Moat Water - Cigar City Brewing

Franch

New York

4.75/5  rDev +9.7%

02-05-2013 22:25:16 | More by Franch

bcrossan

North Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +3.9%

05-18-2013 01:03:45 | More by bcrossan

BobZ

Massachusetts

4.54/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

750ml Bottle poured into a Huna snifter.

Appearance: Deep, dark, brown with a frothy 1" tan head that looked as thick and rich as crema on a cup of espresso.

Smell: Chocolaty goodness, mostly milk chocolate with slight hints of vanilla. An extremely rich aroma. From the initial pour forward the smell maintains it's intensity.

Taste: The milk chocolate flavor leads, maybe even more toward dark chocolate without the bitterness. Again, the roasted malt and vanilla flavors lay beneath the dominant chocolate. The alcohol is completely masked.

Mouthfeel: This is where this beer really separates itself in my opinion. The best adjective I can find is "lush". This beer tastes so exceptionally full bodied and creamy yet without any hint of becoming cloying or mouth coating. This is the smoothest and creamiest stout I have ever had.

Overall: Another exceptional beer from CCB. So much incredible flavor and definitely a chocolate forward stout.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2013 16:55:55 | More by BobZ

MatthewPlus

Florida

4.25/5  rDev -1.8%

05-15-2013 14:40:15 | More by MatthewPlus

HevvyMetalHippie

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +3.9%

05-15-2013 00:06:01 | More by HevvyMetalHippie

mechamifune

North Carolina

4.38/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a pitch black with a half inch brown head that fades away in about a minute, leaving the slightest of whispy heads on top. Carbonation appears strong and lacing is evident. Looks a little lighter than the usual motor oil consistency you see in a lot of big stouts. Good looking beer.

Smell is milk chocolate sweetness, vanilla, and coffee. A very pleasant smell, with all the notes playing off each other well. The more I smell it I can start picking up a bit of the maple, but I don't know that I can differentiate it that much from the vanilla at this point.

Taste is sweet up front and, well, never really comes that far off of it. A bit of a bitter coffee note lingers in the finish. No real hop presence to speak of. This is a desert beer for sure. I wouldn't call it cloyingly sweet, like ST Choklat for example, but the notes that dominate (chocolate, vanilla, maple) are all sweet notes for sure. The coffee comes in to try to even things out a bit, but I'm not totally convinced it succeeds.

Mouthfeel is a high point, as it is with all the CC stouts i've had to date. Coats the mouth and palette wonderfully. Creates a great vehicle for the flavors conveyed in this beer.

Overall, I really enjoyed this beer but have some reservations about the relatively unbalanced sweetness. Given the ingredients used, one can't help but assume that this is intended to end up on the sweet side of the IS spectrum, so how can I really hold it against them? With that said, this is still a silly drinkable beer and obviously one made with a great deal of skill. CC continues to impress me with the stout offerings. Would get this one again if I could.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2013 03:56:07 | More by mechamifune

drlovemd87

Colorado

4.5/5  rDev +3.9%

05-10-2013 01:27:58 | More by drlovemd87

adam42381

Florida

4.46/5  rDev +3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 750ml bottle into a Cigar City snifter. Bottled on October 25, 2012 printed on label.

Appearance: Pours a motor oil black with a 1/2 finger toffee brown head which dissipates quickly leaving a ring around the edge of the snifter. Very nice lacing.

Smell: Medium roasted coffee, vanilla, and milk chocolate with a touch of molasses. Excellent aroma.

Taste: Medium roasted malt, semisweet chocolate, sweet vanilla and molasses up front followed by coffee and sweet cream in the middle before ending with espresso and burnt toast at the finish. Aftertaste is bitter and roasty with a hint of cocoa.

Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with a good amount of carbonation.

Drinkability: Excellent drinkability. A very smooth beer that goes down way too easily for 8% ABV.

Overall: Excellent beer overall. This reminds me a lot of CCB's Marshal Zhukhov's Imperial Stout except with less booziness. I may enjoy this one even more because it's not quite as heavy. I know this is probably the only time I'll ever get to try it since it was a one time brew, but if I see it again I'm jumping all over it. If you see it, try it.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2013 20:09:40 | More by adam42381

TKEbeerman

Florida

4.5/5  rDev +3.9%

04-30-2013 01:46:07 | More by TKEbeerman

Jeffo

Netherlands

4.18/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle from urwithdave. Cheers for the CCB love man!

From a 750ml into a snifter
25 October 2012
Stout with lactose and aged with vanilla and coffee beans then on Canadian maple wood.

APPEARANCE: A thick black pour yields a two finger, medium looking, fluffy, light mocha head with good retention. Jet black body with lower levels of carbonation evident. Full foam cap and sticks to the sides a bit. A ring and fain wisp remain until the end leaving some falling dots down the glass. Thicker and darker than the vast majority of massive imperial stouts. CCB is blacker than black.

SMELL: Lots of roasted coffee beans, espresso, some sweet cream and vanilla, as well as some cocoa powder too. Some woody notes go with the cream and coffee aromas. Pretty bold and lots of adjuncts lead the way, but everything seems legit. Really nice.

TASTE: Follows the nose pretty well. Coffee, espresso, roasted flavors and lactose sweet cream as well. More bitter coffee and sweet cream at the swallow with a bold and lingering finish of bitter espresso, vanilla and sweet milk sugars. Some wood and bitter coffee and chocolate. Good bitter notes balanced with sweet lactose as well. Very adjunct heavy, but tasty and legit. Not artificial.

