Since I’ve been living in Florida, going on two months now, I’ve been trying to dive deeper into some of the breweries and try their lesser available or taproom only beers.
Cigar City is known for Hunahpu’s and Jai Alai, but to be honest, those probably aren’t even their best two beers. I’ve been popping in when I’m on the west side for a couple weeks and checking out what they’ve had on tap. And this beer popped up.
Generic name? Yes. Generic taste? Hmmm, let’s find out.
Pours opaque coffee black with a dark tan head that dissipates quickly. This beer looks exactly like Hunahpu’s. The head bubbles are all different sizes, which is a good thing. Swirling the beer in the tulip reinvigorates the head, creating a nice frothy foam momentarily.
Aroma is very much reminiscent of my grandfather’s grain bin. Very interesting. There’s a slight booziness in there as well.
Sweet chocolate on the palate with a slight cinnamon whiskey back end. For a barrel aged beer it’s not over done, which I like. It’s not barrel forward, but it’s got a tad bit of that whiskey burn as it slides down your gullet.
This is a tasty barrel aged stout but nothing mind-blowing, much like the name. Regardless, it’s solid. I know Cigar City gets a lot of grief from the “uber” beer nerds, but good beer is good beer. I’m glad I got to try this. Would I seek it out or buy bottles of it? No, but it was a quality barrel aged beer.
Cigar City’s description for this beer: “Bold, robust and roasty, this Imperial Stout was pulled from barrels that previously held cinnamon whiskey. Bourbon spiciness, wood flavors and cinnamon abound. Not for the faint of heart.”
Cheers!
Beer Stats
- ABV: 12.7%
- IBU: 27
- Untappd Rating: 4.21
- # of Ratings: 441
