“It returns! Our most requested and highest rated brew — A special double chocolate variation of our Hazelnut Brown, rich in chocolate with the addition of real cocoa, amped up the creaminess and dialled up the strength.”

Glassware: English pint.

Appearance: Dark brown with faint cherry red highlights. Two fingers of frothy mocha head is well retained and laces nicely.

Aroma: It does exactly what it says. If they used fresh chocolate and hazelnut then we must give them extra credit as there is a tonne of it here. All the usual suspects are also here in abundance – toasty nutty malt, caramel/toffee, fresh wholemeal bread, vanilla, sweet dark fruits and delicate coffee/cocoa. That’s a bloody ripper of an aroma.

Flavour: Excellent transition on to the palate. Chocolate, hazelnut, almond, vanilla and caramel all rush the entry. Good carry through the mid picking up hints of toast and earthy hops as it surges in to a nice roasty finish with lingering coffee, roasted malts and chocolate on the rear.

Mouthfeel: Creamy, smooth and silky but with enough body to hold it up. There’s a slightly lifted Co2 which we like. 7.2% ABV is well cloaked.

Overall: This is a top shelf drop. It’s been a long time between drinks for us and Bad Shepherd and going by this it shouldn’t have been! The perfect Easter beer!