Berkshire’s Siren Craft, recently voted among the top 100 breweries in the world, is marking its fifth anniversary by brewing “three of the finest beers available to humanity” and taking those beers on a national tour.
Siren is hosting an invite-only, one-off party on Saturday, March 17, at the new Siren Tap Yard (pictured), Finchampstead. The event will see the official launch of Maiden 2017, an updated version of Siren’s first beer, tropical stout Caribbean Chocolate Cake, and tart DIPA Limoncello IPA. There will also be street food, music, rare bottles and plenty of tastings.
Siren will then take the show-stopping trio, ably assisted by fresh Calypso, Ten Dollar Shake, Summer Encore, Yu Lu etc, on an 11-site national event.
On Thursday, March 22, locations in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Clerkenwell and Tunbridge Wells will join the celebrations.
The Birthday Beers
Maiden 2017 is an 11.3% ABV barrel-aged barley wine blend designed to reflect Siren’s creativity, experimentation and sense of fun. The 2017 blend contains beer from rum, bourbon (including Heaven Hill and Jim Beam), red wine (French oak), Tequila and Auchentoshan single malt barrels, made with about 15% of fresh Maiden. The aroma truly sings this year, with red wine and berry notes prominent, before pillowy soft marshmallow on the palate gives way to spirit and spicy wood undertones. The blend rounds off with a long, rich finish.
Limoncello IPA, Siren’s 9.1% tart and juicy lemon DIPA, returns for one batch only to celebrate five amazing years with the support of long-standing friends, collaborators and inspirers Hill Farmstead. A malt base of Pilsner and wheat creates a subtle crisp backbone that’s kettle soured. Siren adds lactose to hint at the mouthfeel and sweetness of the liqueur, balance it with lemon zest and juice for sharpness, then round everything off with lemony, citrus-led hops.
Caribbean Chocolate Cake, a collaboration with Cigar City Brewing, is a dense, rich and luxurious 7.4% tropical stout. Hand-roasted cacao nibs from the USA give hints of tamarind and soft lemon. The malt provides coffee and chocolate notes in abundance, while the hop profile offers orange, chocolate and coconut flavours. Ageing on Cypress Wood is the icing on the cake.
