Moat Water - Cigar City Brewing

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

3.54/5  rDev -18.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

First had: bottle trade with toofdoc. Thanks!

Room temperature. Poured into a CC snifter, a dark, brown-black liquid, thick, capped off with a small foamy mocha head that retained until the end and left streaks of lacing. Fairly roasty in the nose, boozy right from the start, which was strange considering the ABV isn't incredibly high. I guess I kind of expected a rich, creamy treat with this one, but it really wasn't that. Roasty dark malts, roasted coffee grounds, though lacking any rich, smooth coffee taste--like the roast was there without the coffee, if that makes sense--vanilla was very light, lending a background sweetness, like the aftertaste of a nilla wafer, mild hit of unsweetened chocolate. There was a strong taste of fusel alcohol that I didn't much care for, with a definite woody quality coming through in the finish. [I think some people are trying to pick up things that aren't here...it's maple wood; there's not actually maple syrup in this beer.] Body was on the heavier side of medium, nearly full. It was a pretty easy drinker, but really just an average beer overall.

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2013 05:03:33 | More by Rifugium

jeonseh

Indiana

3.6/5  rDev -17.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle poured into a snifter. Shared during our NWI tasting group Bourbon county night

A - Dark chocolate brown with light chocolate on the edges. Small mocha colored head sits on top throughout

S - Nice nose on this one as I get coffee, light dark chocolate, hint of vanilla, maple syrup and oak

T - There is sweet vanilla and maple up front before I get coffee and a cigarette / char smokiness. The finish is oak as well as the cigarette/ char smokiness that lingers on. Overall, I really loved this beer on the first sip with the vanilla and maple. However, I'm not a big fan of the char flavor which made this one detract just a bit for me.

MF - Light body with a nice smoothness that comes in near the end. Light oak tingle remains in the finish

O - Overall, this is a solid stout from Cigar City. It has a nice sweetness to it and the vanilla, oak and coffee all make themselves known and add great flavor. What prevented this one from being great for me was the cigarette smokiness/ char flavor which came through. If you like those charred flavors, I'm sure you'll like this one.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2012 04:07:19 | More by jeonseh

codysjb

Florida

3.73/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Cigar City Moat Water
Poured from a 750ml bottle into my Duvel Tulip.
A: Dark Brown/ Black with a brown head. Nice lacing. Looks very attractive.
S: Coco, Vanilla and minor caramel notes. Like coco puffs in chocolate milk with Hershey’s syrup poured on top (ya a ton of coco).
T: Chocolate, Vanilla. Sweet, extremely sweet like Moo Hoo or Moloko.
M: Lots of coco in the mouth and nostrils.
O: Meh, its good but its too sweet. I wanna see what it ages into.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2012 22:41:40 | More by codysjb

stakem

Pennsylvania

3.78/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to BA sendsilk for hooking me up with all things CCB. The brew pours black in color with khaki webby head that maintains well. A swirl revives the cap that produces some lacing effect on the glass. Overall a typical looing stout.

Initially, the aroma is straight up vanilla bean nose. Almost sticky sweet smelling with a hint of coffee that pales in compaison to the earthy elements that are almost like tobacco more so than stale coffee.

The flavor is earthy and roasty with suggestions of coffee. Some vanilla sweetness is mild and contrasted by plenty of almost tobacco-like bitterness and earth. The coffee inclusion was much more subtle than I was expecting whereas the vanilla was a bit over the top.

This is a medium bodied brew with a modest amount of carbonation. It is a pretty nice brew with a big sticky vanilla inclusion if thats the sort of thing you dig. The rest is a bit lost and not balanced that well. I guess i was anticipating this to be more of a coffee stout than a vanilla beer. A rare miss from CCB in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2013 16:44:02 | More by stakem

solo103

Florida

3.93/5  rDev -9.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance - pourd a deep dark black with a mocha head

Aroma - strong scent of mud and funk followed hints of chocolate

Mouthfeel - thick and slick with a slightly dry finish

Taste -up front I get a tiny amount of maple then strong amount of bitter dark chocolate that finishes a little roasty

Overall- this beer is insainely unique . I have nenevr had a beer with this kind of funk(and I love sours and flanders reds) its strangely amazing .

