Cigar City Big Sound Scotch Ale

Brewed by Cigar City Brewing
Style: Scotch Ale
Tampa, Florida USA

Serve in Thistle

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shared w/ the boys epic tasteing 6/911 poured a dark ruby red kaki head smells of cherrys dates bubble gum sticks barnyard taste of carmel on steroids bananas figs and bread what a beer

Dark mahogany pour with frothy tan head. Good lacing. Sweet aroma with hints of maple, apricot, raisins and caramel. Full bodied with strong malt and raisin flavor. Just a hint of smoke. Very clean finish. A fantastic beer.

22oz bottle. Shared with friends. Pours a creamy dark brown with a thick light tan head. Nose is of course lots of caramel but also considerable brown sugar, smoke and even a bit of fruit (some citrus from the hops but also some prune and cherry). The flavor on this is jaw dropping. I actually prefer the flavor slightly to Alesmith Wee Heavy. In fact Overall I think I like this better. Its reminiscent more of Belhaven Wee Heavy in its flavor profile but with a balancing of hops that keeps the sweetness in check. Rich roasted chocolate up front followed by thick notes of caramel and cherry. Some strong raisin and fig and even a bit of light smoke and leather. Simply AMAZING. The palate is super thick and I was amazed this was only 8.5% not because of the alcohol which is non existant, but because the palate is just insanely full. Massive body. Chewy and rich. I actually may like this more than the Zhukov’s Impy Stout! Insane props to Joey and Wayne on this amazing masterpiece.

Incredible really. A dark brown ale with a creamy head that comes alive. Flavors are everywhere--malted milk, toffee, sweet cream, and a bit of warmness from the alcohol, and a hint of hazelnut coffee. Bomber from IBG.

Poured from a 750ml bottle into a chalice. Appearance: Pours a dark cola brown with beautiful ruby red highlights and a 3 finger frothy medium tan colored head featuring tiny carbonation bubbles. Excellent creamy lacing coating the glass. Smell: Tons of malt and cocoa with a touch of dried fruits. Smells a lot like Hershey’s Whoppers. Taste: Very sweet mix of flavors up front including cocoa and sweet malt with a touch of caramel up front followed by a light amount of hops in the middle and ending with lightly toasted malt at the finish. Aftertaste is mildly bittersweet and quite appealing. Very well-balanced beer that keeps the alcohol completely hidden. Mouthfeel: Full-bodied and creamy with a fairly high amount of prickly carbonation that gives it just about the perfect feel for me. Really coats the palate. Drinkability: Excellent drinkability. The alcohol will sneak up on you since you really don’t even notice that it’s there. Overall: Excellent beer overall. Cigar City has really knocked it out of the park with this one. I’ve liked just about every Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy that I’ve tried and this one does nothing to change that. I would highly suggest trying this beer if you get the chance.

Poured from a 22oz bottle. Pours a very dark almost black. Smells of molasses, chocolate and scotch. Tastes of molasses, brown sugar. Loads of peat and scotch tastes. This is almost the perfect beer.

Thanks to Dad for this. Very nice beer. Warm malty toffee flavors. Also a minerally flavor that is nice. Quite smooth. Serving: Bottle

UPDATED: MAY 26, 2009 750 mL bottle from Lee’s Liquors in Orlando (big thanks to Austin for getting this one). Pours dark brown with a creamy off-white head. Aroma of caramel, toffee, smoke, and very light piney hops. Very good, balanced flavor; not too sweet like many Scotch Ales. This does have some characterisitics of an imperial stout with the smoked flavors, toffee, and a hint of coffee. I said this in my review of Founder’s Dirty Bastard but I now have to ammend that review: best Scotch Ale I have had. This time, I don’t think it’s even close. Phenomenal beer.

750 at redlight redlight huge toffee and chocolate notes in the nose... super creamy... delicious coffee and toffee tastes... like ovaltine for big people... hot damn.

Bottle from Frank Smith’s. Pours turbid burny umber with a huge, fluffy 3-finger brown head and lace to spare. Nose is scotch malty, dark fruity, with notes of fig, toffee, brown sugar, hops, earthy, and cacao. Tastes rich, malty, somewhat sweet, with figgy and red winey fruit, butterscotch (not diacetyl), brown sugar, molasses, and fine tobacco. Reminds me a lot of Alesmith’s scotch ale,, the name of which escapes me at the moment, and a bit of the original Stoudt’s scotch ale, which was a masterpiece. Very complex palate, and as it warms I get more cherry flavor, soime slight funky lactic notes, and tons of malt throughout. This is an elite scotch ale.