DESERTFEST 2019

This year’s DESERTFEST LONDON lineup is now complete and stage times are out. It looks like one hell of a tasty treat! As always the Black Heart will be the epicentre of the festival, with all sorts of fun things in the alleyway out front, a bulk of killer beers on sale at the bar, some of the heaviest and most destroying bands the festival has to offer upstairs, and the most outrageously raucous afterparties every single night.

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Tickets are still available but are shifting VERY fast, so don’t wait around.
You can purchase directly via the link at the click button below :

As if ALL this wasn’t enough, the annual official festival pre-party is also being held in our hallowed walls once again. This year it’s a stonking lineup curated by none other than our favourite Heavy Metal Record Shop CRYPT OF THE WIZARD, and features the heavy delights of Ghold, Rainbow Grave, Primitive Knot and Bible.

Details and tickets via the event page at :
http://www.ourblackheart.com/events/2019/5/2/desertfest-pre-party

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HEAVY METAL YOGA

That’s it, you read it right… HEAVY METAL VINYASA YOGA arrives at The Black Heart
on selected Saturday afternoons from February !

Brought to you by SELMA RA YOGA, these afternoon sessions will take place on Saturday’s upstairs in the Black Heart venue from 3pm-4pm (please check calendar / links below for dates). In their own words :
”We'll be fueling our meditative physical movement with some heavy, expansive, smashing atmospheric black, folk, death, and doom metal. The Black Heart has an awesome venue space for gigs, we all know that- and they've agreed to hold metal vinyasa yoga classes too, for the first time!”

Black candles and yoga mats provided...
Please come wearing flexible, comfortable clothing.

ONLY £10 -OR STUDENTS £8

For Information & Booking your spot, Check out Selma Ra Yoga
(web: https://selmarayoga.com/) (Insta: www.instagram.com/selmarayoga/)

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A CRAZY CRAZY NYE

The Black Heart in association with LIVE EVIL & Old Empire proudly present:

HOTTER THAN HELL - KISS TRIBUTE
with special guests
Electric Funeral - Black Sabbath Tribute


You wanted the best, you got the best! 
We loved Hotter Than Hell Kiss Tribute so much on Halloween that we decided to fly them back to London for the NYE party to end all NYE parties, with a specially curated setlist that you can help choose!

Plus LIVE EVIL DJs spinning the hottest in rock, metal and disco all night long!


Tickets for Upstairs & Downstairs are £10 for earlybirds and if you fancy just hanging downstairs it will be £5 Advance tickets are available at :
https://www.seetickets.com/event/a-crazy-crazy-new-years-eve/the-black-heart/1292927

A limited amount of tables are available to be reserved for large groups.
Email life@ourblackheart.com for more info

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BLACK HEART BLACK XMAS FT BÖMBERS

It’s that time of year again, winter is upon us scrapping it’s icy fingers deep across everyone’s miserable soul, but things are staying hot up in the Black Heart’s venue as we welcome the mighty BÖMBERS, Bergen’s premier Motorhead Tribute Band to raise hell in Camden!

Featuring none other than ABBATH ( ex-Immortal ) aka Killminister - bass / vocals, TORE ( ex-Old Funeral , Studfaust) aka Fast Tore - guitar, and PEZ (ex-Punishment Park) aka Party Animal Taylor - drums, the trio will be ripping their way furiously through a set of the ultimate Motörhead classics on Thursday December 20th. Plus, heave metal dj’s in the downstairs bar afters to keep the party flowing Fast And Loose! Tickets are on sale now and shifting fast so unless you were Born To Lose then get on there and bag yourself one asa-bloody-p!
https://www.seetickets.com/event/b-mbers/the-black-heart/1288794

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YOB AT THE BLACK HEART

Once again another monumental free show brings itself to The Black Heart, the Earth shattering YOB will rattle the grounds of Camden for a very special performance on November 15th.
YOB are undeniably one of the heaviest live bands to wrap your mind around. Their unique, complex and crushing take on doom makes them one of the most innovative and celebrated acts in the heavy music scene, the only way to describe a performance by YOB is all engulfing; a transcendent soundscape that hits the very core of your being. Support will come from London's very own tone-titans Poseidon.
We are honoured to be hosting them for an extremely intimate, albeit extremely loud, performance on Thursday November 15th. As always this is an event for the fans, whilst supporting small independent venues and yes, it follows the same model as previous free shows - which means the only way to get in is by queuing. No bagsies, no guestlist, no bribes - but as y'all should know by now, we always endeavour to squeeze every last one of you in so get on down!

