Cigar City 110K+OT Batch #2 I.R.I.S.

Formerly brewed at Cigar City Brewing
Style: Imperial Stout
Tampa, Florida USA

Serve in Snifter

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This is deceptively carbonated because it is so thick and viscous. At first a standard pour made this beer seem flat so I poured it from a greater, more vigorous height. I ended up with four fingers of thick, dark brown colored head as dark as any I have seen on a beer (darker even than the crema on an espresso). It has quite the staying power as well as it only very slowly subsides with a thick layer of lacing left on the sides of my glass. The beer is about as pitch black as a beer can be.

The aroma smells of bitter blackened malt (though now burnt sourness is noticeable yet), dark chocolate, espresso candy, a huge toasted maltiness that is full of whole grain goodness, notes of tobacco and yes even some cedar come into play here. The aroma really has a chewy, wholesome character to it; I really like how much toasted, whole grain character comes through and that it is not dominated by overly roasted and burnt malt aromatics. Underneath all the excessively decadent malt there seems to be some citrusy hop notes with a light herbal component, but the nose on this is clearly malt dominated. A touch of broiled, burnt fruit comes through after digging around a bit with aromas of charred cherries, prunes and perhaps a touch of figs. Ultimately though the aroma is very complex, especially for an Imperial Stout; the cedar and hop character, while clearly a supporting component, really help to boost the complexity and even accentuate the focus on the brown, toasted malt notes (especially the cedar, I really think it is what allows the toasted notes to play such a big role here); the roast malt character is big here too, but it never excessively dominates and instead the notes of espresso, charred fruit and burning aromatic tobacco come off as quite inviting rather than harsh and overwhelming.

Thick and viscous feeling as it hits my tongue, the beer is not excessively heavy though (I have had heavier, more decadent beers, but they are also a lot harder to drink than this). This is still most definitely a sipping brew, and it does actually have a pretty heavy level of carbonation that makes the beer seem just a touch too fizzy; some vigorous swirling takes care of the lingering, excess carbonation though, which allows the rich, viscous body to luxuriously languish on my tongue as I take sips of this beer. The flavor is more roast dominated than the nose; there is both a solid, bitter roasted malt note as well as a bit of burnt acidity to the finish. Up front though is a rich, smooth espresso flavor, dark burnt chocolate notes, and a thick sweet malted note that mixes with an almost nutty, richly toasted, whole grain character. A biting, almost citric, hop bitterness comes through in the finish, but it at times struggles to be noticed underneath the weight of all this malt; the longer the beer has left my mouth the more I notice the hop bitterness though. At times you can tell how heavily hopped this beer is, as there can be a green, substantially herbal, fresh hop character here, but it is so often buried under many of the other competing notes that it is only sometimes noticed during a sip. The cedar, adds a sort of resinous quality to the flavor up front, but it integrates itself quite well with the other flavors here. The rich malt character suggests a depth of flavor that takes on the character of smoke and even a touch of sea-salt, along with a lightly astringent woody note

This is definitely a lot better than the Big Sound that I had, for that I am relieved as this beer is certainly living up to the hype. The cedar character really works quite well here. It is much more complimentary than any oak aged, or spirit aged Imperial stout I have ever had; in fact, based on this beer, cedar aging should be the default wood for aging Imperial Stouts in (I would guess it would do quite well in a Barleywine as well). The body of this beer is quite nice, it is thick and lush, but is not so viscous as to be cloying; this really does strike a nice balance between being rich enough to carry the complexity and roast malt notes and yet still being drinkable (actually quite drinkable, I am even surprised that I am getting through this 750ml bottle without any struggle). This is one of the best Imperial Stouts I have had and it has definitely far exceeded my expectations; it reminds me that I really should go back and rerate a lot of those early Imperial Stout Ratings (though there are certainly a few gems there); the problem it is not one of my favorite styles, so I am not very motivated to do that).

