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

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

750 ml bottle, signed by the brewers. Loud pfftt when opened. Poured out a deep chocolate brown, with a super thick mocha colored head. Aromas are licorice right off the bat, followed by roasted malts, burned, sharp cedar aromas. Flavors are sharp licorice, cedar wood, roasted malts, sharp tangy flavor of unknown origin. Lingering tastes of wood & burnt sugars. Hops are really subdued, not much in flavor or aroma. Thick mouthfeel, somewhat chewy. Finished roasty & rich. Decent beer overall.

From RBSG09 Grand Tasting notes (thanks to whoever brought it). This was a standout stout for the night, but it didn’t quite blow me away as I expected. It certainly wasn’t a disappointment, but the hype is getting to be a bit much for it. A black beer with a great looking mocha brown head. Lots of rich roasted malt flavor. Dark fruits and chocolate. Good (and fairly strong) bitter finish. Mildly ashy. Aroma is less hoppy than expected though still noticeable. Feel is creamy and fairly smooth, despite the hopping. I’m not sure of the age on this bottle, so some hops may have already dropped out.

Thanks to Daknole, I believe. Pours a thick, used motor oil black with a beuatiful brown head. It produced great lacing on the glass. Nose is of chocolate, licorice and molasses. Taste is loads of licorice with chocolate, roast malt and molasses. Mouthfeel is thick and creamy with some chalkiness and a bitter finish. This was a bit too heavy on the licorice for me to rate it high among my favorite Imperial Stouts.

Big thanks to Kan for sharing this. Poured pitch black with a beautiful dark tan head. Really great looking beer. Aroma was smoke, coffee and some earthy bitter hops. This is a well hopped Imperial, which I like, balanced by chocolate, smoke and ash. I liked this a touch more than the zhukov’s. The hops balance it out overall. A pleasure to drink.

750mL bottle, courtesy of joet. Thanks, Joe! Pours a dark, chocolate-brown color; thin, medium-brown head with patchy lacing. Light woodiness in the aroma; some light beef jerky, but not much else comes out; bitter chocolate, very bland wood. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: loads of dark chocolate, mineral and juicy citrus bitterness; coffee; some toasty notes and dark fruits; relatively light barrel presence in the mouth, compared to some of the things we’ve tried tonight, predominantly toasty woodiness; charred notes; a very quiet, dulled expression, although the hops do progressively show though, very nicely numbing the tongue; solid presence of coffee as well. Lengthy finish: bitter chocolate, coffee; balanced, bitter end; again, nice hop character.

750 ml bottle thanks to Ibrew2or3, thanks man. Shared at Eric’s big tasting. Pours a very opaque dark color- pure engine oil- with a beautiful brown head, large and fluffy. The aroma is mostly sweet malts, loads of coffee. The taste was dominated by a rich burnt coffee, smoke, lots of smoky coffee. Rich and yet easy to drink.

Bottle shared. Poured like oil, with a thin tan head. Aroma is smokey, roasty, malty, and bitter. Taste is interesting. Lots of roasted malt, chocolate, some fruit notes, bitter finish, with more of the smokey wood. Again, really unique. Mouth is slick and full. Overall, a nice brew, that has a lot more smoke and wood than other wood-aged imperial stouts. Solid brew.

Big thanks to markwise. Ink-black pour, tall, thick creamy coffee-brown head, glass-coating lace. Aroma is alcohol first, balanced by lemony hops and a deep smoky aroma. Flavor starts off with the thick roasted parts, leather, tobacco, toasted to the point of nearly burnt; as the flavor deveops, the hops bitterness comes through. The hops are resinous, coniferous, wet forest floor going on here, finish combines a lingering woodiness with the alochol heat. Full bodied, decidedly viscous, creamy, heavily warming. Acquires a tannic astringency halfway through the glass.