Brewed: Walthamstow, London
Strength: 4.7% ABV
Founded on the back of a hobby that turned into an obsession, Wild Card Brewery functions from its own site in Walthamstow, having opened at the beginning of 2014. Since launching, Wild Card has become renowned for producing no-nonsense, uncompromising beers with a four-strong core range inspired by playing cards. These include a ‘Jack of Clubs’ ruby ale, ‘Queen of Diamonds’ hoppy IPA, ‘King of Hearts’ blonde beer, and ‘Ace of Spades’ – “a classic London Porter”.
When poured, ‘Ace of Spades’ is black with undertones of red and topped with a tan head that’s fairly quick to disperse. On the nose, prominent notes of lightly roasted coffee are joined with rich chocolate, caramel, vanilla and toasted barley. As expected, the coffee and chocolate flavours continue onto the palate with prominence, and are then joined by back notes of very subtle vanilla and some ripe plum to complement the beer’s velvety, slightly oily texture. Then with some typical coffee and cocoa bitterness, the beer has a rich bittersweet finish that lingers. With the first real signs of frost in London, ‘Ace of Spades’ is a delightful porter to see us through the colder months.
Further information on Wild Card Brewery, as well as a list of stockists is available from wildcardbrewery.co.uk.