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2012 21:51:18 | More by solo103

beerpirates

Belgium

4.03/5  rDev -7.4%
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

hooliganlife

Missouri

4.13/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pour was black, cocoa, medium body.

Vanilla and coffee, light chocolate

Flavors were a bit all over but in a good way. French vanilla coffee,black coffee, sweet chocolate.

Mild to moderate carbonation. Medium body. Kind of slick like.

Pretty good, enoyable. Easy drinker.

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2012 15:27:54 | More by hooliganlife

TMoney2591

Illinois

4.15/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Served in a Sweetwater mini-snifter.

Not sure what difference water from a skatepark moat makes (or, for that matter, what skatepark has a moat), but I'm game to find out. This stuff pours a deep, dark black-brown topped by a finger of brown-ish foam. The nose comprises coffee, mild roasted malts, and a general sense of cocoa. The taste brings in more of the same, with some sweeter cocoa, lighter coffee, light vanilla bean, and a twinge of heavy cream. The body is a stolid medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a smooth feel. Overall, a very nice stout, one that may or may not prove that moat water is indeed somehow superior to other sources.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2013 22:36:17 | More by TMoney2591

dbc5

Ohio

4.18/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

750 ml bottle poured into Southern Tier Pumking Tulip.

A: This is a great looking stout. Jet black and a moderate pour yields a 1.5 finger mocha colored head that sticks around for awhile, slowly receding until leaving a nice ring that laces its way down the glass.

S: This beer opens up with a ton of bittersweet chocolate, blended nicely with coffee and vanilla. A pleasant nose but leaves me wanting a bit more. Not picking up much of a contribution from the wood used in the aging process.

T: For me, the flavor is dominated up front by the coffee addition, although the vanilla is perceptible and adds a nice cream-like character to the beer. Milk chocolate makes it presence felt about mid palate, and in combination with the vanilla, gives a fudge like quality to this one. Flavors of black coffee linger on the tongue after swallowing.

M: It's a Cigar City stout, so you know it is going to be thick. This one isn't quite Marshal Zhukov dense, but it has a nice, full body. Carbonation is low to moderate and gives a silky quality to the beer.

O: A really nice beer. The coffee and vanilla come together to make for an interesting coffee and cream like combination that works well with the chocolate roast in this stout. Definitely one to drink now, as the aspects of the beer that make it unique will fade with time. Glad to have the opportunity to try this.

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2013 01:41:49 | More by dbc5

Jeffo

Netherlands

4.18/5  rDev -3.9%
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

4DAloveofSTOUT

Illinois

4.21/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Huge thanks to egrace84 for the bottle share! Thanks elliot!

poured into tulip glass.

reviewwed from notes taken 1/8/13.

Appearance: black bodied beer with 1 finger of light to medium brown bodied beer.

Smell: Coffee, brown sugar, maple oatmeal.

Taste: Coffee and dark chocolates. Lite oak note. Roasty almost a char note from the coffee. Really sweet vanilla aftertaste that has a touch of artificial flavor to it.

Mouthfeel: medium body with low end of moderate carbonation. Smooth and creamy mouthfeel. A beer milkshake. Not a hint of booze.

Overall: I really enjoy the nose and mouthfeel of this beer. CCB does a great job with dark beers, but the vanilla comes accross as artificial which is my biggest draw back of this beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2013 13:34:46 | More by 4DAloveofSTOUT

UCLABrewN84

California

4.21/5  rDev -3.2%
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

macrosmatic

Florida

4.23/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Reviewed from notes. Had on-tap at CCB tasting room. Poured into a snifter.

A: Very dark brown, opaque, with a one-finger medium brown head and minimal to no visible carbonation.

S: Coffee, milky, chocolate and cacao. Sweet impression overall on the nose.

T: Follows the nose, with chocolate/cacao coming more forward. Taste adds the maple wood (similar to the woody flavors in the Homefront) and some vanilla. Has a sticky sweet finish.