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WIN FREE MERCH + BAR TAB THIS HALLOWEEN, PLUS AMUNDSEN BREWERY TAKEOVER

Hell-O-Ween is almost upon us!

As we gear up for our biggest Halloween party to date this Saturday 27th October, with Europe’s best KISS cover bands HOTTER THAN HELL, we’re stoked to reveal we’ll be having a takeover from our favourite Norwegian brewery, the insanely cool Amundsen.
But before the beer list is revealed, it needs to be known that we take Halloween very seriously here - so to make sure y’all follow suit this weekend, we’ll be asking Gene and the gang to pick their very favourite costumes of the night. 1st place will WIN a £50 bar tab, plus your choice of Black Heart merch, each runner up will also win their choice of merch! And a reminder that entry is FREE to our Halloween party all night, so get the fake blood and ratty wigs out folks, we wanna be scared to D 👻 E 👻 A 👻 T 👻 H!

AMUNDSEN HALLOWEEN BEER LIST

· Basket Case · DIP collab with Collective Arts ON TAP - Smooth, tropical, dank and juicy 7.5% ABV

· Apocalyptic Thunder Juice · IPA ON TAP - Zesty orange, hoppy and sweet 6.5% ABV

· Lorita · Passionfruit Pale Ale ON TAP - Fruity, rich and refreshing with a touch of pine 4.7%

· Zombie Juice · NE Pale Ale IN CAN - Hazy, tropical and juicy 5.5%

· Voodoo Headbanger · Imperial IPA collab with Northern Monk IN CAN - Classic, easy to drink, lightly bitter 8.0%

· Head Rush · Dry Hoped Fruit Sour collab with Duration IN CAN - Refreshing and sour mandarin, tangy and fruity 5.7&

· Lush · Raspberry and Lime Berliner Weisse IN CAN - Rich berries with a sour tang 5.5%

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LOST BOYS PIZZA LAUNCH - 100 free slices!

🧛🏻‍♀️🍕 OUR KITCHEN IS BACK!!! 🍕🧛🏻‍♀️

This Friday, superhuman pizza mavericks Lost Boys Pizza will be starting their pop-up kitchen at The Black Heart. Dishin' out 100 FREE SLICES of their iconic 'black dough' pizza, plus beers on Camden Town Brewery from 6-8pm. Yeah that's right, FREE BEER + FREE PIZZA... sounds like a pretty solid Friday night to us. 
From next week onwards, Lost Boys will be feedin' us every Wednesday - Saturday from 5pm 'til late. They will be offering more than just pizza's too, check out the full menu from The Lost Boys crew below. See all you creatures of the night this Friday! 🦇

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BLACK HEART MERCH NOW ONLINE

Wanna get decked out in yer favourite bars heavy metal garms? Yeah thought so, we are stoked to announce that our range of Black Heart merch - including hats, pins, jumpers + more is now available both online and in person from the bar.

‘Into The Void’ pays homage to our favourite band of all time, plus we’ve got a limited numbers left of our ‘Devil’ range designed by the killer Stevie Gee. Grab ‘em whilst ya can HERE or as you sink a couple of tequilas with us, we’ll be releasing a new design very soon so keep your eyes peeled!

Thank you to the legendary Ester Segarra for the pictures.

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CROWBAR AT THE BLACK HEART

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The Black Heart are beyond excited to be hosting a monumental, once in a life time show next week. NOLA sludge legends CROWBAR will be playing a FREE show at our venue on Sunday 23rd September. With a career spanning almost 30 years, Crowbar are not only masters of their craft but have set the standard for an entire genre of music.

