Either - Cigar City Brewing

WholeFoodsDerek

Florida

4.25/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Served poured from a 12 ounce bottle into a glass.

A - Black in color, this bad boy looks like an imperial stout, but don't be mistaken.

S - The spanish cedar is prevalent, which I am glad because it reminds me of their humidor IPA. Also getting some toasted malts and hops.

T - Lots of complexity. You get a sweetness as in barley-wines provide with the high alcohol, although it isn't an unbearable amount of heat on the palate. There is also the bitterness from the hops, and subtle spanish cedar. This is packed with flavors that uniquely bring together several flavors of different beer genres into one.

M - Lightly silky, medium bodied, bittersweet.

D - One or two at most.

Overall - a unique, powerful, and bold beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2010 02:54:50 | More by WholeFoodsDerek

cyrushire

Florida

3.75/5  rDev -5.1%

01-26-2013 06:47:22 | More by cyrushire

spycow

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -11.4%

01-14-2013 05:35:04 | More by spycow

iemailjack

Florida

3.5/5  rDev -11.4%

01-07-2013 23:24:34 | More by iemailjack

irs

New Jersey

4.5/5  rDev +13.9%

12-09-2012 13:55:14 | More by irs

sendbeer

Georgia

4.5/5  rDev +13.9%

10-27-2012 15:42:56 | More by sendbeer

JAHMUR

Connecticut

3.75/5  rDev -5.1%

10-20-2012 16:14:51 | More by JAHMUR

ncaudle

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev -5.1%

10-15-2012 15:11:19 | More by ncaudle

t0rin0

California

3.5/5  rDev -11.4%

09-10-2012 03:32:57 | More by t0rin0

Immortale25

Florida

4.39/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Was so stoked to find this behind the shelf at a local convenience store! Didn't think I'd ever get to try this. Poured into a Dogfish signature snifter. No freshness date.

A- Pours a black color that's entirely opaque with a dark tan 1/2 inch head that lingers a bit before becoming a thick ring around the edge of the glass and bubbly surface foam. Spotty lacing.

S- Full of roast and some oak. Has a mild aroma of oxidation but the coffee/licorice/molasses depth overrides most of the signs of age...not to mention the very apparent presence of alcohol.

T- A bit hot and sweet with a bourbon tinge. More roast from the malt plus some creaminess. Molasses sticks out again. The alcohol is felt in the back of the throat after multiple sips as the aftertaste makes chocolate come to mind. Bitter, but not in a hoppy kind of way. More like the sweetness of a barleywine with more emphasis on the malt character (due to the ty ty honey I guess?).

M- Creamy in the feel as well. Plenty of alcohol twang to make you sit up in your seat. Low carbonation was expected since I'm pretty sure this bottle is at least a year old, probably two.

O- Success. Not only was this a very sought after brew for yours truly, but it also ended up surpassing my expectations making this well worth the $9 +tax I paid for this bad boy. Deep, complex and strong. A sipper for sure and one hell of a night cap. Cheers.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2012 05:23:13 | More by Immortale25

Alieniloquium

Florida

3.5/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 oz. bottle poured into a Hunahpu snifter.

Appearance - Pours an inky black with almost no head. A collar of khaki foam. Leggy as I swirl it.

Smell - Molasses all over. A fair bit of cedar. Just a little bit of the hop profile left in this.

Taste - Molasses again is the dominant flavor. The hop flavor is mostly gone in the front, but there's a sustained bitterness throughout. The cedar becomes more prominent and a little bit oppressive. Bitter finish. Boozy, too.

Mouthfeel - Boozy and bitter. The cedar lingers. Not like a Humidor beer, but still pretty influential.

Overall - Aged has dulled the hops in this, but the other flavors are still nice. Very boozy still, but a nice blend. Even when this was fresh, it was much more towards the stout end of the Black IPA spectrum.

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2012 00:34:47 | More by Alieniloquium

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

This is just slightly hot at first. Real nice berry and spicy tones, with the berry and sweetness with it showing most. Real smooth feel. If the alcohol were a bit less noticeable it would be easier to take on. Still nice though. The Or wins, in my book.

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2012 16:17:49 | More by RblWthACoz

david131

Michigan

3.5/5  rDev -11.4%

08-17-2012 19:33:41 | More by david131

GRG1313

California

4/5  rDev +1.3%

08-15-2012 03:21:09 | More by GRG1313

CliffBrake

New Hampshire

4.25/5  rDev +7.6%

06-09-2012 13:22:14 | More by CliffBrake

JohnQVD

New York

4/5  rDev +1.3%

06-02-2012 17:16:13 | More by JohnQVD

kylehay2004

Florida

4.08/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Single finger tan head on a jet black body. Aroma is very strong with vanilla, cinnamon, oak, bourbon, roasted malt and chocolate all prevalent. The malt is less apparent with bourbon, coffee, vanilla, chocolate and some mint notes dominating. full bodied, smooth and moderate carbonation. Complex and strongly flavored with the hops fairly mild and almost noncontributory to the flavor.

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2012 01:31:34 | More by kylehay2004

hattingc

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +13.9%

03-28-2012 19:43:24 | More by hattingc

RomaniIteDomum

Florida

4.25/5  rDev +7.6%

03-14-2012 03:58:11 | More by RomaniIteDomum

TheSamsquanch

New York

4.5/5  rDev +13.9%

03-09-2012 21:11:37 | More by TheSamsquanch

Doppelbockulus

Florida

1/5  rDev -74.7%

01-27-2012 06:54:03 | More by Doppelbockulus

Satchboogie

New Hampshire

3.5/5  rDev -11.4%

01-20-2012 06:14:37 | More by Satchboogie

tugg407

Florida

3.5/5  rDev -11.4%

01-06-2012 07:25:19 | More by tugg407

IdrinkGas

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -24.1%

01-04-2012 23:40:44 | More by IdrinkGas

silentjay

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

reviewed from notes about a week ago.

pours a brown tinted black with very little head, but leaves lots of lacing.

lots of pine, leafy hops (mint leaf, some tobacco, some herbal) a bit of citrus, and plenty of roasted malts.

some peppercorn (freshly cracked) comes through surprisingly. odd, but not unpleasant. Piney grassy, mint-leaf hops added to the dark malts that stick subtly behind that, though they make their presence felt.

almost full-bodied with average carbonation and a slight resin left on the finish.

a well-balanced black ale that brings in some unique hop flavors to add to the roasted malt flavors. very nice collab.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2012 06:09:24 | More by silentjay