white miso with toffee and butterscotch notes, kombu.
Crucible (10% ABV imperial stout)
Brewed with Phase Three (Lake Zurich), one of the most hyped breweries in the world. Transformation through heat exemplified: charred pineapple, slow-caramelised honey, smoked vanilla, and for the Caribbean Chocolate Cake fans, it’s generous with cacao.
The Inspiration
“While in 2022 the theme for each beer was a different bean, this time it’s fire and heat. But not in a ‘smoky beer’ kind of way,” says Siren. “We’re talking about the forging of flavour and aroma through transformation: the impact of charring on barrels, the Maillard reaction creating and enhancing moreish umami notes, the delicate toasting of a marshmallow, the slow, deliberate caramelisation of honey, or the rich, unctuous character of dark beers with long boils. In brief: we want to make dark beers even more delicious and decadent, using chef-inspired ideas and techniques.”
“We wanted to experiment, be a little outrageous, and push the boundaries of what we can do here at Siren with this year’s CCC release,” said Siren head brewer Sean Knight.
“Working with three US stout giants, we’ve been able to push forward the levels of our own stout brewing knowledge and experience, which is only going to be good for the future of dark beer at Siren.
“Traditionally, CCC comes with a lot of constraints and expectation of what it is and should be. By taking a ‘break year’, we’ve been able to create some very different, really interesting beers that work around caramelisation, but with very different results.”