Creators of some of the most thunderous riffs ever written, Crowbar were born from the very beginnings of the NOLA scene, with more comrades and musical projects throughout their iconic career than most could ever dream of. And despite an array of line-up changes over the last 30 years, Kirk and his crew have always managed to not only define, but seamlessly refresh, their unique sound - keeping things at an otherworldly level of heavy and repeatedly showing the young bucks how it’s truly done. 

Crowbar’s recent live performances have been met with purely rave reviews; with revellers hailing the latest set lists, atmosphere and musical line-up as some of the best of their career.
It’s no easy feat trying to picture these titanic warlords of sludge in a 170 cap venue… but we sure as hell can’t wait to witness it. They will be joined by London’s very own GRAVE LINES.
Just don’t forget to get down early - because it’s first come, first served… so yeah, we wouldn’t blame you for camping outside The Black Heart from the early hours.

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Plus if this night wasn’t going to be mental enough already, we have got the mighty Ben Ward from ORANGE GOBLIN DJing until 2am, so pace your livers and your minds… it’s going to be a big un’.

BLACK HEART HELL-O-WEEN with HOTTER THAN HELL

🎃 HELL-O-WEEN 🎃

We’re going bigger, louder & scarier than ever before for our favourite night of the year 👻 With Europe’s best KISS covers band Hotter Than Hell Kiss Tribute takin’ us to unholy heights as we celebrate All Hallows Eve on Saturday 27th October, there will be PYRO! BLOOD! And all your favourite KISS jams 💫

Plus we’ll have some gruesome games ✟ prizes for the best costumes ✟ special satanic shots ✟ and London’s most devilish DJs to keep ya partying with the DEADD till 2am. 
It’s FREE ENTRY all night so don’t miss out ya wimps

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FOUNDERS BREWING RIFFMAGGEDON!

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This Friday, Michigan mavericks Founders Brewing will be rolling thru to the Heart, bringing four of their freshest delights for your tasting pleasure. Globally renowned for their IPA's, Founders have upped the bar for accessible yet innovative craft beers - and what goes better with beer than MONSTROUS RIFFS? DJ Timbo, part of the Founders crew, will be taking y'all through a musical journey of the greatest riffs from across the decades. History isn't a lesson you need remember, unless it's a history of head banging. Beers will be on all day, and the tunes will be loud from 8pm till closing!

Check out the full beer list here - 

· Rubaeus · 
Optimizing the flavor of fresh raspberries, Rubaeus is Founders’ way of celebrating the joys of summer year-round. This stunning berry-red masterpiece is the perfect blend of sweet, tart and refreshing. No question about it, this beer is 100% Founders.

· Fuzzy Sweater · 
Brewed with 100% Cashmere hops, this wheat ale has just the right amount of hop bitterness countered with slight berry sweetness. A substantial malt bill gives a smooth, satisfying flavor – like a fuzzy sweater for your palate.

· Azacca IPA · 
Named after the Haitian God of agriculture, the Azacca hop has an intense tropical aroma with hints of citrus and mango. A touch of caramel malt gives a sweet backbone to support the righteous fruit character of this beer. Pouring a burnt orange color and registering at 7.0% ABV, your taste buds will worship this heavenly, hopped delight.

· Centennial IPA · 
Get ready to bask in the glory of the frothy head’s floral bouquet. Relish the citrus accents from the abundance of dry hopping. This one’s sweet, yet balanced. Malty undertones shake hands with the hop character for a finish that never turns too bitter.

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POWER TRIP vs ATOMIC BITCHWAX!

THE PARTY TO END ALL PARTIES IS HERE!

Two of our favourite bands, hard rock heavyweights The Atomic Bitchwax and thrash-titans Power Tripwill be facing off for the after show to end all after shows on Wednesday 8th August.