M: Nice rich mouthfeel, minimal alcohol presence, a low amount of carbonation sensation.

O: Tasty. Perhaps doesn't reach the flavor profile of some other CCB stouts, but still recommended.

Serving type: on-tap

11-04-2012 18:57:22 | More by macrosmatic

kevanb

Illinois

4.24/5  rDev -2.5%
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

ehammond1

California

4.25/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle (2012)

Thanks for opening this with me, VaTechHopHead!

Black throughout, moderately thick in body, with minimal visible carbonation. A small dark brown crown atop that leaves an oily sheen and small dots of stick down the glass.

Lots of both dark and bittersweet chocolate in the aroma, along with some complementary maple sweetness, a bit of earthiness, and some roasted coffee notes. Complete, though perhaps a bit too sweet and not as complex as I'd hoped.

The flavor is rich, decadent, and full of (high quality) bittersweet chocolate flavors. Along with the earthy and mildly bitter chocolate, is some maple syrup, mild roast, and a little bit of vanilla. Incredibly drinkable for a rich, sweet imperial stout.

Medium bodied with low-moderate carbonation.

I was surprised at just how incredibly delicious this stout was.

Serving type: bottle

11-28-2012 21:16:38 | More by ehammond1

nickfl

Florida

4.26/5  rDev -2.1%
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

Rainblows

Illinois

4.26/5  rDev -2.1%
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

sweemzander

Illinois

4.28/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

750mL bottle poured into a snifter. Thanks for sharing Matt!

(A)- Pours a pitch black color that produced some tan to dark brown froth.

(S)- A deep rich aroma of chocolate, coffee, and slightly sweet roasted bread bits.

(T)- Close to how the smell was, only a far more pronounced chocolate profile. Still some coffee tidbits in there, but well behind how chocolate forward this is. Hints at raisins too at the end.

(M)- A good carbonation level and balance. I like the richness that it has without being too boozy or cloyingly sweet.

(O)- Overall, I quite like this one. A well made stout that has a superb balance to make it a home run for me.

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2012 16:45:55 | More by sweemzander

axeman9182

New Jersey

4.28/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

750 mL bottle, much thanks to djmichaelk for the hookup. It was allowed to warm a little bit before being poured into my Duvel tulip

Moat Water pours solid black, with about three fingers of whipped tan foam capping the beer. Head retention is great, and most of the glass is covered in sticky lacing. The nose is phenomenal, with aromas of maple syrup, vanilla, coffee, and just a hint of chocolate all swimming together in the glass. The taste is comprised of a similar set of flavors, highlighted by a remarkably pure maple character and a bit of vanilla sweetness. Coffee and chocolate provide the finish, but there's just a little bit of astringency here from the roast. The mouthfeel is wonderful, full bodied and with just a bit of a silky quality to it. The carbontion is muted, allowing the malt and sweetness of the beer to fully take over. I think Moat Water is flying under the radar a little bit given some of Cigar City's other recent releases (Leon, Cognac Barrel Imperial Sweet Stout), and that's a shame, because it's a great beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-01-2012 06:33:30 | More by axeman9182

Powderhornphil

Minnesota

4.29/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Pours black. More so than stouts that are bigger, zero light even at the edges. Fairly think tan head.

Smells like sweet coffee. Vanilla in there. Some sweet woody notes.

Fresh coffee and all sorts of sweet flavors. Maple woody notes. Not sure if I quite get maple syrup however. Really a tasty beer.

Full creamy mouthfeel.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2013 04:39:53 | More by Powderhornphil

maximum12

Minnesota

4.33/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to beerisheaven for this bottle of Cigar City, an imprint I'm always happy to see show up on the front stoop. This bottle was picked up in FL, brought to PA, shipped to MN, & driven to WI for consumption. It has frequent flyer miles to burn. 750ML bottle split with my wife.

Pour is dead-on dark black. Nose if rife with chocolate sweentess, the latter of which could either be the malt or the vanilla or both. Either way. Rich.