PALATE: Medium body and medium carbonation. Semi-creamy on the palate, goes down fine and finishes a touch sticky from the adjuncts. Okay. Creamy enough and soft on the palate, but could be a little fuller. It does get fuller as it sits, however.

OVERALL: Great adjunct stout for sure. Very decadent and well balanced, and everything seems natural and legit. A bigger, imperial version of this would be fun for sure. Very happy to try this one and would love to drink more. Cheers urwithdave!

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2013 18:58:54 | More by Jeffo

beerpirates

Belgium

4.03/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

75 cl poured into a tastingglass

Dark brown / black color. Nice brown head. Good lace.
Nice coffee bean and vanilla in the nose, hint of that maple wood. Maybe some chile at first, but none of that at all in the flavor.
Awesome blend of maple wood, vanilla, coffee, darker chocolate in the flavor. Nice big sweet flavor, but a good light bitterness, too.
Bigger body. Good chewy texture. Smooth, creamy, light carbonation.
Great stuff! Not too sweet for me

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2013 11:54:31 | More by beerpirates

Bluecane

North Carolina

4/5  rDev -7.6%

04-21-2013 06:43:38 | More by Bluecane

Rainblows

Illinois

4.26/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Bottle received in trade poured into cigar city snifter. dark brown/black with a half finger cocoa tinted head that lingered. Smell of roasted malt, chocolate, vanilla and fresh coffee. Taste is creamy and full of coffee and vanilla. Heard this beer had fallen off but I was not disappointed. Excellent beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2013 01:35:29 | More by Rainblows

kevanb

Illinois

4.24/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25

750ml bottle poured into a 2013 Hunahpu Snifter.

It pours a nice jet black color, massively opaque and dense with a finger of thick, dark caramel colored head that recedes fairly quickly but yields a lot of film atop the beer and nice spots of lacing. The aroma is very sweet, lots of vanilla and maple with lactose sugar and very sweet, milk chocolate syrup with just a touch of roasted coffee and toasted malt at the end. The flavors are again on the sweeter side, lots of vanilla and smooth maplewood, that is slightly chewy and barky, rich, syrupy chocolate with some creamy lactose and just a hint of thick molasses. Roasted coffee is an afterthought at finish but does help to counterbalance the sweetness of richness of the beer. The body is rich, thick, silky, creamy and downright excellent. It coats the mouth very well, goes down smoothly with a lovely creamy touch.

Verdict: A very nice stout from Cigar City. The coffee is a bit overshadowed by the vanilla and maplewood, but the complexity is great and the balance is very nice. This makes for a great desert shared amongst friends or family.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2013 01:41:31 | More by kevanb

Atomicskis5

Connecticut

4.5/5  rDev +3.9%

04-11-2013 02:00:26 | More by Atomicskis5

hopkrid

Florida

4.5/5  rDev +3.9%

04-08-2013 02:17:32 | More by hopkrid

JReites

Florida

4.5/5  rDev +3.9%

04-06-2013 20:09:46 | More by JReites

UCLABrewN84

California

4.21/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Bottle pour at the bottle share held at Chloe's inside Golden Road Brewing in Los Angeles, CA.

Pours an opaque black with a foamy dark khaki head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. A foamy latticework of lace coats the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, vanilla, coffee, and chocolate syrup. Taste is much the same with a cocoa flavor on the finish. There is a medium amount of roasty bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a very good beer with some really nice aromas and tasty flavors.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2013 05:47:08 | More by UCLABrewN84

IpeeA

Missouri

4.5/5  rDev +3.9%

04-05-2013 04:21:52 | More by IpeeA

nickfl

Florida

4.26/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

A - Pours with a small head of dark orange-tan foam on top of a completely black body. The head settles fairly quickly and leaves decent lace.

S - Lots of dark grain with notes of char, smoke, chocolate, whiskey, and caramel.

T - sweet, caramel malt and dark chocolate up front. Some smoky molasses in the middle and a finish of fruity caramel, coffee, and maple.

M - a thick, syrupy body, moderate carbonation, and a sweet finish.

D - Pretty nicely done. this is an over the top beer with an intense dark malt character but it is weirdly well balanced at the same time. Thick and sweet without becoming cloying and the maple makes a distinct impact on the base beer that is almost whiskey like.

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2013 01:56:51 | More by nickfl

kylehay2004

Florida

4.79/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

A: thin dark tan head on a jet black body without any light getting through.

S: aroma is excellent with lots of dark chocolate, coffee bean, cocoa, vanilla and brown sugar.

T: this one is delicious. Lots of dark chocolate with the right amount of sweetness with very nice complementing notes including both maple and oak woods, brown sugar and vanilla.

M: full body and moderate to high carbonation, more carbonation and crisper than I expected which actually works very well for this beer.

Overall: very well balanced and mildly complex. I felt like this one would be good but it's better than I was expecting. Really it has all the same favors as the standard sweeter stout this one just has them applied better and in the right balance of roasted bitterness and chocolate sweetness.

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2013 01:48:12 | More by kylehay2004

Quackus

New York

4.25/5  rDev -1.8%

04-01-2013 19:37:42 | More by Quackus

bonkers

New Jersey

4.33/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Beernads sent me this in a recent BIF. It pours jet black, thin tan head. Definite coffee and vanilla aroma. The beer is a great blend of coffee and vanilla, subtle maple, slightly boozey. Definitely viscous, decent carbonation, nice sipper. A great stout, capped off a great easter weekend.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2013 00:20:37 | More by bonkers

MykelJH

California

4.5/5  rDev +3.9%

03-28-2013 08:20:04 | More by MykelJH

krl2112

Illinois

4/5  rDev -7.6%

03-24-2013 01:46:19 | More by krl2112