Once they're done ripping our stage apart, Atomic Bitchwax will be stumbling down the stairs to spin some killer tunes, drink 200 beers and generally have a downright sweet time till we all wake up wondering what in carnation happened.
And because one afterparty isn't enough for us - we'll have one of, if not THE, best band of the last few years bowling over from there sold-out show a mere 10 feet away, ready to take us all to that next level of annihilation. Texas badboys Power Trip know how to party (trust us, they racked up a £200 bar tab last time they "popped in for a hello") and will be keeping things going till 2 in the damn morning, yes on a WEDNESDAY.

So book that Thursday off work, get your livers prepped and tell your mother you love her...

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HOLY ROAR RECORDS X GOOD CHEMISTRY BREWING

Don't let the pinkness of this poster fool you, on Friday 6th July the Heart will welcome a party of the highest order - lead by two of the most exciting local innovators in the world of music and beer. One of the best record labels in the UK, the mighty Holy Roar Records - which is home to the likes of Conjurer, Bossk & Rolo Tomassi, have joined forces with the brilliant Bristolian brewer's Good Chemistry to collab on yet another fine tipple.
We'll be welcoming their newest creation, ROAR POWER alongside a tap takeover which includes their INVINCIBLE SUMMER & the last ever keg of BLACK PRINCE.
Plus the guys from Holy Roar will be spinning some tracks from 8-10pm to show off their incredible roster & get y'all in the mood for a blindingly fun Friday night.

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Kelly at Good Chemistry gave us the lowdown on how the collab came intro fruition... 

"I saw Alex’s first signing back in 2007 and followed them grow and grow, and Sam has loved HRR for years and even played alongside a few of their bands back in his days as a hardcore drummer. When we met Alex at the first Bristol Craft Beer Festival in 2016 and realised this connection, brewing a beer together was an obvious next move. We brewed an awesome 6.66% American stout last year, but this year wanted a summer smasher that we could enjoy in the sunshine! It combines peach and sweet cherry with a double helping of American hops for a fruity refreshing 5% pale ale."

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Invincible Summer, 7%
Light in colour and bursting with German and American hops, this luscious and juicy IPA has low bitterness to complement flavour of peach, apricot and tropical fruit.  

Black Prince, 6.3% 
This sweet smoky stout was a collaboration, brewed with Staggeringly Good Beer in Portsmouth in anticipation of WarriorFest, their dinosaur-and-pirate-themed beer festival on board war ship HMS Warrior. Full of interesting malts, rich in flavour and dark in colour, the remainder of this beer is in whiskey barrels at Good Chemistry waiting until July’s festival!

20 YEARS OF SOUTHERN LORD! - A PLAYLIST

One of our favourite records labels of all time, the legendary SOUTHERN LORD are celebrating a momentous 20 years of musical madness. 
With the likes of EARTH, SLEEP and SUNN O))) on their roster, Southern Lord have been releasing the heaviest goods on the planet for two devilish decades now. We are truly honoured that founder Greg Anderson has made us a playlist of some of his favourite tracks from their extensive collection of bad-assery, believe us when we say we're gonna be blasting this in the bar non-stop.

Label owner Greg Anderson comments "Over the years Southern Lord has the incredible honour of releasing albums from cult legendary bands: Electric Wizard, Sleep, Magma, Unsane, Darkest Hour, Grief, Saint Vitus, BL’AST!, Winter, Wolfbrigade, Poison Idea, & Pelican as well as iconic, monumental artists: Dylan Carlson (Earth), Wino, Dave Grohl (Probot), Zakk Wylde (Zakk Sabbath) & Josh Homme (Desert Sessions). We are extremely proud to have been a part of the developing rise of several bands who are now part of the essential fabric of the underground: Wolves In The Throne Room, Nails, Boris, & Power Trip."

Greg continues..."It is our mission to create a sanctuary for bands/artists/musicians to have their creative works released exactly as their vision was intended."

Right on Greg, here's to the next 20. Check out the playlist HERE via our Spotify & turn that shit up all the way to 11... 

