Cigar City Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout

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

Serve in Snifter

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Weird, somehow my rating disappeared for this:

Sampled March 2010
A vigorous pour produces a very, very dark brown colored head that is four-fingers in height and just crests the rim of my 25cl tulip glass. The beer is inky, perfectly black and remains opaque and black in hue even when held up directly to the light. The aroma smells of a restrained mix of cinnamon, dark chocolate, vanilla, espresso, and roasted fruit, all the while being quite huge; meaning the aroma on this is quite over the top big, but there is a lot of competing complexity without the individual components not being in balance with each other. There is a touch of a salty, maybe peat smoke like character that seems to be a combination of rich, umami laden dark malt, perhaps some chipotle like notes (which is strange that this beer smells faintly of these smoked chiles when none are included in the recipe) and some general spiciness that is more wood-like than anything from the chiles. Roast malt character plays a big role here, but this is not nearly as big and unbalanced in its roast character as one might expect for a beer of this color. The roast character seems a touch chalk-like at times, but is incredibly smooth, with ample toasted whole grain character in addition to the mellow, deep roasted grain component. Ah, there is actually a hint of peppery chile, seems almost like green chiles at times; this last might be induced somewhat by the roasted malt. The vanilla is almost the most subtle ingredient in the nose, but the chiles seem to be quit subdued too; though I think some of the fruit character comes from the chiles. As the beer warms up more the alcohol becomes more noticeable and actually increases the burnt vegetal note just a bit too much unfortunately, but also compliments a peppery note that does work. And on closer inspection, the green note is not so much the green, burnt broccoli like note that some stouts have, but rather it is a bright, green bell-pepper like note that is really not objectionable; my wife thinks it smells like fresh cut green vegetables.

Thick, viscous and creamy as it first hits my palate, but some carbonation lightens things up just a hint. Huge roast malt flavors dry the finish out just a touch with some chalky notes, charcoal bitterness and a dry, rich dark malt character. Surprisingly this is not as sweet as something this sweet seems like it should be; the roast character helps with this, as does a really rich, darkly complex malt character, some smoky grain notes, evoked flavors of peat and the sea (with an almost salty quality), dark cocoa notes, and an Ethiopian full-city roast coffee quality that is quite nice. Rich fruit notes lurk just below the dominant roast character, suggesting flavors of black-berries, a big blueberry note that almost seems shocking, roasted dried fig flavors as well as some roasted prune like notes. The chocolate character is big (well actually it is huge) here as well, one definitely finds a rich dark chocolate character, though it makes me wonder how much is from the base beer versus the added cocoa nibs. Some spicy, peppery flavors start to emerge as this really warms up.

I like that this is thick and lush without being so cloyingly sweet. Rich, berry-like, dried chile, ancho flavors start to become more noticeable as this warms up as well. I like that the chile flavor serves a sort of "hop-bitterness" like role to this beer, it is fairly subtle to this particular chile-head, but I like the hint of subtle heat it adds as well as the touch of fresh chile character that is found in the finish.

I was fully prepared to not like this (though truthfully I was fully prepared to like it too), but I definitely do. It is quite well balanced, much more than I was expecting and truthfully I would have liked a touch more ancho and pasilla character (speaking of which, does this mean that both dried pasillas (aka ancho chiles) and fresh pasillas where used here, or are this two distinct chiles in the Florida / Cuban culture?), but in the end this would have brought the so carefully crafted balance of this beer a bit too far off.

Pitch black with a dense dark brown head. Massive aroma with so much going on it’s almost over the top. Same goes for the flavor, intense chocolate, spice and a fat malty roastiness accompanied by an equally fat body. Tasty..

Pours a 1 finger thick beautiful mocha head dissipates to form a solid ring around my ccb snifter and stays throughout the drink. It has an aroma of strong dark chocolate with coffee in the background. It tastes of chocolate up front, coffee and vanilla notes with a finishing burn from the alcohol then from the peppers. This beer is so complex I am tasting something different each time I try it. Hunahpus is the greatest beer I’ve ever had, so complex and so delicious!

draft, pours black with frothy tan head. nose is molasses and slight coffee with roasted flavors. first sip is nice with toasted flavors and roasted malt with coffee and burnt sugar. finish is plesant with coffee bitternes.

Bottle thanks to thome50. 2011 edition. Pours pitch black with an oily, very dark brown chocolate head. It quickly disappears to nothing. Nose is heavy on milk chocolate, spices, light salt, light chilli and a mingling sweetness to gel it all together. Works well. Taste is sweet while at the same time robust and smokey. Cigar box notes come out to play while it finishes very spicey and chocolatey. Chilli is right on the back end. The palate is very full and creamy. Very lengthy. Leaves a nice bite to finish. Great beer

Shared by someone at the Monte’s Krown tasting yesterday. Pours a jet black with a brown head that reduces to a lace quite quickly. Smell is cocoa, spice, dust. Taste is sweet, thick, cloudy and greatness. Dry bourbon finish. Excellent.

From notes at (StoutFest). Bottle via mattyb83 and sorta thanks to ericandersnavy who originally sent me the bottle that was stolen by some meth heads living next to my grandma. Aroma is cinnamon, chocolate, sweet. Taste, slight coffee with a load of cinnamon, dark chocolate and some faint chili heat. Overall, nice, but nothing amazing. The chili is nice with the style but I love the heat.

Truly exciting and unique, The texture and subtleties of this beer are superb, it really is fantastic.

Loved this beer since first taste. Pours a pitch black with a rich red head. Aroma is mild spice with roasted malts, vanilla notes. Flavor explodes with vanilla, cinnamon and mild spice, obviously, but its milky, creamy, mild bitterness with light sweetness following from the vanilla. Flavor lingers for a decent minute, and I’m okay with it. Awesome flavors all day long

Bottle. Pours a near black color with a thin dark tan head. Aroma of dark roasted malt, chocolate, molasses, tobacco, and a hint of chili pepper. Flavor is just awesome with the chocolate and especially the chili really come through as it warms. Visually very enticing as well as the beer leaves a viscous tan sheen skinny the side of the glass as you swirl it around. Glad I finally got to try this local treasure. It did not disappoint!

A: Poured a sluggish near pitch black with a huge brown cap, loads of lacing, amazing! S: Big fresh cocoa, like hot chocolate, some spice, heat, wood, coffee and wow it smells so good T: A rich cocoa presence here, dark and light chocolate, roasted malt, booze, cinnamon and light spice from the peppers. Big sweetness with some roasted marshmellows and vanilla. Extremely decadent and flavorful. Among the best of not the best Imperial Stout I have ever had. M: Where do I begin? Big, rich and sweet. Big body, well carbonated, loads of taste! O: WOW!