Cigar City Maduro Brown Ale

Why I tried this: It was a Tuesday, and a fine day out. I was perusing the bottles section while discussing Cigar City brewery with my buddy Dave. I was telling him I had had the Jose Marti Porter and didn't much care for it. He asked if I had tried their Maduro Brown Ale. I had not, and he insisted it was pretty good, so I ordered it.

Smell: Just like a brown ale should, earthen and malty. Nothing too exciting.

Taste: Wow. Not what I was expecting at all. This is not your average brown ale. It starts with a malty flavor that is roasted, tasting more like a porter than a brown. A sweetness of chocolate then hits. The entire sip is insanely smooth. I literally felt like I was drinking velvet.

This beer gets an empty glass from me, no questions asked. Cigar City, a local Florida brewery, has hit a home run. I never expected a brown ale to taste so dark and sweet. The balance was just simply incredible. And the smoothness...that really tops it off. Get this ale.

--Jeff

Drinkin at World of Beer UCF with The Marines

Cell phone pictures, what can you expect? Serious red eye, blurry, low light, low quality.

...Alright thats enough this isnt a photography review blog.

While battling for a position at the bar we ran into a few guys in the Marines that just got back from a tour in Afghanistan. Glad they made a safe return! It was pretty awesome to talk to them for a while and hopefully we run into them again in the future. Kristy and I mostly got cut out...mostly.

--Jon

Top 10 Loyalty @ World of Beer UCF

In 10th place and moving on up.  Current count should put me at 8th by now and Jeff will be on the board fo sho' with their next update.

Movin on up, To the east side. We finally got a piece of the pie

--Jon

Anchor Liberty Pale Ale

Why I tried this: I was in the mood for something light, but most importantly I was really just going down my list and trying to knock beers out of the way. I found the Anchor Liberty Pale Ale, and it sounded good, so I gave it a shot.

Smell: Had a floral hop scent that was combined with an unidentified spice. Not bad.

Taste: I got a citrus taste as well as some spice notes that were buried under moderately bitter hops. You could also taste the pale malts a bit. The hops and the bitterness were well balanced, and the beer itself was very crisp, which I enjoyed.

Overall, I'd probably award the Anchor Liberty Pale Ale a quarter full glass. It was a fairly good beer, with its strong points being its balance of flavors and hops, while still providing a crisp drinking experience. It wasn't a great beer that I'd get most of the time I go out, but I'd likely get it every once in a while.

--Jeff

When Iron City is beer of the month...

$3

Hahahahah...

World of Beer UCF Tuesday Tumble

Will be heading to World of Beer UCF today. Right now I'm 9 beers behind Jon, and 5 beers behind 9th place. It looks like the top 10 got scared when they saw us hit the board momentarily after one month, and our competition is picking up the pace. Sucks for them, so am I.

--Jeff

Lost Coast Great White

Why I tried this: I had had the Lost Coast Downtown Brown on tap quite a while back. So, when I saw this brew on tap, I recognized the brewer name, and thought I'd give them another shot. Their brown ale was fairly decent, and I was in the mood for something lighter after my porter binge.

Smell: Had a scent of citrus, but mostly smelled of wheat grains. Moderately pleasant, not very strong.

Taste: This one was interesting. In addition to the usual wheat flavor, I detected a bit of oatmeal as well. To top it off, a note of orange peel hits you as you finish your sip. The flavors were a bit lacking and left me wanting more.

Overall, I wasn't very impressed with this beer. I wasn't sure whether to give it a quarter full or half empty beer award, but I've leaned towards the half full award. It's just too forgettable a beer. The taste just isn't bold enough, and what's in there doesn't really make for that great of a mix. Would likely stick to Lost Coast's Downtown Brown, if anything.

--Jeff

Weekly Beers Update 4/4/11

Weekly beers have been updated. Check here for the update.

--Jeff

Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout

Why I got this: While at World of Beer UCF I decided that I wanted another stout that I hadn't tried.  Since its my favorite beer style my choices are quickly dwindling of stouts at World of Beer that I have not had yet.  The bartender Lindsey suggested I give this one a shot.  Lindsey always recommends good beers so I decided to get it.  I had never seen a Japanese stout in my life until this one.

Smell: A coffee and chocolate aroma is about 90% of the smell as I expected.  There is a different scent that was more subtle and less noticeable but I couldn't identify it.

Taste: Up front you get a strong coffee and chocolate flavor.  What amplifies the coffee and chocolate malt flavors is how roasted they are.  Adding to the bitterness of this stout is the very strong roast flavor.  If you dont mind a strong more bitter malt flavor you would probably really like this stout.  The strong roasted after flavor also will stick around a little bit longer then you would typically expect.


So whats the final rating? Well I really did enjoy this beer a lot from the strong roasted flavor to the robust coffee and chocolate malt flavors.  This beer absolutely had a unique flavor to it and it will absolutely be a beer that I remember and stands out however there are also a lot of other stouts I would rather have over this one.  If I want a strong stout I would probably just go for the Nitro Milk Stout by Left Hand or Rogue Chocolate Stout. Id probably end up taking a Murphys or Guiness over this as well.  It was a very good beer, but I would probably only get it in certain circumstances.  This beer receives a good rating of 1/4 left in the glass.


--Jon

Left Hand Fade to Black Volume 2

Why I tried this: Kyle was on a roll that night, pretty much recommending me every delicious porter under the sun, and then some. Left Hand's Fade to Black Vol. 2 was the "and then some."

Smell: Deep, dark roasted malts, with a note of coffee.

Taste: Exquisite. Bet you thought you'd never see that word describe a beer. The taste was intensely roasted and malty. The interesting thing, though, is that you get a bit of a smoked flavor, which is a first that I've had in a porter. Finishing off this taste is a hint of chocolate. It's dark, complex, and just incredibly tasty.

Left Hand has made another knockout beer in my opinion. The smoked nature of this beer makes this one of the more interesting porters I've tried, and that's a good thing, because after a while it's hard to make your beer stand out. At a moderately alcoholic 7.8%, you couldn't taste the alcohol in the beer at all. The flavor is just incredibly rich, and overall the beer just supremely enjoyable. I'd give this beer an empty glass award, and would recommend this beer any time anyone asks for a good porter.

--Jeff

Barq's Famous Old Tyme Root Beer

Why I tried this: I was caught by the slogan. "Barq's has bite." What could that mean, I wondered? Maybe it had a higher alcoholic content than most beers. Maybe it was especially bitter. Either way, I was going to find out, so I ordered this one on can, and gave it the usual trials we do here at Beeruken.

Smell: Bitter and earthy, like roots. A hint of sweetness to it.

Taste: Carbonated, and sweet. I think the sweetness is a combination of sarsaparilla and caramel. It had a very nice bitterness to it that did appear to give it that bite that Barq's claimed. This beer was medium bodied and honestly, pretty damn good.

I have to say, this is probably the best beer I've ever had out of a can. It was a medium bodied and fairly carbonated beer that had a crisp and earthy smell to it, followed by a pretty great taste. It didn't leave much in the way of head or lacing, and didn't look very impressive in a glass, but you can't judge a book by its cover. Highly recommend, and will give this an empty glass award.

--Happy April Fool's Day, the Beeruken Team