Originally reviewed: 6/23/09. Poured this big bottle into my tulip glass. Now, I haven’t seen any beer pour this thick. Serious viscosity going on. Like dirty motor oil...that was partially frozen. I thought I needed to grab a spoon for this. Huge, over the top, brown head. Not tan, this thing was dark as chocolate. No lacing or rings, no, this was a ’coating.’ The entire glass edge was murked over with the leftovers of the gorgeous head. This is the prettiest beer I’ve ever seen. Smells like leather, raisins, wine, walnuts, coffee, and booze. A smorgasborg of scent. There’s so much going on here, I had to mute the TV because I couldn’t concentrate on capturing it all. I could hardly grasp the depth of scent of this. The mouth is pure silk. Smooth, buttery creaminess coats the entire mouth and flows steadily down the throat. I want to wrap myself up in this. This is a very coffee-forward beer. I wasn’t expecting that. Huge bitter espresso presence. This melds with a roasted nutty flavor that is ever satisfying. The finish is drying and chalky, but I think that’s because I failed to chew after every sip. Thick coffee-goodness. This is, by far, the best RIS I have ever had. This belongs on everyone’s list that loves a good thick RIS. No tasting panel is complete without it. Get some.

Preamble: This will be my first beer from FL, obtained in a trade from the most excellent Hopscotch himself. Being from the 303, I would never seek out a beer from the SE, yet alone FL. Rating: Deep dark pour with a redish-brown thin head, Reminds me of tenfidy with a lighter head. Get hit with intense sweet molasses in the nose with a coffee nib background. Also gather in come piney hops. This is a tasty balanced brew. A little sweet up front which quickly give way to the cedar and hops and a burnt coffee taste lingers on forever only to be balanced by pineyness on the outsides of the tongue. This is a world class beer.

75 cl. bottle shared / thx to sebletitje – black with a disappearing white head, smell is sweet with chocolate, slight dark fruits & lots of hops, taste if toffee, pralines, chocolate, caramel, dark fruits, mocha, vanilla, roasted, wood, very slightly smoked, hint of ashy & lots of bitter hops in finish, dry in the finish, medium to low carb, smooth body, quite solid

14/IV/2012 - 75cl bottle @ home - BB: n/a (2012-376) Thanks to sebletitje for sharing the beer!

Pitch black beer, big creamy brown head, pretty stable. Aroma: very fruity, caramel, mocha, red wine, alcohol. MF: good soft carbon, medium body. Taste: caramel first, mocha, cocoa, tobacco, vanilla, dry hoppy. Aftertaste: coffee, ashes, very dry hoppy. Good but not amazingly good.

Bottle with friends, courtesy of markwise. Thanks Mark! Dark black appearance with a dark brown head. Charred licorice, dark chocolate, woody aroma. Rich, thick, roasty, dark chocolate malty, licorice, burnt, a touch smoky flavor.

Pours black with a tanned head. Sweet with aromas of toasted malts, coffee, very dark chocolate, tobacco and some cedar wood. Also hints of smoke. Full bodied. Medium to soft carbonation. Dry finish.

Bottle. Heavy to harsh aromas of toasted, molasses, bitter chocolate and strong coffee for the malt, moderate resin for the hops, moderate dough and earth for the yeast, with tar alcohol, solvent, tobacco, and a mulled wine and fruit cake essence. Head is average size, frothy turning creamy, brown with fair lacing and super sticky legs, and is mostly diminishing. Color is almost black, Flavor starts lightly to moderately sweet and lightly acidic, then finishes lightly sweet and moderately to heavily bitter. Palate is full, creamy with a soft carbonation and a chalky and slightly sticky/chewy finish.The somewhat harsh aroma belies the fantastic smooth and well balanced flavors and palate. You almost want to hold your nose as you slowly sip this enigmatic Imperial Stout.

Pours rich dark oil black with a beautiful bright cinnamon dark caramel head. The aroma is light roasted coffee notes and sweet developed malts, the hops are gone with the age. The flavor is sweet roasted coffee notes on a smooth medium to thicky delicious body.

Entering old-rates. 75cl bottle. Une RIS très agreeable qui profite d’un dry-hopping qui se ressent et devient modéré en bouche avec l’age de la bouteille, je dis dans les 6 mois, le profile fort en avant du houblon commence à se dissiper. Le tout garde un gros profile de malt chocolaté, grillé. Porte bien avec un aspect houblonné très agréable dans ce style de bière. Une pointe de réglisse à noter sur la fin, reste épaisse en bouche.

Slightly hoppy aroma, followed by cedar and chocolate. Nice on the palate, it’s aged well. Dryer, not a lot of sweetness, moderate bittering. Pretty good.