Fourpure anti-summer beer party

On 6/6 @ 6 our buddies over at Fourpure will be rolling into Black Heart to throw an ANTI-SUMMER beer party that'll cool ya down, keep your throat adequately wet and yer mood  sufficiently miserable (or actually not that miserable, because parties are pretty damn fun...)
Fourpure will also be releasing their latest conncoction DEUCEBOX - which is pretty much just a double whammy of their beloved Juicebox, twice the hops, twice the malt and almost twice the strength - because, well, two of everything is always better than one...

Come down, meet the team, and try all 3 of Fourpure’s delicious citrus beers next to each other from 6pm onwards. On draught we will have Deucebox, Trailhead Guava IPA plus Night Train Coffee & Oak Porter and in can we'll be dishing out Juicebox and the citrus session Pale Ale Easy Peeler.

Inside forever, outside never.

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Deucebox
The oranges for Deucebox, a 8.3% citrus double IPA, are harvested by blasting California Dreaming through very large speakers at such a high intensity, the fruit just falls from the trees and juices itself. This is then added to Fourpures classic citrus IPA recipe with twice the hops, twice the malt and twice the juice to serve up a punchy, tropical, glass of joy, every time.

Night Train
Night Train is a big, bready, malt-driven beer, with intense toasted chocolate character. The addition of smooth cold brew coffee from hometown legends London Grind is given a lift with some fresh orange and lemon citrus zest. The beer is finished perfectly by the addition of American Oak, giving smooth vanilla and sweet bourbon character.

Trailhead
Extra light, extra dry, and extra hoppy, Trailhead is a highly refreshing IPA that's bursting with tropical fruit. Combining hops from Australia and the US to impart intense notes of passionfruit, papaya & apricot, before dialling it up to 11 with generous additions of guava. 

Juicebox
Pure tropical, fruity pleasure in a glass. Fresh orange zest and heaps of extremely aromatic hops give this beer bright, intense flavours of mango, papaya and bitter orange. A restrained yet present bitterness makes you want that next sip, and the next one, and the one after that. Hoppy, zesty, refreshing.

Easy Peeler
A super juicy, tangerine and citrus Session IPA. Easy drinking and full of flavour, it’s the perfect reward at the day’s end.

CULT NEVER DIES - DOOM METAL LEXICUM

The Black Heart caught up with doom publisher Dayal Patterson of Cult Never Dies, who have just released their latest book - Doom Metal Lexicum, a huge encyclopedic exploration of over over 360 bands, exploring each band's discography in detail and frequently including interviews with the artists involved. 
Doom Metal Lexicum made its debut at London's Desertfest and will now be for sale via desertscene.co.uk! Written by Aleksey Evdokimov (doom-metal.com, Temple Of Perdition, No Clean Singing, Outlaws Of The Sun, InRock, Fire) with additional input from Mike Liassides (doom-metal.com), Tana Haugo Kawahara (Eternal Elysium) and Sami Hynninen (Reverend Bizarre). Editing and some additional text by Dayal Patterson (Cult Never Dies, Decibel, Metal Hammer), plus exclusive cover illustration by David Thiérrée (Behemoth, Mortiis).
Watch below to find out a bit more about the book and Cult Never Dies as an entity...

MAGNA CARTA CARTEL @ THE BLACK HEART - VIDEO

Back in March, the mysterious and mesmerising Magna Carta Cartel reignited their flame after 9 long years to play two live performances. The Black Heart was lucky enough to play host to this momentous occasion - the shows sold out in a manner of minutes, with fans from all over the world flying into London to bare witness to their return. 

The band brought along Claudio Marino to capture the whole event and find out why the band have developed such a cult status despite having rarely performed live. Check out the full video below...

DESERTFEST 2018 @ THE BLACK HEART

Our favourite weekend of the year, the incomparable Desertfest London returns for its 7th year of the obliteration of Camden Town. Offering up the very best in the world of stoner rock, doom, sludge, psych and all its subsidiaries, Desertfest is the ultimate weekend of big riffs and even bigger parties.

