Ed Harcourt now has his own signature ale, joining the club of musicians-cum-brewers that includes Elbow, The Hold Steady, Iron Maiden and, ahem, Frank Turner.

Harcourt's is a brown ale, made with Tom Bott, the head brewer of Signature Brew, who call it, "a big 6.8% punch of brooding, smoky, oaken flavours [...] Four malts are used to give the intensive backbone, letting the transatlantic hops glide over the top adding high notes and finish."

Says Harcourt himself: "Beer has always been there for me. Like an errant lover it has run out on me countless times yet it still keeps coming back. Its pull is its punch you see. Whether it's that Bombardier on the rug by the fire that I just made myself with my own manly hands or the Michelada in my local Mexican restaurant that weakens the hellish grasp of the night before, it's an old friend that can be used as a crutch or indeed the oil within the social machine. I've been very honoured to design my own beer and I can't wait for you to all try this deep, dark ale that was forged in the caves of south London. All hail Dark Heart!"

It's currently available in 300ml bottles, which you can pre-order here, though be snappy, as they've currently made just one 1,000-bottle batch. Also, have a watch of the "brewing-of" video at the foot of the piece.

In other Ed Harcourt news, the singer's heading out on the road in support of his album, Back Into The Woods, released earlier this year by CCCLX Music - have a look at the dates below:

MAY
Thu 16 - Sat 18 - The Great Escape festival, Brighton
Wed 29 - Colston Hall 2, Bristol
Thu 30 - Cadogan Hall, London
Fri 31 - Slade Room, Wolverhampton

JUNE
Sun 2 - Trades Club, Hebden Bridge
Mon 3 - St. Philip's, Salford
Tue 4 - Library Theatre, Sheffield
Thu 6 - Holy Trinity, Leeds
Fri 7 - Scandinavian Church, Liverpool
Sun 9 - Sage 2, Gateshead
Mon 10 - NCEM, York
Tu 11 - Arts Centre, Norwich