Cigar City Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout - Virgin Oak Barrel Aged

Brewed by Cigar City Brewing
Style: Imperial Stout
Tampa, Florida USA

Serve in Snifter

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Draft… This beer rocks!… Pours ink black with a small, creamy, brown head. Good retention. The aroma is an intertwining ribbon of dark chocolate, pouch tobacco, charcoal, dried plum, blackstrap molasses, lots of toasted oak, a gooey sliver of vanilla bean and a rumor of cinnamon. Full-bodied with a 20w50 mouthfeel and subdued carbonation. The flavor offers charcoal bitterness, burnt malts, acrid and acidic notes and a trace of toasted oak. Otherwise, it’s just smack-you-in-the-face Zhukov more so than Hunahpu. Boozy, carbonaceous finish with plenty of peppery warmth as it slides on down the throat. Seems like the oak is taking away more than it’s giving in this example. Still, it’s Hunahpu, which makes it a world class beer in my book!

Growler, just like the pic. Poured inky black with a sinister head that wasn’t much lighter. The aroma picked up sweeter cocoa and vanilla upfront, with darker chocolates, molasses, and biscuity malts not far behind.. spicy pepper joined on the back of the nose.. well-balanced, but a tad more oak presence would’ve been nice. The flavor opened with tart oak and spicy, smoked guajillos.. blended chocolates and vanilla were decadent at the core.. smoky peppers, cinnamon, and alcohol warmth over a fine bed of malts on the long finish.. delicious! Heavy-bodied with low-moderate carbonation on the palate.. warm, but well-balanced.. the oaky dryness worked well, especially in the end.. loved it!

@HallingHansen tasting, thanks for sharing. Pours black with a small light brown head. Aroma is roasted malt, chocolate, liquorish, oak, vanilla and light green pepper. Flavour is roasted malt, chocolate, liquorish, oak, chilli and coffee.

Big Thanks to Adam for this growler! Smells oaky as hell, but has all the symptoms of a regular hunahpu’s: cinnamon, chocolate and a little bit of pepper. Taste is ashy with chocolate and very little pepper in the back. Surprised this was as ashy and woody. Still nice but once was enough. Really happy I got to try this.

From notes. 9/24/11 This brew poured black with a tan head which disappeared quickly. Nose has a lot of big chocolate aromas, there is a nice woody presents with hints of dark malts, vanilla and coffee. Taste follows the nose, lots of chocolate with sweet roasted malt, oak flavors, vanilla, a bit of coffee bitterness and just a little heat in the finish. Mouth feel is silky smooth, nice big round body, slightly bitter finish that ends in a nice warming.

From notes. First reviewed 10/31/2011. Poured from a 32 oz. growler into a tulip. Tasted side by side with 2011 Hunahpu’s and the Whiskey Barrel Aged Hunahpu’s. Nearly black in appearance, a very nice ebony color with a very nice creamy chocolate head. Comparable to the other Hunahpu’s versions. The oak kind of dampens the other aromas. Cocoa, vanilla, a bit of cinnamon, some oak, and nice bit of roasted malt. The sweetness really gets crushed by the oak. Roasted malt, a bit of coffee, unsweetened chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon, and some of the chiles are still present. The finish has more malt and is relatively clean. The oak dries the body out. A full body and light, crisp carbonation are standard from the base beer. Less sticky than the regular version. The oak dried it out and really did not add a lot to the flavor, so I prefer the regular Hunahpu’s.

Thanks to KickInChalice for the pour. Lots of oak on the nose – adds a somewhat medicinal quality to the delicious Hunahpu flavors. A bit of chocolate and malt. At times it smells a bit like brandy. Pours viscous, black, lightly carbed with a dark tan head. Taste is solid, but inferior to the regular hunah. Not as much sweetness, cinnamon or heat. Replaced by woody oak. Feel is also inferior to regular hunah – a bit drier. Overall – the virgin oak hurts the beer. Still very tasty, but not worth repeating.

At HallingHansen Grand Tasting, thanks for sharing. Pours a pitch black beer with no head. The aroma is malt, licorice, chocolate, vanilla, wood and green pepper. The flavor follows the nose with additional chilli. The palate is sweetness with chilliwarmth. Overall a good beer with a good chilliwarmth.

Thanks Jason for sharing this 32 oz bottle. The beer pours to a pitch black 12 month old used 75+ weight oil. A huge dark brown head sits on top. The aroma is hugely oak. Lots of vanillin from the wood. Earthiness from the peppers. The flavor is deeply chocolate with lots of earthy and lightly spicy peppers. Super rich milk and dark 70%+ chocolate. Really thick and syrupy, but not sugary and sticky. This beer is really damned good.

Diesel oil black body with fleeting brown head. Big deep roast malt, dark chocolate, chili spice, lumber yard aromas. Rich heavy body with a smooth mouthfeel. Sweet dark pit fruit, dark chocolate, dry wood, chilipepper flavors. Mild chili heat to finish--very good

Growler, trade from Sean9689, thanks man. Pours black with a brown head. Aroma is oak, chili notes, chocolate, roasted malt, coffee, vanilla, ashes. Flavor is oak, chocolate, roasted malt, coffee, vanilla.