Once again, The Black Heart will play host to not only a stage across the three days - but act as the main hub of all measures of insanity. With the official pre-party with ASG taking place on Thursday, the most mental afterparties of the weekend, our street (Greenland Place) closed off for the festival with an outdoor Brooklyn Brewery bar, merch areas & more, some super special beers on tap, shots of Julia's infamous Bloody Mary and basically just all of the good times you could ever imagine happening over a weekend EVER, Desertfest 2018 is set to be the biggest year yet.
To get you in the mood, the DF crew have created us a playlist of killer jams from a bunch of the acts playing. Check it out by clicking the below photo & get your ears, neck and livers prepped... 

The Desertfest x Black Heart afterparties are a thing of legend, with queues stretching round the block just to get in last year. We've got some of our favourite, most raucous party bringers ready to keep the groove going, the shots flowing or whatever else tickles your fancy...

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FAMILY WOODARD @ THE BLACK HEART
MAY 4TH

Anarchic booze fuelled brother sister duo playing the best in doom, heavy metal, and punk ragers. No strangers to the decks in and around this 'ere London town of ours, expect them to bring heavy metal riffs and whisky fits to fuel the opening night deep into the darkest hours.

11pm - 3am

FRIDAY DESERTFEST TICKETS

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SHE'S SO HEAVY @ THE BLACK HEART
MAY 5TH

Anarchic booze fuelled brother sister duo playing the best in doom, heavy metal, and punk ragers. No strangers to the decks in and around this 'ere London town of ours, expect them to bring heavy metal riffs and whisky fits to fuel the opening night deep into the darkest hours.

11pm - 3am

SATURDAY DESERTFEST TICKETS

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DESERTSCENE CLOSING PARTY @ THE BLACK HEART
MAY 6TH

The annual Desertfest closing party, time to drown your sorrows and facilitate the impending bank holiday hangover with a final hurrah and glasses raised as the weekend draws to a blurry close. DJ Harris once again presides in his own inimitable style, spinning stoner rock, heavy jams, and highway ripping anthems right 'til the livin' end!

11pm - 3am

SUNDAY DESERTFEST TICKETS

MUNICIPAL WASTE'S ART OF BEER DRINKING WITH DAVE WITTE

We caught up with long-time friend of the Heart and the fastest ripping drummer to walk this Earth, the righteous Dave Witte from Municipal Waste, Brain Tentacles and, like, a zillion other bands. 
A beer fan of the highest order and as someone who spends probably 3/4 of the year travelling, Dave is not only a tried and tested road dawg, he’s a tried and tested beer road dawg. Municipal Waste are no strangers to a good time - having collabed with a number of breweries over the years and throwing some of the most legendary parties in punk rock. Dave is a regular visitor of The Black Heart every time he’s in town, so we had a bit of a chat with the fella to find out what he's lovin' guzzlin' at the moment...

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“The best part about touring is trying all the new beer being made these days, I’ve been nuts about beer since that bottle of De Dolle Stille Nacht changed my life back in the day. I usually gravitate towards bigger beer, but there really is a style for all occasions and situations I believe. That being said, you could be adventurous and try something new or go with a classic ‘cause they never get old. In fact, I think Old is becoming the new New… with the resurgence of lagers and pilsners being so out there at the moment. Bring it on, I’m all about the old school.”

Dave is already pretty damn familiar with our offering, but has picked his Top 3 from our current selection to help you plan out a night of no sobriety...

"Go with anything Cloudwater! They are brewing up a storm of styles and have even collaborated with The Veil brewing company, who are from my home. Richmond, VA. 

Gigantic Brewing from Portland, OR are great brewers, very versatile and make top notch beer, try out the collab bottle with Magic Rock if you fancy something tart. 

Evil Twin Even More Jesus is a huge imperial stout that’s a perfect night cap or maybe more like a nail in the coffin."

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"What I’d like to try next time I’m in London town - the Amundsen: Run to the Pils because Iron Maiden are my favorite metal band ever! And the ABC Juice Springsteen since I’m originally from New Jersey! 
Overall, The Black Heart has a killer beer list that’s pretty diverse and can cure anyone’s thirst, I’m itching to get back on one of those bar stools and sink a bunch of cold ones!"

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