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

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

Bottle. Burnt malt , coffee, chocolate. Finishes spicy (as in hot pepper spice) and bitter. Good

Thanks to TODD for opening this! Poured extra-viscous black with a thick cap of dark brown head. The aroma picked up large doses of black patent, molasses, and chocolate malts topped by plenty of hops (pine and floral primarily).. treacle emerged with warmth.. a tad spicy on the back. The flavor found molasses, charred black patent, and burnt coffee notes at the core, again surrounded by a lot of hops (black pepper, earth, and pine rocked it hard).. very bitter and viscous on the great finish. Heavily-bodied with low carbonation on the palate.. great balance between the hefty malt bill and the huge hop presence.. lots going on here, and it worked!

Inky black. Long lasting tan foam. Dark chocolate and truffle aroma. Velvety mouth feel. Flavor is alarmingly complex, balanced and intense. Long lasting finish. Profound effort. Has a malt density and mouth feel that reminds me of Danish dark beers. It has an uncommon character when compared to other American craft brewed Imperial Stouts.

Bottle: I’ve said so much stupider shit in the forums than turbo, why does he get a beer named after his stupidity and not me? Bullshit. That means this beer is starting at a 4.5 rather than 5.0. Whatever. It pours motor oil thick, settles dark with a dense brown head. The nose was a fluffy mixture of chocolate mousse and mildew with a biting alcoholic edge. Super smooth, cashmere-like mouthfeel carrying flavors of chocolate brownie & powdered cocoa with strong, aggressive hoppy bitterness. Very clean malt profile here, just a bit overly aggressive with the hops, which I’ve noticed is a common thing with cigar city. In any event, its still a nice beer...nothing spectacular and out of this world, but certainly nice.

Thanks Todd! The beer pours to the most viscous black body with a super dark brown head and spotty lacing. The aroma is really heavily malted molasses and sweetened milk chocolate cookies. Lots of indescribables in this. Perhaps that’s the cedar? The flavor is sweet and bitter roasty black malt. Chocolate and sweetened condensed milk brownies. The palate is medium-full bodied with a heavy roast.

The appearance is beautiful - deep black color, and a medium dark brown fluffy head. Very appealing. The aroma is chocolate, roasted coffee, cream, fruit. The flavor is gorgeous - a mix of chocolate, plums, roasted coffee, cream. Perfect. The alcohol is well hidden. The mouthfeel is also beautiful, appropriatel thick and creamy. The finish has a mild to medium resiny hop bittering, and a roasted bitter quality. Nearly perfect.

Thanks to DalzAle for sharing a taste on this one. It’s the first of the Cigar City beers that I’ve had and I am not disappointed. At the outset, the labeling is worth the price of admission. Cheers, Cobra. This one poured a thick blackness and light head. Nose is initially roasted grain and bitterness of roasting. There is a slight hint of sweetness in the nose and the first flavors are of the same roasted grain, chocolate, and a supporting sweetness that doesn’t overtake the roasted flavors -- then there is some coffee bitterness midway into the flavors. Finish is dry enough with a little sweetness supporting a tailing roasted bitterness. Mouth feel is a little thin and that might be the closest I’ll come to a criticism on this one. Beer almost lives up to its packaging and both are pretty darned good.

insanity brought on by rustychiles on 9/27/09. inky black pour absent from any light, hue or color with a fluffy ochre/brown head. spots of drippy lacing take their place on the glass as the head settles. it smells intensely of bittersweet chocolate... mixed with coffee beans, vitamin pills (wood aging characteristic), sweet burnt malt, black licorice sticks, burned caramel, a slight sourness and punchy spicy hops. dry ashiness and intense green leafy hoppiness offset the abundance of chocolate covered malty sweetness. otherwise, the flavor is a repeat of the aroma with a slightly sour finish. actually, the finish is short and fairly empty feeling before the aftertaste of roasty coffee takes over. it is bordering full bodied but the enormous amount of hops keep it seemingly lighter. dry and dangerously easy to keep drinking. 8/5/8/4/16/4.1