Do you smell that? It’s wafting from the kitchen, up the stairs, to your bedroom, rousing you from your sleep. Yeah sure you’d like to sleep in – it is the weekend after all – but that humble smell of toasty warm bread, melted (proper) butter and a dash of Marmite is impossible to resist.

Now imagine that feeling all bottled up and available to buy as a delicious beer. No seriously. Hackney Brewery’s Toast is exactly as stirring as a round of really effing good toast.

The latest endeavour from Hackney Brewery is a beer made from stale breadcrumbs and 100% of its profits go to Feedback, a charity that fights global food waste. It’s been given a very high profile launch, with tonnes of media and press coverage, and quite rightly so. Not only is it doing some good, but it tastes bloody good too.

Here’s what you need to know…

Who brewed it?

Hackney Brewery, established in 2011, who we’re big fans of here in Methods Towers, in particular their kickass Okawari Kudasai.

What kind of beer is it?

A real ale.

Strength

5%

What’s in it?

It’s brewed with malted barley (pale malt, CaraMalt, and Munich Malt), hops (Hallertau, Centennial, Cascade, Bramling Cross), yeast and water. but of course the most important ingredient of Toast is… yes bread.

Bread?

Yep. They source fresh, unsold, surplus bread that would otherwise be wasted from various local bakeries and sandwich manufacturers in London. Hackney Brewery then slices the loaves, mashes them into breadcrumbs before brewing and bottling.

What does it look like?

It pours a lovely golden brown, not too dark, not too light. You know, like a perfectly done piece of… YEAH I CAN STRETCH A METAPHOR OUT SO WHAT?

What does Hackney Brewery says it tastes like?

“The toasted bread adds caramel notes that balance the bitter hops, giving a malty taste similar to amber ales and wheat beers.”

What does it actually taste like?

It really is as warm and satisfying and filling and lovely as a good round of toast. It’s genuinely wonderful how the staleness of the bread comes through, but in the most evocative way; transporting you to some kitchen table far away at your parents house, shovelling down round after round.

But there’s also a lightness that betrays its name, going down incredibly easily, with a subtle effervescent touch that cuts through the bitterness. It’s familiar, yet somehow unlike anything I’ve ever had before.

Score: 4/5

For more of the latest and tastiest brews, check out our new craft beer reviews section including this round-up of the best Hitachino Nest Beers.