Cigar City / Swamp Head Church On A Hill - Cognac Barrel Aged - Cigar City Brewing

stakem

Pennsylvania

4.48/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

750ml bottle into a matching Cigar City snifter. A massive amount of thanks go to Sendsilk for hooking me up with this. I missed the release of this brew by visiting the brewery a day too early and Matt hooked me up. Thanks man! The brew pours a muddy looking dark brown. When held to the light, it has some lighter mahogany look to it around the edges. A finger of tan froth surges to the surface and quickly fades to a ring around the perimeter of the glass.

The aroma of this brew is sweet smelling. Quite dark and malty with chocolate suggestions coupled with vanilla. At times, it comes across somewhat similar to belgian candy sugar but maybe with a bit more focus towards toffee, caramel and toasty burnt sugar. The alcohol is noticed with a bit of vinous appeal as the brew warms up that mixes with some oak quality. This is a pretty fine smelling brew that is well rounded and blended.

The taste is just as you would expect based of the aroma. Flavors of chocolate and vanilla fill the mouth mixing with a bit of vinous character. Initially the alcohol is masterfully hidden but as the experience continues it warms up the back of the throat and makes itself known. The aftertaste is caught between fruity hops, vinous notes and a bit of leathery earth. The oak flavor really comes out as the brew warms up along with a flavor of dark molasses and toasty barrel presence.

This is a medium to full bodied brew with a moderate amount of carbonation. It is overall well rounded and a solid take on the style. For being just released last week, this brew is graceful. It carries with it a lot of quality I find similar to a well aged bottle of jw lees or thomas hardy. If you enjoy english barleywine examples that are sweet but not too sweet with a solid alcohol inclusion, you are going to fall in love this brew. After the fact side-note: after reviewing this brew, I thought about it and this is only the 4th or 5th brew that I can recall trying that was aged in a cognac barrel. Without a doubt this one captures the vinous notes of the barrel better than any other one I have tried to date.

Serving type: bottle

07-13-2012 02:59:58 | More by stakem

mookihouse

California

4.75/5  rDev +6.3%

05-20-2013 18:26:11 | More by mookihouse

michaeljstraub

Georgia

4.5/5  rDev +0.7%

05-16-2013 19:47:59 | More by michaeljstraub

POTABLE83

New York

4.25/5  rDev -4.9%

05-14-2013 19:29:09 | More by POTABLE83

Hefewiseman

Florida

5/5  rDev +11.9%

05-14-2013 01:18:57 | More by Hefewiseman

jlwelsh

Florida

4.75/5  rDev +6.3%

05-14-2013 01:15:08 | More by jlwelsh

MrNate

Florida

5/5  rDev +11.9%

05-14-2013 01:05:30 | More by MrNate

ndepriest

Georgia

4.5/5  rDev +0.7%

05-11-2013 12:05:14 | More by ndepriest

drummermattie02

Texas

3.75/5  rDev -16.1%

05-05-2013 18:58:01 | More by drummermattie02

zach60614

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +0.7%

04-29-2013 16:04:07 | More by zach60614

beernads

Florida

4.75/5  rDev +6.3%

04-29-2013 00:03:54 | More by beernads

mdaschaf

Washington

4.25/5  rDev -4.9%

04-28-2013 23:24:57 | More by mdaschaf

thegerm87

Connecticut

4.25/5  rDev -4.9%

04-21-2013 15:38:45 | More by thegerm87

Hessian257

New Jersey

4.5/5  rDev +0.7%

04-18-2013 04:27:41 | More by Hessian257

madnismo

Florida

4.75/5  rDev +6.3%

04-03-2013 02:45:16 | More by madnismo

leschkie

California

3.25/5  rDev -27.3%

04-01-2013 23:36:07 | More by leschkie

MADPolo

Florida

4/5  rDev -10.5%

03-10-2013 18:55:32 | More by MADPolo

7clutch

Florida

4.5/5  rDev +0.7%

03-10-2013 17:46:53 | More by 7clutch

ShemRahBoo

New Jersey

4.75/5  rDev +6.3%

03-04-2013 05:51:53 | More by ShemRahBoo

CLCardinal84

Illinois

4.75/5  rDev +6.3%

02-28-2013 03:11:47 | More by CLCardinal84

Nrcost2

Kentucky

4.75/5  rDev +6.3%

02-27-2013 02:16:57 | More by Nrcost2

lionssoccer13

Florida

4.5/5  rDev +0.7%

02-26-2013 16:03:36 | More by lionssoccer13

rtaps

California

4.75/5  rDev +6.3%

02-26-2013 00:35:02 | More by rtaps

MrVonzipper

California

4.5/5  rDev +0.7%

02-26-2013 00:30:08 | More by MrVonzipper

jaasen64

Massachusetts

4.44/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

750ml bottle poured into snifter. Thanks Don for bringing this to our barleywine tasting. Reviewed from notes.

A- Pours a reddish brown, mostly opaque, fairly minimal head that recedes to a still top, decent carbonation.

S- Cognac, vanilla, oak, toffee, sweet malts. Nice balance without the cognac overpowering too much. Not as aromatic or as complex as King Henry.

T- Toffee, sweet malts, cognac adding a nice sweetness but not making the beer overly sweet or boozey tasting. Extremely well balanced and very flavorful, I don't think you are going to find another barleywine that is much more balanced.

M- Smooth, low carbonation but a decent amount for the style, very easy drinking.

O- We had this bottle in our barleywine tasting right after King Henry and Leon respectively. While King Henry was more complex and flavorful overall and I enjoyed Leon slightly more because I'm more of a fan of the apple brandy barrels, this beer still held it's own. I'd say it's just a step below King Henry and right on the same level as Leon depending upon what type of barrel you prefer. Overall this is definitely a world class barleywine and without a doubt worth checking out.

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2013 14:55:54 | More by jaasen64