Moat Water: I'd have happily lapped this up during the seige of Constantinople. The senses are assaulted without quarter: maple, vanilla, & roast/coffee vie for attention at the top of their lungs. WTF? Usually when you read blah blah blah is in this beer there's one dominant commando & the others are riding shotgun. Here, these three are as blatant as a string bikini on a fifty-year old, strong as Ahnold. Seriously. All three blast simultaneously, leaving me befuddled but impressed. Nothing else evident. Nothing else could puncture that triumvirate. Why would it try? Terrifically sweet & easy to glug for a sweet-tooth.

Excellent beer that's like a trebuchet shot to the palate; almost the definition of a modern 'extreme' beer. Yum.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2012 04:41:26 | More by maximum12

babaracas

Florida

4.33/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

CCB destroys impy sweet stouts and this is not an exception to that rule. Pours an opaque very very dark brown with two fingers of dense brown foam, settling slowly to a thin layer with a spray of lace down the glass. Smell: now I wish I hadn't read the label, because all I can think of is syrup soaked pancakes... intense. Also... pastry cream w/ vanilla. Earthy coffee and dark chocolate in the back. Taste: syrup drenched pancakes, vanilla, coffee - earthy, toffee, and midly citric, borderline raisin towards the end of the sip. Delicious... dessert, or breakfast, accompaniment. Creamy feel. Sweet, as intended. 25 Oct 2012.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2012 06:15:43 | More by babaracas

Duff27

Illinois

4.33/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Mid deep mocha head. Craptastic lacing, legs. Relatively good head retention.

Dark chocolate mixed with rich coffee. Whiffs of sweet vanilla, yum.

Tastebud stunning bitter coffee upfront. Chocolate chips on the tail end. "Oak." Because of the abundance of flavor makes me wanna believe this is higher in alcohol.

Smooth medium-thick mouthfeel. Lower end of carbonation.

Cheers to CCB for packing the flavor in! Fairly unique even within the coffee stout realm. Thanks for the share egrace84!

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2013 00:40:44 | More by Duff27

AltBock

Ohio

4.33/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750ml bottle with a sky blue label with two single castle turrets with a blue flag sticking out of the top. In between the turrets is the name of the beer in big black letters. Flanking the turrets are 5 small paragraphs describing the beer, the process that went into the beer, and who's its brewed for. It's brewed to honor Tampa's skatepark. Covering up one of the paragraphs is a bottled date of 25 Oct 2012. I had this on tap when they released this, but this review is for the bottled version.

I had no other choice than pour this beer into a Cigar City Snifter. Did it look like Moat Water? Only if the moat was getting runoff from an oil refinery. It's another one of those big black beers you don't want to hold up to light unless you're wearing sunglasses. The head of foam rose up to about 1/2 an inch in height. As for the color of the head of foam, it was more of a dark mocha. This head of foam dissipated just as fast as it appeared. It did however manage to leave behind a string of rings and a few spots of lace.

The aroma was clearly coffee based. It didn't smell like cheap coffee grounds that you would buy on a grocery store shelf. These beans smelled like quality coffee beans that you could find in a high end coffee shop. Behind the coffee wall was some dark roasted malt, a drop of dark chocolate, a pinch of maple, and a subtle whiff of vanilla to end this coffee based aroma. Nice!

This is where you get to taste those quality coffee beans that you smelled in the aroma. Quickly following the quality coffee taste was the roasted malt and dark chocolate. After those 3 had their fun, in comes a little vanilla sweetness and maple wood. Those quality coffee beans had more power in the smell then they did in the taste.

The mouthfeel wasn't overly thick, but good for a Stout like this. It had a nice aftertaste of quality coffee beans, roasted malt, dark chocolate, and vanilla. This aftertaste will linger on for a few minutes. Just enough time to get a cup of coffee in case this beer didn't fulfill your coffee needs.

Another quality beer from Cigar City. The Skatepark should be honored that their name is attached to beer of this magnitude. I know I would be. Hopefully Cigar City will brew more of this in the future.

Serving type: bottle

03-01-2013 04:37:43 | More by AltBock

bonkers

New Jersey

4.33/5  rDev -0.5%
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